Identity Theft Recovery

There is no 100% guarantee against identity theft so many people feel more secure if they have some kind of financial protection in place from a dedicated identity theft insurance policy, which can help to cover the costs in the event they do become a victim of these crimes.  ID theft insurance is provided privately by a number of leading insurance companies, (some financial account providers are also now offering this service) or as a part of various identity theft protection services such as LifeLock, TrustedID and ID Patrol, and will help to pay for any legal costs, loss of earnings and general fees involved in resolving your case.  These policies do have a number of limitations though, so make sure you check through the full policy carefully to ensure you are getting the type of cover you need.

Identity Theft Protection Services

Several companies offer dedicated identity theft protection services and these can include measures such as:

• Consumer credit file monitoring – this measure monitors your credit file for any suspicious activity which could indicate thieves are trying to use your personal details to apply for new credit products in your name.
• Computer Security – companies such as Identity Guard offer additional security software for your home computer to help protect you against thieves and hackers.
• Online Monitoring – stolen identity is traded online, so several identity protection services provide online monitoring services that will alert you if any of your personal details are appearing on known black market websites.

Insurance Cards
If you lose your insurance card contact your provider immediately and inform them of this so that they can put a flag on your file, and also request a new card to be sent out as soon as possible.

Social Security card
You shouldn’t be carrying around your SSN card unless you really need it, because it can be used by identity thieves for a number of serious fraudulent crimes such as to cover the real identity of illegal immigrants and other ineligible people so that they can apply for jobs or benefits.  If however you do lose your SSN card you should notify the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on their dedicated ID Theft Hotline-1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338), and also contact the Social Security Administration (SSA) to request a new card and also a statement of earnings (this will help you to check if anyone has used your number to apply for a job in your name).

Credit/Debit/Store Cards
If any of your plastic cards are stolen you should telephone your providers as soon as possible, as they will be able to cancel them for you almost instantly.  The quicker you do this the more likely you are to avert any fraudulent charges, as once the cards are cancelled they will be useless to the thieves.  You should also report missing checkbooks as quickly as you can, and then the bank will be able to flag up those check numbers that are involved so that they will be able to isolate them if anyone tries to cash or pay for something with them.