Identity Guard Review

Identity Guard is the best credit monitoring service and one of the best credit protection companies. They do an outstanding job in making sure your information is not being sold illegally over the Internet or changed fraudulently in databases. There are three products included in the company’s identity theft insurance plan: credit account protection, Web monitoring and security software.

Identity Guard’s credit account protection is more than comprehensive. Instead of simply placing a fraud alerts on your credit file, Identity Guard tries to stop unauthorized use of your personal information before it occurs. This service includes a search for applications of credit in your name, such as credit cards or loans, as well as a search for applications for other accounts, like cell phone registrations. This application search takes place on a daily basis. In addition, the service monitors your credit report to ensure no changes have been made to your file without your knowledge.

If any changes are made to one or more of your credit accounts at any of the three credit bureaus, Identity Guard will send you an email within 24 hours of the change so that you can quickly block and/or close the accounts and report the matter to the authorities. In our opinion daily three bureau credit monitoring is a must have for any monitoring service. By utilizing Mobile Lockbox (see below), you can choose to be alerted of any changes via text message. Every quarter you will receive a copy of your credit report and credit score from each of the three bureaus at no extra charge in order to scan it for inaccuracies. There is also a simulator for those looking to improve their credit score that allows them to see how different scenarios affect their credit score.

With its Web monitoring service, Identity Guard will scour the Internet far and wide to see if your information is being released or shared by identity thieves. This is possible because the service scans the online markets and channels used most often for the illegal trading and distribution of personal information.

The company will also check public records databases for inaccurate information regarding your accounts, which may occur because a thief has compromised your information or may simply be errors, but either way, you can correct them in a timely fashion. In other words, you will be alerted to all changes to your sensitive information to help you stop identity thieves before they start opening accounts.

Identity Guard’s security software is known as ZoneAlarm. It was created to target identity thieves who try to install software on your computer through websites or emails or who con you into sending them your personal information through spoofed web pages. It has the capability to block viruses, spyware and fraudulent emails to protect you from phishing attacks, hackers and malicious spam. The software is updated regularly as new viruses and phishing attacks are created. ZoneAlarm is just as effective as McAfee and Norton internet security suites so you are in effect saving $50 per year by not having to purchase those products and it doesn’t hog all your system resources like Norton does. In other words your computer will run faster.

In addition to the above services, Identity Guard Total Protection offers two more services to give you more convenience and peace of mind: PrivacyProtect and Mobile Lockbox.

PrivacyProtect is another Web security product that can protect your personal information. Some of the more high-tech identity thieves can steal your personal information by remotely installing software on your machine that records your keystrokes as you type in personal information. You may already have this spyware on your machine without even knowing it. Once your machine is protected with PrivacyProtect software, your keystrokes will be encrypted. So even if he is recording your keystrokes, all the spy will see – and be able to copy – is gobbledygook.

Mobile Lockbox is a program that can help you safely store user names and passwords. Since the most secure passwords and user names can be complicated and difficult to remember, this service gives you a trusted place to keep them without writing them down while still allowing you to access them at your fingertips. All you need is a cell phone, PDA or computer to “lock up” your account numbers, passwords, files, records and other sensitive information. Plus, with all of this information in one place, it’s easy to cancel all of your accounts if you find that they have been compromised or if your wallet or purse is lost or stolen. Just give Identity Guard a call and it is taken care of all at one time.

Identity Guard goes even further to protect your identity if you find that you have been victimized. If unauthorized changes to your accounts, or any other event for that matter, turns out to be the result of identity theft, the Identity Guard service will assist you through the entire process of recovery.

The service will also provide you with coverage of $1,000,000 with no deductible for unauthorized fund loss, legal defense, lost wages and costs or expenses you may incur to recover your identity and restore your accounts. Some restrictions ($1000/week up to 4 weeks for lost wages for example) do apply so please see IdentityGuard.com for the details of the insurance policy.

To prevent identity theft from happening again, should it occur, the Personal ID Risk Assessment product will help you and Identity Guard determine which of your accounts and personal information are the most at risk and concentrate their protection efforts in these areas.

With its credit monitoring and comprehensive online protection, Identity Guard is the perfect weapon against 21st century thieves. With over 10 million identity theft victims per year, they are a great partner to have on your side. It’s much better to be protected than to end up in those statistics.

Identity Guard is offering their Total Protection plan for $17.99 a month with a 30-day no-obligation trial period. Protect yourself from identity theft today with Identity Guard.

Equifax Credit Monitoring Review

The credit bureau, Equifax, offers a variety of credit monitoring services that can help protect you and your family from identity theft. Instead of just one blanket service, Equifax has four. This way you can cater your credit monitoring to the needs of your family.

Traditional credit monitoring services
With each of these services you will get daily alerts of any changes to your credit file that could signal an identity thief is making fraudulent transactions in your name. These changes include but are not limited to new accounts being opened or your contact information being changed.

Also, all of these plans give you the security of a $20,000 insurance policy. This policy protects you from many of the costs associated with restoring your credit and accounts if you do become the victim of identity theft. Once you start using the service, identity theft is unlikely to occur. But in case it does happen you will be covered. There is no deductible on this policy. It is funded by Travelers Casualty and Surety, a respected insurance company.

