Identity Guard adds 30 day free trial and free ZoneAlarm software

Posted by Joe on June 23rd, 2008

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Identity Guard, one of our five star rated identity theft protection services, has significantly improved their service by adding a 30 day free trial and the enhanced protection of ZoneAlarm Internet security software. These new features enhance their extensive identity theft detection tools such as three bureau credit report monitoring, access to all three credit reports and scores, fraud monitoring across dozens of databases and $20,000 in identity theft insurance in the unfortunate case that a subscriber is victimized.

While Identity Guard has long offered new subscribers a free second month, this new free trial allows consumers to truly try before they buy and make sure that the Identity Guard service is right for them. New identity Guard subscribers that cancel their subscription before the end of the 30 day free trial period will not be charged any fees at all.

Additionally, Identity Guard has added a free subscription to ZoneAlarm Internet security software with ongoing subscription to their identity theft protection service. We have found that many consumers don’t realize just how big of a threat the Internet can be to their identity. Many criminals use malicious computer viruses, email and phishing scams to gain access to personal information that can be used to perpetrated identity theft. Identity Guard is offering a truly comprehensive online and offline identity theft protection service by pairing their core product with the protection of ZoneAlarm.

We have reviewed ZoneAlarm as part of our Internet Security Software comparison and found it to be an amazingly effective tool at stopping the many dangers that face consumers and their computers while using the Internet.

We continue to strongly recommend Identity Guard for most consumers. learn more about Identity Guard and other identity theft protection services by visiting our guide to identity theft protection services.

• Identity Guard provides extensive identity theft protection and detection
• Reader Question: How much do credit report monitoring services cost?
• Identity Theft Shield from Kroll and Pre-Paid Legal Review
• Identity Guard Good Start review launched on NextAdvisor.com
• Reader Question: Are credit bureau fraud alerts still available?

Identity Theft Shield from Kroll and Pre-Paid Legal Review

Posted by Joe on June 18th, 2008

We receive dozens of emails each month asking for our opinion on Identity Theft Shield, an identity theft protection service created by Kroll, Inc and distributed by thousands of independent representatives of the network marketing firm Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. We have reviewed Identity Theft Shield and found that it offers solid identity theft recovery support for victims but takes no steps to protect their subscribers from having their identities stolen in the first place.

Identity Theft Shield offers single bureau credit report monitoring of your Experian credit file for $9.95 per month which also includes a free Experian credit report and score at sign up. Experian is the largest of the three credit bureaus and will likely reflect most major changes to your credit report, but we believe that three bureau credit monitoring is a better option since it eliminates the risk that a potentially fraudulent account or entry may not show up on your Experian credit report but end up on one of the other two bureau files in your name. Identity Theft Shield also offers a Gold package which includes credit report monitoring of all three bureaus, including Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, for $12.95. The Gold package also includes a credit report from each of the three credit bureaus at sign up.

Credit report monitoring is a good tool to help identify inconsistencies in your credit report which could be caused by identity thieves, but it doesn’t prevent identity theft in any way. Other services we have reviewed, such as LifeLock, Identity Guard, Identity Truth and Trusted ID, take proactive measures to prevent identity theft crimes from being perpetrated against their subscribers. Identity Theft Shield, on the other hand, offers no tools that actually prevent identity theft.

Identity Theft Shield does offer extensive recovery services to their subscribers if they are the unfortunate victims of identity theft. Identity Theft Shield sets fraud alerts and sends notifications to all applicable government agencies and financial institutions on behalf of the victimized subscriber. They also monitor an extensive list of public and private databases in an effort to identify any misuse of a subscriber’s personal information. Identity Theft Shield’s recovery services also help reduce some out-of-pocket expenses and their fraud resolution specialists are able to handle much of the heavy lifting when it comes to recovering a stolen identity.

Setting fraud alerts and proactively searching national databases for suspicious activity are both great services for victims, but they are also extremely effective in preventing and identifying potential identity theft crimes. In fact, many of the other services we have reviewed offer these tools to all subscribers as preventative measures rather than after a crime has already been committed as identity Theft Shield does.

The lack of proactive identity theft prevention measures is the biggest downside to the Identity Theft Shield service. We do believe that it is a good service for victims, but many of the solutions they offer to help recover a stolen identity are used by other identity theft protection services to actually prevent identity theft in the first place.

We would suggest LifeLock or Identity Guard over Identity Theft Shield for most consumers. Both services received five stars on our comparison of identity theft protection services and, in our opinion, both deliver more extensive levels of service than Identity Theft Shield.

