OT: identity theft services question: OT

RRP · April 2011

Some questions that I'd like to have answers for and I bet other people would too, so I'm risking posting it here!

1) Other than peace of mind are they worth it or just hype to scare you into buying?

2) Which one of the largest 2 is best?

3) If I do subscribe should I actually subscribe to two? - that is - one in my name and another in my wife's name.

Personally I froze both of our credit reporting accounts at the 3 main bureaus about 10 years ago so I feel I at least have that protection as I haven't needed credit for years and I realize there's a hassle doing that.

tach18k · April 2011

I have one, it informs me with any changes or requests. But.. once it hits your informaion and is posted, it could take over a year to correct and be removed. Longer and maybe 10 years on other situations. It is a lot of work and all of it need to be in writing. Catching it before it happens, not likely, your screwed anyways.

boston_stoker · April 2011

This is a lot of scare tactics. Life lock's CEO who advertised his social security number as part of a marketing blitz was attacked a lot after doing that, and he had problems with identity theft as a result. These services offer minimal protection.

I have investigated some large breaches in the national media. Investigated as in I was managing the team of the firm the company hired to identify the hack, remediate their secuirity controls, identify the data compromised, and identify the unique individuals whose personal info so they can do their disclosure as required by law. The companies pay $10 to 20 dollars to these credit protectors per person that subscribes as the result of the breach. The fee varies based upon the buying power, which is related to the size of the at-risk population and covert one to two year of protection.

These companies scan a few data sources for potential fraud. That is about it. You can expet much for such a small fee.

RRP · April 2011

Thanks - when you said "You can expet much for such a small fee." did you mean can or can't?

RRP · April 2011

By the total lack of interest shown to this subject of identity theft today I have the impression it's no big concern to people here. Typically there is such a cross section here from all walks of life, professions and life experiences that if this were a hot topic there would have been more than 2 replies. I appreciate both of your comments guys!

fishlessman · April 2011

if you give your info to one of those services then its one more place that can get hacked to acquire your info :laugh: im really getting sick of all this privacy stuff, get a statement from just about every place, what a waste of time effort and dollars. bought a fishing license a while back, got the privacy statement and all, turns out the state info is all public anyways, just for the asking, got hit by all sorts of outdoor places, your stuff is private unless the public wants it, i can go to the state and ask for the list, just ask for it :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: i buy tires out of state where the state doesnt have a sales tax, my state wants that tax anyways, im supposed to report it, who would, the states now suing out of state companies for not reporting the info, someone asks you what state you live in, lie, lie, lie

Fidel · April 2011

Check your own credit reports twice a year - it's free. The services really aren't able to do much more than alert you when someone either pulls a credit report, opens a trace line, or a balance on an existing line increases past a user-defined threshold. You can easily check these things yourself.

The services will not prevent identity theft, they will only let you know after the fact that your info has been stolen. By the time you are notified and act, the theft is over, charges have been made, and the damage is done.

Save your money.

OT: identity theft services question: OT

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