Woman gets (fake) tattoo of Facebook friends

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June 8th, 2011 - Posted by Sarah

We couldn't let this news pass by without commenting. This woman has 152 Facebook friends, and she took video showing her getting a sleeve tattoo of profile picture thumbnails of every single one. Although it turned out to be nothing more than an advertising stunt, such a tattoo could raise some serious questions. She claimed to have gotten the permission of all of her friends, but could having your face on somebody's body put your identity at risk?

We say probably not, in this case. The images are pretty small, and no names are given. The biggest problem anyone might have with this tattoo is its lack of clarity!

Congressman Weiner reminds us to keep our info safe!

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June 6th, 2011 - Posted by Sarah

Another great tip learned from Rep. Weiner: Never take compromising photos of yourself, and definitely never send them to anyone!

So it turns out that Representative Anthony Weiner's (D-New York) Twitter photo scandal wasn't a hack after all. But let it still be a reminder to keep your confidential information safe with identity theft protection services and to change your password!

What information do I need to give for identity theft protection? How quickly can it be activated?

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April 5th, 2011 - Posted by Sarah

The following is an actual user-submitted question:

Q. What information do I need to give for identity theft protection? How quickly can it be activated?

A. Most identity theft protection services, including top-rated Identity Guard Total Protection, Trusted ID, and LifeLock, require similar information: first and last name, full street address (with state and ZIP code), phone number, date of birth, Social Security number, and email address. If you haven't lived at your current address for at least the past six months, you will need to provide your previous address.

You will also need to give your credit card information; even though most companies offer a free trial, they need to start billing you after that trial period has passed unless you cancel the service.

Each service takes a different amount of time to kick in. For example, both Identity Guard Total Protection and Trusted ID begin as soon as you sign up, but others, such as Protect My ID, require more time for parts of the service — the credit monitoring can begin immediately, but the account protection depends on when you enter that information for the accounts and how long it takes to verify.

Reader Question: What service is best for protecting my identity and monitoring my credit?

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July 10th, 2008 - Posted by Joe

Q: I would like to monitor my credit and make sure my identity is protected as well. Which service is best for me?

A: If you want to protect your identity and get access to your credit report and score, then Identity Guard is likely the best service for you.

There are two types of identity theft protection services that we have reviewed. First are preventative services, such as LifeLock, which take steps to actively prevent identity theft. Preventative services typically use tools like credit report fraud alerts to catch identity thieves in the act.

The second type of identity theft protection providers we have reviewed are detection services. Detection based services monitor your credit report, and sometimes other databases, and will alert you to suspicious activity that may be the work of an identity thief. Many of the detection based identity theft protection services we have reviewed will also provide subscribers with access to credit report data from one or all of the credit bureaus.

Identity Guard is the best of the detection based identity theft protection services we have reviewed. It actively monitors your credit report from all three credit bureaus, as well as thousands of other databases. If any suspicious activity is found, you will be automatically notified by email. This service also provides you with your credit report and score from each of the three credit bureaus every quarter.

New subscribers also receive a free copy of ZoneAlarm's Internet security software, which includes several tools that will keep your PC and identity safe online. Plus, it comes with a free 30 day trial so that you can try it out without any risk.

You can learn more about credit report monitoring and identity theft protection by visiting the appropriate section of our site.

Identity Guard Good Start review launched on NextAdvisor.com

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February 28th, 2008 - Posted by Joe

Identity Guard's Level 4 Protection service has been a five star rated service provider on our identity theft prevention service guide since we launched it last year.  We are now happy to announce that we have completed a review of ID Guard's "Good Start" service which has also garnered a five star review.

Good Start is similiar to Level 4 and other top rated services, such as LifeLock, in that it offers extensive proactive identity theft protection features such as fraud alerts for each of the three major credit bureaus.  Good Start also offers a unique benefit in credit monitoring of your Equifax credit file and at only $4.99 it is the cheapest identity theft protection service on the market.

That bargain price does comes with slightly fewer "frills" than many of the other identity theft protection services we have reviewed.  For example, Identity Guard Good Start does not include additional benefits such as mail list removal, free credit reports or identity theft insurance.

That being said, it is definitely the cheapest way to get high quality preventative identity theft protection with credit report monitoring.  We think it is a great service and highly recommend it to our readers.  You can learn more about Identity Guard Good Start by reading our full review.