LifeLock offers proactive identity theft protection by setting fraud alerts on your credit file, monitoring the Internet for unauthorized use of your personal information and alerting you if anyone attempts to reroute your postal mail in an attempt to gain access to sensitive correspondence such as financial records. They also provide a fairly extensive service guarantee which will cover most costs and all the heavy lifting related to recovering your identity if it is stolen while you are a LifeLock member. This guarantee does have its limitations, which we have previously analyzed, but overall we feel that LifeLock is a more complete identity theft protection solution than Identity Theft Shield.

Identity Guard is another option, particularly if credit report monitoring is important to you. They provide 24/7 credit report monitoring of all three credit bureaus and quarterly access to your credit report from Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Identity Guard also offers a series of advanced tools which help prevent and/or identify any unauthorized uses of your personal information. Plus, Identity Guard offers a $20,000 insurance policy which covers many costs in the case you that a subscriber fails victim to identity theft.

You can sign up for LifeLock and Identity Guard online or over the phone and both services offer a 30 day free trial of their product. Identity Theft Shield does not offer a free trial and can only be purchased by contacting a Pre-Paid Legal independent sales representative.

Please visit our identity theft protection service comparison to learn more about these identity theft protection services.

• Kroll Identity Theft Shield identity theft protection service review
• Data Breach Alert: Blue-Cross notifies thousands of of identity theft concerns
• Identity Guard provides extensive identity theft protection and detection
• NextAdvisor reviews Identity Truth
• Reader Question: Are credit bureau fraud alerts still available?

Reader Question: How much do credit report monitoring services cost?

Posted by Joe on June 4th, 2008

Q: I see that most of the credit reporting monitoring services on your website offer a free trial. How much do they cost after the free trial is over?

A: While free trial periods are great to evaluate whether or not a particular credit report monitoring service is a fit for your life, it is important to realize that once the trial period is over you will have to live with the monthly fee.

Below is a list of the free trial periods and monthly fees of the top five credit report monitoring services we have reviewed. We have also included information on what credit report and score data you receive when you sign up. This is important because in almost all cases you get to keep the initial credit report and score information your receive during your free trial.

Equifax offers a 30 day free trial and costs $14.95 per month thereafter. Upon sign up you will receive a free FICO score and free 3-bureau credit report which are yours to keep even if you decide to cancel during the free trial period.

CreditCheck Total offers a 7 day free trial and costs $14.95 per month thereafter. Upon sign up you will receive free reports and scores from all three credit bureaus which are yours to keep even if you decide to cancel during the free trial period.

Identity Guard does not offer a free trial, but will give you your second month for free. The ongoing monthly fee is $11.99. Upon sign up you will receive free reports and scores from all three credit bureaus.

FreeCreditReport.com offers a 7 day free trial and costs $12 per month thereafter. Upon sign up you will receive a free Experian credit report and score which are yours to keep even if you decide to cancel during the free trial period.

Privacy Matters 123 offers a 7 day free trial and costs $19.95 per month thereafter. Upon sign up you will receive free reports and scores from all three credit bureaus which are yours to keep even if you decide to cancel during the free trial period.

To learn more about credit report monitoring services visit our credit report monitoring service reviews and comparison.

• Reader Question: Am I entitled to a free credit report each year?
• Equifax offers free 3-in-1 credit report and 3 bureau credit report monitoring
• FreeCreditReport.com offers 30 day trial of the cheapest three bureau credit monitoring service
• Reader Question: How do I get my FICO score for free?
• NextAdvisor.com credit report monitoring comparison featured in the Wall Street Journal Online

Reader Question: Are credit bureau fraud alerts still available?

Posted by Joe on April 1st, 2008

This post is another in our ongoing series of “Reader Questions”. if you have a question of your own on any of the services we cover please use our contact form to let us know.

Q:With respect to the Identity Theft company comparisons that you provide, Identity Guard states the following during an enrollment process:

As of April 2, 2008, the Credit Bureau Fraud Alert feature will no longer be offered through your Identity Guard service.

It seems to me that without this important feature, they are no longer worth the higher cost of $14.99 cost per month.

Have the other services such as LifeLock also discontinued this feature?

A: You are correct in that Identity Guard is in the process of discontinuing their fraud alert feature. They are the only service that we are aware of that is planning to discontinue fraud alerts. LifeLock most certainly still allows their members to set fraud alerts as a part of their identity theft protection service.

Identity Guard will continue to provide three bureau credit report monitoring that will allow you to monitor chanegs to your credit report with Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. This is a service that LifeLock does not provide, although LifeLock will give you one free credit report per year as part of the annual credit report program.

