How Identity Theft Prevention Services Work

Identity theft can be a particularly damaging violation - often, because consumers only realize they are victims too late into the process. While your credit can gradually be repaired, it takes time and effort to undo the damage done by an identity thief. But consumers can prevent major identity theft by using the services provided by an identity theft prevention professional. These services offer protection in many forms that can keep your identity safe and secure. Among the services are:

Credit monitoring

In credit monitoring, a client's complete credit report is continually monitored 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. If a request for credit appears, the service will immediately work to deny the request - think of it like a bouncer for your credit. It keeps the bad guys away. The service does this by flagging your credit report with all of the major credit bureaus. Those bureaus will know that they can't approve a request without your personal consent. Through this, your credit will be under constant monitoring - you can feel confident from day to day that no one is stealing your identity.

Mail/solicitation reduction:

Did you know that many identity thieves get your personal information through your trash or mailbox? It's true. All of that junk mail that you throw away - from catalogs to credit card solicitations and requests to refinance your mortgage - contain personal information in varying degrees. Imagine how much a thief would know about you after going through your mail. Imagine what could happen if a thief filled out one of those credit card applications. Turns out that junk mail can be particularly valuable to an identity thief. Identity theft prevention services work on your behalf to reduce the amount of paper solicitations you receive - the less your information is in print, the better for your safety. You also might want to consider receiving electronic bank and account statements, which can further keep your information private.

Instant assistance in times of need

We can protect our information and monitor our credit, but what happens if we lose our wallet or purse? Identity theft prevention specialists will help you in events like this as well. The service will step in on your behalf and cancel all of the lost/stolen account numbers and get you new cards as fast as possible. You won't need to spend an evening on the phone pleading for help from your credit card companies. Just wait a few days, and your new cards will appear in the mail. Beyond canceling and re-issuing your accounts, your service also will work to replace everything that was lost or stolen. It's all part of the service!

Deep pockets

In the event that an identity thief manages to steal your identity - which is highly unlikely given the lengths that your service goes to in keeping your identity protected - your identity theft protection service will pay for your theft-related expenses up to $1 million. This will cover any damages you incurred from the theft and any legal expenses related to the issue.