5 Responses to “Reader Question: Which identity theft protection service is best if I’ve already been victimized?”

1. NextAdvisor.com Resources » Blog Archive » Identity Theft Protection Resources Says:
   June 24th, 2008 at 3:27 pm

   [...] Which identity theft protection service is best if I’ve already been victimized? [...]

2. Jeryl Reinbolt Says:
   August 20th, 2008 at 5:49 pm

   Dear Readers,
   Take another look at Identity Theft Shield, offered by Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. We have been termed as being “clearly the 800-pound gorilla in the room on ID theft protection.” Quoted from “The Silent Crime, What you Need to Know About Identity Theft,” by Michael McCoy and Steffen Schmidt, PhD. What makes is so different is: 1)More clout - our services are INTERNATIONAL. They don’t stop at the U.S. borders. 2) We’re a 36-year old company and have an exemplerary track record in helping people. 3) We take the worry out of ID theft. WE do the investigation, straighten out the legal complications, and RESTORE your life to pre-theft status. 4) We CONTINUOUSLY monitor your credit report and send you notices immediately of address changes, inquiries made to your report, new accounts opened in your name, derogatory notations added to your credit report, & public records added to your report. 5)If there is a breach, we give you an 800 number to call. We are partnered with Kroll, who assigns investigators to you who are former FBI, CIA and Interpol. 6)WE then search other databases - Social Security, Medical, Drivers License, and Character Identity to find out how far the theft has gone. 7)WE do the legwork FOR you, and restore your good name within 90 days, on the average. 8)Fraud alerts will be sent to all 3 credit repositories, as well as FTC, Social Security Administration, Dept of Motor Vehicles, U.S. Postal service, law enforcement personnel, and other organizations that may be affected. 9) We help reduce your out-of-pocket expenses (much less than $1 per day for members), and time spent away from work with valuable services from detection to resolution. 10) Since 70-80% of ID theft cases require attorneys to solve problems, we include that as well as up to 5 other valuable services for less than $1 per day. 11) ONE membership covers your WHOLE FAMILY - husband, wife (or significant other), and never married dependent children up to age 21, never married dependent students up to age 23, and physically or mentally handicapped dependent children for life. We put no limit on the attorney hours used or the hours used by the detectives. All is covered by our membership as long as the ID theft occurs AFTER the inception of the membership. If you are a victim now, we will still help you but there are additional fees. 12) We give you Peace of Mind, knowing ALL data bases are checked and corrected - not just financial. Our goal is to catch the thieves and right your life, within 90 days. Email me for details. Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. is a New York Stock Exchange traded company, symbol PPD. Check us out - the more you look, the better Pre-Paid Legal and Identity Theft Shield looks!

3. Joe Says:
   August 20th, 2008 at 7:14 pm
   Hi Jeryl,

   Thank you very much for your comment.

   What does Identity Theft Shield do to mitigate the risk of becoming an identity theft victim in the first place? From our research, it appears to do nothing. You can say, as many PrePaid Legal associates do, that there is no way to prevent identity theft and therefore there is no need to provide any type of preventative measures or early warning systems beyond credit report monitoring. However, that simply is not a good response.

   We have said repeatedly that Identity Theft Shield recovery and restoration services are very good. However, Identity Theft Shield did not perform as well as some of the other services that we reviewed because it simply does nothing to help limit the chance that subscribers will be victimized.

   Thank you,

   Joe Fahrner
   NextAdvisor.com

4. Jeryl Reinbolt Says:
   November 8th, 2008 at 9:42 pm

   Dear Joe,
   My apologies for not getting right back to you. What we do to mitigate IDT is this:
   1) We order a credit report for our customers, plus score, from Experian. It’s also available for all 3 credit repositories for an extra $2.
   2) We then monitor the report literally minute by minute. If there is ANYTHING that changes on the report - new account activity, derogatory reports, such as liens on property, delinquent accounts, etc. the customer is notified. We even notify them if there is an address change. Notifications are also received if anyone applies for credit in a customer’s name. An “all clear” email is sent at the end of each month that there is nothing new reported.

