Anyone use identity theft protection services?

[gsganzer]

A topic that came up on one of the threads got me thinking about identity theft protection services. It seems like the crooks are getting better and better with their scams and in the digital age, your info is just about everywhere anyway. I do a fair amount of traveling and I have to cancel my business credit card about once a year, because it gets scammed. Fortunately, I use Wells Fargo and they seem to have a pretty good fraud detection system as they usually notify me first that some attempts were made to use my card. I saw a thing on TV the other week, warning about scams on house titles too.

I was working with a guy a few weeks back that said he had his identity stolen and it was the biggest pain to get unraveled. He said he wouldn't wish it on anybody.

Anyway, has anyone used one of the identity theft protection services? Just in a quick Google, I did some research and they're not cheap, running about $20- $30/month or more.

Anybody want to weigh in on their experiences with identity theft, the need for a protection service and their experiences with the different providers/services offered?

 

[Racenut]

I asked around, nobody wants to be me

 

[bmg88201]

I use a service call “My ID Care”. They monitor my SSN, phone #, any changes to my address, bank account #’s, health insurance card #’s , credit score companies. Also my credit cards co’s notify me immediately when a charge is made via a text and email, most of the time before I even leave the store. Also they monitor payday loan co’s in case my info shows up there. They even notify me if a sex offender moves into my area and lists there name and address.
Bottom line is I can’t stop somebody in Jamaica or Russia from making a fraudulent me, but what I can do is protect my money.

 

[Herness]

We are with Blink Home security service for a while now, cause i think it is easier to prevent the theft then to deal with the consequences. Their customer service is always available here when we need them. Otherwise we would have already many unpleasant situations.

 

[JasperFrank]

They are not identity protection services. They are after the fact prepaid lawyer services to disassociate your self from the identity stealer and will have an expenditure cap, if you read the fine print. They do NOT protect you from the person that stole your identity in the first place. They intervene on your behalf, to any vendor that the ID thief has used, to establish that in fact, you are not the bad actor. Its not a preventative system or a shield from the initial ID theft.

 

[Complete Turf Care]

I have lived through the identity theft nightmare. Here is a thread I started when it happened to me. Identity theft. What a nightmare

I have not had any issues since then, but I did spend many hours on the phone with Quickbooks and my bank trying to get it all sorted out. I have several things in place now to safeguard. One thing is a virus protection software on all my devices. It can be a pain sometimes because it causes delays in most online stuff I do, but I feel better having it.

 

[Hughman]

Just freeze your credit with the three credit reporting agencies.

 

[masscity]

I have LifeLock, they monitor my bank account, credit cards and the credit monitor agencies.

In 2018 I was buying a Silverado, I was going to pay cash, but they talked me into taking a loan and save me a $1000. As I was signing the paper work I got a call from LifeLock that someone just accessed TransUnion for a credit check.

I had a lock on all three credit monitoring agencies, but opened up TransUnion for 1 week. I've had LifeLock for many years now and like it.

 

[bmg88201]

In my recent post I said I use a service called “My ID Care”. Two weeks ago they notified me that they found my SS#on the dark web being used to open a bank account in Albuquerque. I immediately called SSA and had a deposit block on my account where my check cannot be routed to a new account. I put an alert on with the credit bureaus. I contacted my bank to alert me for any transfer of money or withdraws over $1. I now get a text and a email every time for a transaction of a $1 or more. My credit cards text me the moment my card is used for a $1 or more. We live in a broken evil world. Like I said before, I can’t stop some scumbag from making a new fraudulent me, but what I can do is protect my money. If some dirtbag scams a bank or loan office for money in my name, oh well it ain’t on me. I’m out no money and the institution can pursue the incident.