There are “paid” services that claim they will monitor your financial accounts and promise you will not suffer from identity theft; and help you when the worst happens. Are they doing anything over and above what you can do or will be expected to do, under their direction, yourself. Is the offer legitimate? Some protection is automatically provided through your bank, credit card companies, insurance companies, etc. Verify what protection you already have. Nobody can guarantee you won’t experience identity theft. Those services offer identity monitoring and repair — things you can do yourself, for free.
Concern about identity theft has spawned many companies that watch information sources — most notably, your credit report — for signs that an identity thief may be using your personal information to get loans, open credit card accounts, or otherwise cause financial havoc. You can pay them to alert you to possible trouble, or simply keep watch yourself.
What if you find an identity thief has struck? You can get free recovery help at IdentityTheft.gov.
You can report identity theft to the FTC and get a personal recovery plan that:
• walks you through each recovery step
• tracks your progress and adapts to your changing situation
• pre-fills letters and forms for you to send to credit bureaus, businesses, debt collectors, and the IRS
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