   In the course of studying for my CITRMS (Certified Identity Theft Risk Management Specialist) certification through the Institute of Fraud Risk Management, Inc., I discovered that according to the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) that identity theft absolutely is unpreventable since we live in the information age of computers. Everyone has 5 identities: Drivers License, Social Security, Medical, Character & Criminal, and Financial. Financial identity theft is only 26% of the problem and is the easiest to fix. Organized crime, largely the drug trade, benefits from selling a persons character identity multiple times. An adult’s identity is worth $65 on the street. A thief can only spend your money once, but he can sell your identity multiple times.

   According to the latest statistics from the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, 244,000,000 records of America’s 300,000,000 residents have been stolen by identity thieves. That is why the FTC claims that 1 out of 2 families could be victimized in the next 12 to 14 months. According to the FTC, it is irresponsible and dangerous to make claims that ANYONE can absolutely prevent identity theft. Reasonable measures by companies and individuals can & should be taken. However, much of the problem lies with the fact that federal and state court records are posted on the internet, including marriage license data, mortgage data, drivers license data, school records, military records, criminal records, etc., etc. You don’t have to do business online to be vulnerable. The agencies and businesses we do business with are online and so are their customer data bases.

   I saw an article a few days ago that Lifelock was getting sued by Experian because of the trouble it causes as an attempt to prevent identity theft, by placing freezes on everyone’s credit. Not even the consumer can use his own credit when that happens. Creates more problems than it solves.

   Again, Identity Theft Shield from Kroll and PrePaid Legal, is the ONLY product that employs LICENSED private investigators who are real professionals, and who will stay on the job no matter how long it takes, to RESTORE your identity (their goal is within 90 days) without the big bill. They do all the work for the client. No lost time off from work. They run down every data base where we are exposed, including drivers license, social security, medical, character & criminal, and of course, financial. Kroll has been doing this for over 30 years, and they are international. They have offices in 19 foreign countries and they are Safe Harbor Compliant. Their jurisdiction does not stop at America’s borders. Oftentimes, identity theft is international. Simply put, they have the teeth, structure, and organization to get real results. The Department of Homeland Security employs Kroll to do the background checks of all the security people in airports across America.

   The plan covers you and your spouse or significant other for $9.95 as an add-on to PrePaid Legal membership (not $9.95 apiece), or $12 as a stand-a-lone. Another huge advantage is the alliance with Pre-Paid Legal to solve identity theft problems. 70 to 80% of identity theft cases are also legal cases. For less than $1 a day, you have Kroll’s Identity Theft Sheild, plus access to a national network of the finest attorneys in the country. When identity theft crosses state lines, as it frequently does, there is help in every state. And all without the huge bill. And, the service is month to month - no contracts!

   Joe, did you check out any of the information I sent you in my first email? About the book, Silent Crime, and conclusions by its authors? Did you look at the credentials of the authors? Did you know that PrePaid Legal Services, Inc. is endorsed by attorney generals in several states, the past president of the American Bar Association, the sitting president of the National Chamber of Commerce and the national Black Chamber of Commerce? Did you know we have been named on Forbes Magazine’s list of the top 200 companies in Amercia, for the 2nd consecutive year? We are 36 years old, and the 33rd fastest growing company on the NYSE. Kroll is also a NYSE listed company.

   Please contact me by email at jreinbolt@prepaidlegal.com with any questions. My web-site is http://www.prepaidlegal.com/hub/jreinbolt.

   Thank you,

   Jeryl Reinbolt
   Identity Theft Specialist
   Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc.

5. Joe Says:
   November 9th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
   Hi Jeryl,

   Access to a three bureau credit report and credit report monitoring does very little, if anything, to mitigate the risk of being victimized by an identity thief since potentially fraudulent activity only shows up on a credit report after it has already occurred.

   Credit report monitoring is one of many effective tools available to consumers to detect identity theft, but it is not a preventative measure by any means.

   Thanks,
   Joe Fahrner
   NextAdvisor.com

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