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Reader Question: Can identity theft really be prevented?
Posted by Joe on August 6th, 2008
Q: I have heard there is no way to prevent identity theft. Why should I sign up for one of these [identity theft protection] services if that is the case?
A: While there is no way to prevent all identity theft, some identity theft is completely preventable if you take the right precautions.
We see identity theft protection services, such as LifeLock, Identity Guard and Trusted ID, as one of the key ways that many consumers can greatly decrease the risk of many forms of identity theft. Specifically, many of these services can be very effective in preventing financial identity theft, such as new account fraud, which make up the majority of identity theft crimes reported to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) each year.
Identity theft protection services also offer varying degrees of recovery assistance for subscribers, typically in the form of a service guarantee. This recovery assistance may include access to recovery experts, covering costs associated with restoring a stolen identity, interacting with the major credit bureaus and more. Every service approaches identity recovery and restoration differently, so it is important to research each service to understand what it does and does not cover in the unfortunate that a subscriber does become an identity theft victim.
Learn more by visiting our guide to identity theft protection services.
- Identity Theft Shield from Kroll and Pre-Paid Legal Review
- ID Watchdog launches dedicated 24/7 toll free hotline for NextAdvisor.com visitors
- Apple to offer new "Find My iPhone" feature for lost or stolen iPhones
- LifeLock's $1 Million Guarantee – Separating Fact From Fiction
- Reader Question: Which identity theft protection service is best if I've already been victimized?
3 Responses to “Reader Question: Can identity theft really be prevented?”
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August 6th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
There is no way to prevent Identity Theft! From the day we are born until well after we leave this earthly plane, data from and about us is collected and diseminated through endless databases.
Think about it, you go to a doctor, doctors don't bill, they use medical billing agents. Some of those agents work for large companies, some work from home. Whenever either has tech issues, they call their respective computer techs, who has access to all that data.
Then of course we can look at the issue of a thief using your SSN and their name, thereby creating a "new" person-how can you prevent that?
There is simply no effective way for any one to prevent Identity Theft and it's very misleading to suggest that there is. A fraud alert is not going to prevent a thief from getting a drivers license, medical insurance, or a job in my name. Not gonna happen.
August 6th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
Hi Derrick,
Thank you very much for stopping by and adding to the conversation.
I strongly disagree with your comment that there is no way to prevent any form of identity theft. That simply isn't true.
There are certainly some forms of identity theft that cannot be prevented (or at least can't be easily prevented). However, there are certainly some identity theft risks that can be prevented, or at least greatly mitigated, by using identity theft protection services.
Thanks again,
Joe Fahrner
NextAdvisor.com
August 13th, 2008 at 6:06 am
When you buy an alarm system for your house, it does not prevent a thief from breaking in, but it does send an immediate alert to help catch them. That is what identity theft protection services do. No one can prevent someone from taking your information and using illegally, but with a monitoring service, you can catch them quickly and prevent them from causing large amounts of damage. Many times an identity thief has used your information for years before it ever shows up to you. By then, the damage can be overwhelming. Early detection is your best defense. Secure Identity Systems offers total identity monitoring which expands monitoring beyond just credit. It helps to locate if someone uses your information to set up housing or utilities, files a change of address, gets a driver's license, plus it monitors credit. You need to partner with these types of programs and also monitor your own credit reports, bank accounts, and credit card statements. These services also help you resolve issues once identity theft occurs, which takes away much of the stress and cost.