What if a teenager loses his wallet?

Posted by Caitlin on November 9th, 2009

The following post in our Reader Question series is an actual user submitted question.

Q: If someone who has just turned 18 and has no prior credit history loses his wallet, what can he do to prevent someone using his driver's license to open up new accounts in his name? Would it do him any good to contact the credit bureaus, or are they only an available resource for people with credit histories?

A: A credit report is not created until you open your first line of credit. And if you do not have a credit report, it is not possible to set a fraud alert. Since the young man in this particular case is now over 18, he should request his own credit reports from all three bureaus in order to confirm that no fraudulent accounts have been opened in his name. He may also find that he does, in fact, have a short but legitimate credit report already, perhaps due to a gym membership, DVD rental card, or student loan. If so, he can set fraud alerts or freeze his credit file to prevent new accounts from being opened in his name.

If he truly has no credit file whatsoever and wishes to set fraud alerts or freeze his credit, he would first need to apply for some form of credit, such as a credit card. In order to acquire his first credit card, he may need a cosigner.

However, whether or not this young man has an existing credit file, he could subscribe to a credit report monitoring or identity theft service, which would immediately alert him to any suspicious activity. You can check out our reviews, comparison charts, and frequently asked questions to learn more about credit report monitoring or identity theft protection services. You may also be interested in our Student Identity Theft Protection Guide.

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Will someone act on my behalf if my identity is stolen?

Posted by Caitlin on April 29th, 2009

The following post in our Reader Question series is an actual user submitted question. To maintain the integrity of the original question, we do not edit or change reader questions in any way.

Q: Do any of the identity theft protection companies you feature offer an advocates service if my identity is compromised or stolen? Will someone be assigned to act on my behalf with creditors, banks, retailers, etc to work through rectification?

A: Yes. If you subscribe to an identity theft protection service and you subsequently become a victim of identity theft, recovery experts will advice you on your options and leverage their network of resources in order to help restore your identity. Most of the identity theft protection services reviewed on NextAdvisor.com guarantee a certain amount of money, usually up to $1,000,000, to cover the costs associated with restoring your identity. Each 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 case that a subscriber does become a victim.

To learn more about identity theft protection services, see our reviews and comparison chart.

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Does TrustedID cover legal costs to restore your identity?

Posted by Caitlin on April 16th, 2009

The following post in our Reader Question series is an actual user submitted question. To maintain the integrity of the original question, we do not edit or change reader questions in any way.

Q: Does TrustedID also cover legal costs which may occur during the restoration of your identity after ID theft?

A: Yes. TrustedID's identity theft protection service includes a $1,000,000 service warranty, which means that if your identity is stolen, TrustedID will cover many of the costs associated with restoring your identity, up to $1,000,000. This covers certain out of pocket expenses required to recover your identity, including legal fees incurred in the United States, for an attorney who has been approved by TrustedID in writing. TrustedID will also provide you with an on call protection specialist, to walk you though all the steps you need to take in order to prevent further damage to your credit.

To learn more about TrustedID or other identity theft protection services, see our reviews and comparison chart.

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If someone has stolen your identity, do you get the money back?

Posted by Caitlin on April 14th, 2009

The following post in our Reader Question series is an actual user submitted question. To maintain the integrity of the original question, we do not edit or change reader questions in any way.

Q: If someone has stolen your identity, and taken money out of your checking account or charged something using your bank account, do you get the money back?

A: Most of the identity theft protection services reviewed on NextAdvisor.com guarantee a certain amount of money, usually up to $1,000,000, to cover the costs associated with restoring your identity. These guarantees do not, however, cover money that is stolen from your checking account.

It is up to your bank or financial institution to restore money that has been stolen from your accounts. Many banks voluntarily offer zero-liability policies, which means that they are effectively promising to replace any stolen funds. Visa and MasterCard also offer zero-liability policies, which extend to debit cards as well as credit cards. The money in your bank account is also federally protected, to an extent. If your debit card is lost or stolen, your liability is limited to $50.00 in losses, as long as you report the loss to your bank within 2 business days. If you report the loss within 60 calendar days from the time your bank statement is mailed, your liability is limited to $500.00. Federal protections are a bit more generous in the event that your debit card number is stolen, as opposed to the card itself.

