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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
How to get a new Social Security Card
The following post in our Reader Question series is an actual user submitted question:
Q: How do I get another social security card?
A: If you have lost your social security card and need another one, you can get a free replacement. The social security office limits the number of replacement cards they will issue [...]
419 scams double, over $9 billion in profits
Robert Siciliano is a NextAdvisor.com Expert Guest Blogger
A recent study by Dutch investigation firm Ultrascan shows we are half as smart (or twice as dumb) as we were in 2008, as advanced fee scams, a.k.a. 419 scams, doubled in losses to over $9 billion. 419 Advance Fee Fraud Statistics 2009 (PDF)
It is believed that while [...]
Criminal hackers buying and selling hacked accounts
Robert Siciliano is a NextAdvisor.com Expert Guest Blogger.
Malicious software, designed to gather usernames and passwords, has been a boon to the criminal hacking community. Spyware, as it?s commonly known, records almost everything a user does on their PC. The most damaging spyware records all electronic communications via a web browser. That?s where the most damage [...]
Baby boomers guilty of oversharing on Facebook
A new study from Experian concludes that adults over the age of 45 share too much information online. The credit score reporting company completed a study of 1,052 men and women, analyzing their behavior on social networks. The study found that "14 percent of adults – and 20 percent of those age 60 and over [...]
What protection is available once your identity has been stolen?
The following post in our Reader Question series is an actual user submitted question:
Q: I would like to get information on what protection is available for a person who identity is already stolen and is being attempted to be used. I was wondering about instant alerts any time my name or credit is trying to [...]
The New York Times ponders the plight of the Internet user
In this day and age, even the Fashion & Style section of The New York Times is worried about Internet security issues. This weekend, the Times recounted the experiences of Allan Goldstein, a 60 year old college professor who uses the Internet, but does so a bit nervously. He worries that NYU's online system will [...]
Connecticut sues Health Net for data breach
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has filed a lawsuit against Health Net for HIPPA violations in the wake of a data breach. Last May, Health Net discovered that a portable disk drive containing confidential health information, Social Security numbers, and bank account numbers of nearly half a million past and present enrollees had disappeared. The [...]
Chinese hackers target Google and Google users
Yesterday, Google released information about a "highly sophisticated and targeted attack on [Google's] corporate infrastructure originating from China that resulted in the theft of intellectual property from Google." The attack also targeted at least twenty other large companies, and the hackers seem to have been specifically interested in accessing the Gmail accounts of Chinese human [...]
Data Breach Alert: Facebook application developer RockYou failed to protect data
RockYou is a company that develops applications for Facebook, MySpace, and a number of other popular social networking websites. It's the second biggest application developer for Facebook after Zynga, which recently made headlines for its "scammy" offers. Last month, RockYou fell victim to an SQL injection attack, in which a hacker or hackers successfully accessed [...]
International hacker pleads guilty
In August, Albert Gonzalez was indicted for his role as ringleader of a massive hacking operation targeting Heartland Payment Systems, 7-11, and supermarket chain Hannaford Brothers. The hack resulted in the theft of data for more than 130 million credit and debit cards. Authorities have called it the largest identity fraud scam in U.S. history.
Gonzalez [...]
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