If fraud alerts are important to you, and we feel that fraud alerts are a very important part of preventative identity theft protection, then LifeLock is the best service from our perspective.

• NextAdvisor reviews Identity Truth
• Reader Question: How do I set a fraud alert on my credit report?
• Reader Question: What should I do if I think I have been a victim of identity theft?
• Identity Theft Shield from Kroll and Pre-Paid Legal Review
• Identity Guard provides extensive identity theft protection and detection

Identity Guard Good Start review launched on NextAdvisor.com

Posted by Joe on February 28th, 2008

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.

• Identity Guard adds 30 day free trial and free ZoneAlarm software
• Kroll Identity Theft Shield identity theft protection service review
• NextAdvisor reviews Identity Truth
• Identity Theft Shield from Kroll and Pre-Paid Legal Review
• Identity Guard provides extensive identity theft protection and detection

Is your state putting your identity at risk?

Posted by Joe on February 19th, 2008

Major data breaches continue to occur at an alarming rate and identity theft is on the rise but eleven US states still have no formal data breach disclosure laws on the books. This lack of legislation could be putting residents at a higher risk of falling victim to identity thieves.
California was the first state to enact laws that spelled out how companies must disclose data breaches to impacted consumers. The ground breaking law, known as the California Information Practice Act or Senate Bill 1386, requires any company that stores the personal information of California residents to notify those consumers if their data has been or may have been exposed. Personal information includes things like your name, credit card numbers, social security number, account numbers or PINs.
Thirty-seven other states have followed California’s lead and passed data breach related policies that require similar disclosure to protect the residents of their states. However, New Mexico, South Dakota, Iowa, Missouri, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi and Alaska still have no disclosure requirements in place to protect consumers.

A twelfth state, Oklahoma, only requires disclosure by government agencies and not private companies in a the case of exposure of personal information. Therefore, the protections to Oklahomans are significantly limited.

It is unclear why these states aren’t moving more aggressively to protect their residents. However, it is clear that the most important things for consumers that are impacted in a data breach to to have quick and complete disclosure so that they can take steps to safeguard their identity from thieves.

We strongly believe that the best way to protect yourself from identity theft is by using a proactive identity theft protection service such as LifeLock or Identity Guard. You can read more about identity theft prevention and protection in our identity theft protection service comparison and reviews at NextAdvisor.com.

• Napa, California named worst town for identity theft
• California identity theft protection guide: facts, trends and resources
• Data Breach Alert: Thousands of California students at risk for identity theft
• How does your state credit score rate?
• Arizona identity theft protection guide: facts, trends and resources

Your new Facebook friend just stole your identity

Posted by Joe on February 5th, 2008

A recent study by online security firm Sophos found that an estimated 41% of all Facebook users are willing to give personal information to a stranger that could result in some form of identity theft.

Sophos created a fake Facebook profile and then attempted to “connect” with other users of the popular social network. 41% of the existing Facebook users that were approached confided some form of personal information to Sophos.

• 72% of respondents divulged one or more email address
• 84% of respondents listed their full date of birth
• 87% of respondents provided details about their education or workplace
• 78% of respondents listed their current address or location
• 23% of respondents listed their current phone number
• 26% of respondents provided their instant messaging screenname

Direct access to this type of information by individuals with malicious intent could leave these Facebook users open to some form of identity theft.

Identity theft is a real danger both off-line and online and it is important for people to use the same best practices to help protect their identity. It is a good idea to limit the amount of your personal information that is available on the web. A good rule of thumb is to not expose any information on the Internet that you wouldn’t provide to a stranger you bumped into on the street.

As the popularity of social networks grows and more and more consumer information is available on the web, we feel that it is more important than ever that consumers utilize the services of an identity theft protection service such as LifeLock or ID Guard. You can learn more about identity theft protection at nextadvisor.com.