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Will LifeLock protect my bank accounts?

Posted by Caitlin on April 13th, 2009

The following post in our Reader Question series is an actual user submitted question. To maintain the integrity of the original question, we do not edit or change reader questions in any way.

Q: I know that LifeLock protects your credit card, Social Security, driver's license, and address changes. But what about my bank accounts? I recently had someone steal money from my bank account.

A: LifeLock will alert you if an identity thief attempts to open any new bank accounts in your name. Unfortunately, since LifeLock relies on information from the three credit bureaus, it cannot prevent or detect what would appear to be normal activity in your existing bank accounts. LifeLock does offer a companion product, WalletLock, that would help you notify all the necessary parties in the event that your wallet, credit and debit cards, driver's license, Social Security card, insurance card or checkbook are lost or stolen.

If your debit card is lost or stolen and you report the loss to your bank within 2 business days, under federal law your liability is limited to $50.00 in losses. If you report the loss within 60 calendar days from the time your bank statement is mailed, your liability is limited to $500.00. If a thief steals your debit card number, rather than the actual card, federal protections are more generous. Many banks voluntarily offer zero-liability policies, as do Visa and MasterCard.

Another of the identity theft protection services we review, TrustedID, offers additional protection by scanning black market websites where identity thieves buy and sell stolen data. If you register your credit and bank account numbers with TrustedID, you'll be alerted immediately in the event that your account information is discovered on the Internet black market.

To learn more about LifeLock, TrustedID and other identity theft protection services, see our reviews and comparison chart.

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If our identity is stolen or compromised, would LifeLock do the paperwork connected to clearing my name/credit?

Posted by Joe on April 8th, 2009

The following post in our Reader Question series is an actual user submitted question. To maintain the integrity of the original question, we do not edit or change reader questions in any way.

Q: If our identity is stolen or compromised, would LifeLock do the paperwork connected to clearing my name/credit?

A: If your identity is stolen or compromised during the time you are an active member of LifeLock, the paperwork connected to clearing your name and credit will be completed for you, as stated in their terms and conditions on LifeLock's website.

According to the Lifelock service guarantee, if your identity is stolen and used without your knowledge, Lifelock will pay a professional of their choosing to restore and/or recover losses up to $1 Million. The $1 Million limit is not per incident, but total for the lifetime of all incidents.

LifeLock subscribers have the obligation to notify the company within 30 days from the point in which they discovered that their identity may have been stolen in order to be fully covered by the guarantee.

To learn more about LifeLock or other identity theft protection service providers, visit our identity theft protection reviews and comparison.

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Should I sign up for identity theft protection right away?

Posted by Caitlin on January 28th, 2009

The following post in our Reader Question series is an actual user submitted question. To maintain the integrity of the original question, we do not edit or change reader questions in any way.

Q: My car was broken into tonight and my purse stolen. I have my driver license, passport, employee ID card and a check book. We canceled our two credit cards. Should I sign up for your [identity theft protection] services right away?

A: Yes, we would strongly encourage you to sign up for an identity theft protection service as soon as possible. Canceling your credit cards was a good start, but a thief could easily use your checkbook to write fraudulent checks. Different banks have different liability policies, so you may or may not be protected in the event that this occurs. If you have not already notified your bank of the theft, you should do so immediately.

With so many of your personal and financial documents, a criminal could also open new accounts in your name. This is one of the most serious risks associated with identity theft. In order to prevent this from occurring, you should contact each of the three credit bureaus and ask them to place a fraud alert or a credit freeze on your credit report.

A fraud alert is an annotation on your credit report that lets potential lenders know that you have reason to believe that you are an identity theft victim. Fraud alerts expire every ninety days and do not automatically renew. You will need to reset fraud alerts every ninety days by contacting each of the credit bureaus directly.

