Lots of companies advertise services where you can buy identity theft protection. These services can range in price from just a few dollars a month to several hundreds of dollars for more comprehensive protection. Is the price worth it? Let’s take a look at what you need to know to know about identity protection.
First and foremost, realize that no company can guarantee that you won’t have to deal with identity theft problems. Some do help you live more securely by offering tips to protect your identity, but to be honest, you can find most of these same tips for free just by doing a quick Internet search. Even so, if someone really wants to steal your identity, it will be hard to stop them. Luckily, unless someone has a personal vendetta against you, that’s highly unlikely. If you take some precautions to make your personal information reasonably secure, you shouldn’t have to worry much – identity thieves are paid for the information they compile, so they look for people whose information is easier to obtain.
With identity protection companies can offer you is help to clear problems if you have a problem with your personal information being stolen. They might offer some of the following services:
- Credit monitoring and alerts of suspicious activity
- Other types of identity theft monitoring
- Help working with creditors if there is a problem
- Legal representation if necessary
- Financial protection, even if creditors won’t refund your money
Of course, every service is different – just make sure you understand what you get for your money. Some companies only offer monitoring, but no actual help if there’s a problem, and vice versa. Others are more full-service, providing as much protection as possible.
You can also find companies offering financial protection for your entire family instead of just you as an individual. Kids are actually more at risk of having their identity stolen than adults, since their personal information can typically be used undetected for much longer. So, paying for a family plan might make sense to you.
Only you can decide if this kind of service is worth the money. Before you make a purchase, take the time to compare a number of companies and read reviews. That way, if you do choose to buy this kind of protection plan, you know exactly what you’re getting and you can be confident that you’ve made the best choice for your situation.
This guest post is from Allison with IdentityTheft.net, where you can go to learn more about identity theft protection and prevention.
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