• Facebook phishing scams increase risk of identity theft on the popular social network
• Facebook moves to protect users in partnership with 49 states
• Facebook Identity Theft Protection Guide: 6 tips to protect your identity on Facebook
• Facebook security flaw exposes personal information
• How to report a fake profile page on Facebook

Identity Guard provides extensive identity theft protection and detection

Posted by Joe on January 8th, 2008

Identity Guard Total Protection is by far the most comprehensive identity theft product and really lives up to its Total Protection moniker. It’s the only service that offers both identity theft protection and detection. Plus, it has the most extensive fraud monitoring we’ve found and offers them all at a great price, just $14.99 per month plus one month free (this special deal is only available through our site). Identity theft detection services help to detect that you have become a victim of identity theft by monitoring your credit file at all 3 credit bureaus. Identity theft protection services aim to stop identity theft from happening in the first place by setting fraud alerts on your credit file at all 3 credit bureaus, meaning a lender must take the extra step of calling you to verify your identity before processing a new application from you. If you are very concerned about identity theft or at least mildly concerned and also want to keep tabs on your credit and credit scores, we recommend you get both types of services, and Identity Guard Total Protection is the only service that offers both in one package. Identity Guard Total Protection is not only a great fraud prevention service, but is also a credit monitoring service on steroids. Like many credit monitoring services, it completes daily scans of all 3 of your credit files and notifies you of any changes. It also gives you all 3 of your credit reports and all 3 of your credit scores every quarter. Identity Guard goes far beyond other credit monitoring services in detecting identity theft by also monitoring public records for any changes in your name, scanning for application or social security fraud, and monitoring the internet’s black market for any use of your credit cards. If anything is found, they will alert you by e-mail immediately. Additionally, they provide card registration services to help you in case your wallet gets lost or stolen. Finally, if you are not all that concerned about identity theft or don’t want to have to be contacted when you apply for new credit, you have the option to turn fraud alerts off with Identity Guard or never turn them on and still enjoy all the other great services they offer. The only thing Identity Guard Total Protection doesn’t do is remove you from junk mail lists, but you can do that yourself for free and it more than makes up for it with all its other great services.

The signup process is relatively quick - you will go through a short series of screens asking you for information, including payment information. To verify your identity, you will be asked for your social security number, date of birth, and the answers to 5 multiple-choice questions of information in your file. By default, the credit reports and alerts are available online and through e-mail. If you want hard copies mailed to you however, you can call their customer service number and get them at no extra charge. Your subscription includes access to a very useful credit analyzer. You can try out different scenarios, such as paying off your credit card by a certain amount or opening up a new loan, to see how your credit score will be affected. If you are monitoring your credit, this analyzer can help you to make the best choices to raise your credit score. In the event of a credit card theft, you can report the incident to Identity Guard and they will handle all the details for you, including reporting the cards as stolen and getting new cards issued to you. Identity Guard offers generous customer service phone hours (8am-11pm M-F and 9a-6p Sat) as well as postal mail and e-mail contact methods. When we tried contacting them, a customer service representative answered almost immediately, and was able to provide useful advice about the service. Reporting for lost or stolen cards can be done on the phone or through your account, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you like this service but are looking for a cheaper alternative, you may want to try another Identity Guard service, Extra Caution, that is just $11.99 per month ($3 per month cheaper)plus one month free when ordered through this link. It has all the same services as Total Protection except for public record reporting and scanning for application and social security fraud. For those really serious about identity theft protection, though, Total Protection is the best service you will find.

• Unlimited credit reports and scores from all 3 bureaus with CreditCheck Total
• Identity Guard Good Start review launched on NextAdvisor.com
• Reader Question: Are credit bureau fraud alerts still available?
• NextAdvisor reviews Identity Truth
• Identity Guard adds 30 day free trial and free ZoneAlarm software

TJ Maxx may have know about identity theft threat two months earlier than reported

Posted by Joe on December 20th, 2007

You may remember the massive data breach by TJX, the parent company of popular retail store TJ Maxx, Bob’s Stores, HomeGoods, Marshalls, and A.J. Wright, last year which exposed thousands of consumers to potential identity theft. The full extent of the breach is still unknow, but new information is coming to light that suggests that TJX may have known about the risk of identity theft several months before they notified the government and consumers.

The company officially released information regarding the data breach at their stores in mid November of 2006. But, an attorney involved with the matter recently mad statements in a court proceeding that TJX may have known about the breach as early as October 3, 2006- two months earlier.

It is hard to know whether or not the claim that TJX knew of the breach nearly two months before information was released to the public are accurate or not, but it definitely underscores the importance of consumers being proactive with identity theft protection.

As always, we strongly suggest that consumers arm themselves with an identity theft protection service such as LifeLock, Identity Guard or TrustedID. Read our in-depth identity theft prevention service reviews and comparisons to learn more.

• TJ Maxx parent company offers 15% off to victims of massive data breach
• TJ Maxx to send follow up fraud alert letters to victims
• Data Breach Alert: Millions at risk for identity theft due to supermarket chain data breach
• Data Breach Alert: Auto parts retailer exposes tens of thousands
• Data Breach Alert: Theft puts 13,000 Pfizer employees at risk