A credit freeze is a more serious measure. It will completely lock down your credit file and ensure that no financial accounts are opened in your name. However, this will also prevent you from opening legitimate financial accounts. There is a small fee in most states for setting a credit freeze.

Here is the contact information for each of the three credit bureaus:

TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; www.transunion.com; Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790

Equifax: 1-800-525-6285; www.equifax.com; P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241

Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742); www.experian.com; P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013

Since you are at an elevated risk for identity theft, you should probably consider an identity theft prevention service such as TrustedID or LifeLock. These services will automatically renew your fraud alerts before they expire, and employ various other monitoring techniques to help prevent identity theft. If you do become a victim, they will help you recover your identity. To learn more about identity theft protection services, see our reviews and comparison chart.

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How do I login to my Identity Guard account?

Posted by Joe on January 21st, 2009

The following post in our Reader Question series is an actual user submitted question. To maintain the integrity of the original question, we do not edit or change reader questions in any way.

Q: I am a member [of Identity Guard], how do I sign on to the member services when I am not on the computer that I signed up with? I need to print my credit reports from a different computer and I can not find a way to the log-in screen.

A: Identity Guard makes it very easy to access your personal information from any computer by using the user ID and password you established when you signed up. Here are the steps to login to your Identity Guard account.

1. Visit the Identity Guard website.
2. Look in the top right hand corner of the website for a button that says "Account Login" and click on it.
3. Enter your user ID and password and click the "Login" button.

If you can't remember your password or user ID:

1. Look for the "Forgot User ID or Password" link above the login box and click on it.
2. You will be directed to the secure forgotten user ID or password page where you can enter your last name, last four digits of your social security number and zip code. Identity Guard will then send you directions on recovering your user ID or password to the email account you used to sign up for your account.

If you don't have access to the email account you used to sign up for the service or have additional questions, you can contact Identity Guard customer support at 1-800-452-2541. Identity Guard representatives are available through that toll free line between 8:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m. EST Monday through Friday and 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. EST Saturday. Other Identity Guard contact information is available on the website.

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Do my husband and I need the Trusted ID family plan?

Posted by Joe on January 20th, 2009

The following post in our Reader Question series is an actual user submitted question. To maintain the integrity of the original question, we do not edit or change reader questions in any way.

Q: I have 2 credit cards. my husband has 3 credit cards and we both have ATM cards. We need the family plan?

A: Trusted ID's family plan is the best option to protect your identity and that of your husband. Trusted ID does not only monitor your credit cards, as you point out above, but it also provides a number of other very important features including:

• Setting and renewing fraud alerts
• Monitoring of the Internet and public records for suspicious activity related to your personal information
• Opt out from pre-approved offers of credit
• Up to $1,000,000 in identity theft insurance
• The exclusive Credit Lock service which allows you to process a credit freeze on your credit reports directly from Trusted ID's web interface

NextAdvisor.com visitors receive an exclusive 15% discount, so the family plan is just $161.49 per year and includes a 30 day free trial. Trusted ID's family plan also covers any other relatives that live in your home, like children and elderly parents.

To learn more about Trusted ID and other identity theft protection services, visit NextAdvisor.com.

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What family members can be included in the Trusted ID family plan?

Posted by Joe on January 19th, 2009

The following post in our Reader Question series is an actual user submitted question. To maintain the integrity of the original question, we do not edit or change reader questions in any way.

Q:  What family members can be included in the same services [with Trusted ID]?

A: Trusted ID's family plan covers any family members that live at your same address.  There is no limit on which family members can be included as long as they live with you.  This makes Trusted ID an excellent option for people that are looking to protect their spouse, children, elderly parents or other family members in addition to themselves.  Trusted ID is our top overall identity theft protection service and the Trusted ID family plan is an exceptional value at just $161.49 after the exclusive 15% discount for NextAdvisor.com readers.

You can learn more about Trusted Id and other identity theft protection services by visiting NextAdvisor.com.

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