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ID Watchdog Review: Identity Theft Protection |
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| Most straightforward recovery guarantee we have seen; free 30-day trial; to sign up over the phone, call 800-233-1845 | |
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[Editor's Note: ID Watchdog has set up an exclusive toll free number where NextAdvisor.com visitors can speak to an ID Watchdog representative 24 hours a day, seven days a week to ask questions and ensure that they are receiving the best possible deal on the ID Watchdog service. If you are interested in ordering ID Watchdog, we recommend that you call them at 800-233-1845.]
ID Watchdog takes a unique approach to identity theft protection. Instead of monitoring credit reports, ID Watchdog monitors a very long list of public records databases including the Social Security Administration, drivers or pilots licenses, auto, boat or plane registrations, criminal records, Homeland Security watch lists, address or name changes, bankruptcy, liens and other judgments or filings. Each month, ID Watchdog's patent pending technology scours each of these public databases for misuse of your personal information. What makes ID Watchdog unique is that, in theory, their monitoring should catch not only traditional financial identity theft attempts but also things such as employment fraud where a criminal uses your social security number to secure employment. There are many types of identity theft that don't show up on your credit report immediately, or at all, but are likely to be identified by ID Watchdog's monitoring system. Once you sign up for the service and provide them with all of your personal information they will begin the monitoring process. ID Watchdog provides a monthly report which includes a detailed breakdown of all the checks they have run against your identity. If the system finds any potential identity theft then you are alerted and a recovery counselor from ID Watchdog handles all aspects of recovering your identity. ID Watchdog has the most straightforward and extensive recovery guarantee that we have ever seen. There are no limits on how much time or money they will spend to recover your identity if is stolen while you are a member of their service. Their guarantee covers essentially every foreseeable form of identity theft including financial, medical, benefits, employment, criminal, tax or utilities fraud. The only items that the ID watchdog guarantee won't cover are actual reimbursement for financial losses or loss of income related to an identity theft. ID Watchdog claims a 100% success rate in recovering stolen identities and says that most recoveries take three to six months, although some can take up to two years. ID Watchdog does have a few downsides from our perspective. At $19.95 per month, the service is nearly two times as expensive as many other services we have reviewed. Also, while the monitoring is extensive, ID Watchdog doesn't provide any credit report data which is not only useful for detecting identity theft but also helps inform consumers about their overall financial health. We highly recommend ID Watchdog due to the unique approach to detecting identity theft and the 100% recovery guarantee. However, you may want to consider another service if you prefer a more preventative approach to identity theft protection or would like access to credit report data. |
Search our blog archives and frequently asked questions for more information about Identity Theft Protection Services
| Price: | Free 30-day trial; $19.95/mo |
| Fraud Monitoring: | Social Security number, driver's license, vehicle registration, criminal and court records, utilities |
| ID Theft Insurance/ Guarantee: | 100% guarantee; no deductibles or limits |
| Reports Delivered: | None |
| Computer Security: | None |
NextAdvisor Identity Theft Protection Blog Headlines
Copy machines can store your private info
Robert Siciliano is a NextAdvisor.com Expert Guest Blogger
Today, copy machines, fax machines and many printers are just like computers; they?re smart and they have hard drives or flash drives and can store data that can be extracted. Peripherals in the olden days, just like dot-com-heavy stock portfolios, were dumb.
Because of the increased demand of networked [...]
Pay-at-the-Pump Skimming Using Bluetooth
Robert Siciliano is a NextAdvisor.com Expert Guest Blogger
Skimming data off of debit and credit cards has been happening at ATMs, gas pumps and electronic funds transfer point of sale terminals for quite some time.
When criminals plant skimming devices, they have to physically attach a skimming device that fits over the face of the ATM?s card [...]
Hacking humans' naiveté
Robert Siciliano is a NextAdvisor.com Expert Guest Blogger
Naiveté: A lack of sophistication or worldliness. That sums up a lot of people I know. "There's a sucker born every minute" is a phrase often credited to P.T. Barnum (1810 ? 1891), an American showman. It is generally taken to mean that there are (and always will [...]
The $10,000 fake ID
Robert Siciliano is a NextAdvisor.com Expert Guest Blogger
When I was 17, my friend ?Baldo,? as he was known by all, was the Fake ID Master. He also fixed TV?s and still does today. But he didn?t actually create ?fake IDs,? he altered real ones. The technology he used back then is still used today. It?s [...]
Does Identity Guard accept prepaid credit cards for enrollment?
The following is an actual reader submitted question:
Q: Does Identity Guard accept prepaid credit cards for enrollment?
A: Currently, Identity Guard does not accept prepaid credit cards to enroll in their identity theft protection services. They do, however, accept both debit cards and regular (non-prepaid) credit cards. If you don't have a regular credit card, [...]
Assassin or identity theft victim?
Robert Siciliano is a NextAdvisor.com Expert Guest Blogger
The assassination of senior Hamas terrorist Mahmoud al-Mabhouh has made a little buzz in the States, but over in Dubai, as more details become available, it is becoming apparent to some (depending on which side of the wall you live on) that the real assassins stole the identities [...]
How to remove a fake profile from Facebook
The following post in our Reader Question series is an actual user submitted question:
Q: How can I remove a fake profile of myself from Facebook?
A: What can you do if you find out someone has created a fake Facebook profile in your name? This is actually a pretty easy situation to resolve. If [...]
Fostering awareness & improving security education
Robert Siciliano is a NextAdvisor.com Expert Guest Blogger
Financial institutions have the most to gain by improving security education of their clients and employees?and the most to lose if they don't.
A while back I appeared on a local TV show talking about phishing. Amazingly, still, not everyone knows what phishing is. A good friend saw the [...]
Victoria's Secret Miranda Kerr photo scandal has the wrong focus
Who's Dave Kiely? Dave Kiely is an employee at Australia's MacQuarie bank who's become a minor web laughing stock after he was shown looking at nearly-nude photos of a Victoria's Secret model on live TV. How did it happen? It was a familiar scene for a financial broadcast: a banker was being interviewed for a [...]
Targeted injection attacks on the rise
Robert Siciliano is a NextAdvisor.com Expert Guest Blogger
In the latter half of 2009, criminal hackers went from mass SQL injection campaigns to targeted attacks. SQL is abbreviation of Structured Query Language, pronounced ?Ess Que El? or ?Sequel.? The shift in strategy has switched to a focus on high-profile websites, concluded Websense's State of Internet [...]
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