Equifax Credit Watch Gold with Score Power
This is the most in-depth credit watch program that Equifax offers. With 3-in-1 monitoring you will be alerted daily of changes not just to your Equifax credit file but also to your files at the other two major credit bureaus, Experian and TransUnion. You can order one free all inclusive credit report with results from each bureau and receive as many Equifax reports as you wish at no cost.

The score power gives you your Equifax FICO score plus a simulator that allows you to predict your FICO score based on actions you take to improve your credit score. Your FICO score is the score used by 90% of lenders and is the one recommended by Suze Orman among others.

Equifax Credit Watch Gold with 3-in-1 Monitoring
This service is similar to the previous one except you do not have the credit score benefits.

Equifax Credit Watch Gold
Again, a similar service. With this plan, you receive daily monitoring of your Equifax credit file only as opposed to your files at all three credit bureaus. This plan is the most affordable and it provides an ok level of coverage since the credit bureaus will usually share information but we do not recommend it unless you have other credit protection plans in place.

Why? If a creditor granted credit in your name through a different bureau and the information did not propagate to Equifax you would be unaware of the theft and could face a horrible experience restoring your credit and good name.

Credit Score Monitoring
In addition to credit monitoring, Equifax also gives you the option of purchasing Score Watch, a unique service that will alert you to changes to your credit score – the number often used to determine loan rates and approvals. This is an ideal service for people looking to apply for mortgages or other loans that tend to have varying interest rates. You will learn what rates you’ll be likely to qualify for and be alerted to the activities that trigger changes in your score. It’s a good way to learn where you stand right now and what exactly you can do to make positive changes to your credit score for the future. This plan includes two free detailed Score Power reports. This is a great service for those actively monitoring their score and either protected from identity theft by other means or unconcerned with the threat. Hopefully it is the former otherwise we highly advise you to learn more about identity theft and its risks.

Equifax has 24/7 customer service. This same dedicated customer service team will be available to assist you once you purchase your credit monitoring plan and includes members who are trained fraud specialists in the event you become an identity theft victim.

Pricing
The monthly costs for these plans and the corresponding links to Equifax’s website follow:
Credit Watch Gold with Score Power- $14.95
Credit Watch Gold with 3-in-1 monitoring – $12.95
Credit Watch Gold – $9.95 (not recommended)
Score Watch – $9.95
You can order any of these services online right now, and begin protecting the most valuable asset you will ever have: your good name.

Chase Identity Protection Review

Chase Identity Protection is a well priced service that monitors all three credit bureaus daily and includes monthly credit scores and reports from all three credit bureaus. You can see your credit score from Experian, Equifax and TransUnion and track changes to it monthly. The score provided is not your FICO score but this is the only negative of the service.

What we really like about Chase, besides the fact that they aren’t a credit bureau, is that they give you instant online access to your credit reports and scores. No need to wait for snail mail here unless of course you want to. They also notify you automatically of any account changes in your credit file.

We also like their pricing, $11.99 a month, and that you are given 30 days free to evaluate if this is the right service for you. Chase does not use gimmicks, like “Free Credit Report”, then start charging you large sums after you free 7 day trial. Chase is upfront and provides you with easy cancellation by toll free phone and even if you cancel months in to the service they refund your last billed month. Now that’s treating the customer right.

Chase also includes identity theft insurance underwritten by Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America in the amount of $100,000 which is significantly higher then most credit monitoring services. The insurance covers lost wages of up to $1000 per week, legal fees that have been pre-approved by Chase and other routine expenses, such as long distance calling fees, postage and other items related to recovering your identity.

Chase also offers assistance in reviewing credit reports and access to well trained representatives who can help you correct inaccuracies in your credit report or fix incorrect account changes in your credit file discovered through daily monitoring. In the event of identity theft they also give you a case manager to work with who helps create a strategy on the best and most efficient ways to resolve the incident.

In our opinion, Chase has hit a home run with this offering. It is well priced and definitely one of the best credit monitoring services available. In fact, next to Identity Guard’s premier service which includes many extra identity theft protection services and internet security protection, it is the best.

Protect your identity with Chase today.

Triple Alert Review

Triple Alert credit monitoring is an Experian service that gets its name from the fact that it monitors your credit report at all three credit bureaus – Experian, of course, plus TransUnion and Equifax — for one low price, just $4.95 a month.

Get Daily Monitoring …
This service is unique because, unlike with some other cheap credit monitoring services and indeed some expensive ones too, your reports will be checked for changes and potential fraud each and every day. If requests to open new accounts, address modifications, unauthorized credit checks or other such activities are found, you will be notified either by email or text message daily. You are then free to take extra precautions, such as putting fraud alerts on your credit accounts, immediately.

In this case, daily monitoring could be the difference between losing hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars and stopping identity thieves before they have a chance to do serious damage. If you have to wait seven days to find out that new accounts have been opened in your name, the thieves may have all the time they need to start running up dozens of fraudulent charges.

Get Monthly All Clear Alerts …
When you use the Triple Alert service you don’t have to worry if you don’t hear anything in the form of an email or text message for a couple of weeks. You can trust that the service is still doing its job and that your credit files are safe. That’s because, instead of just having you assume that no news is good news, Triple Alert will send you an All Clear Alert at the end of each month that there is nothing to report simply for your peace of mind.

Get Guaranteed Protection …
Triple Alert offers a $10,000 guarantee in coordination with the service. If your identity is compromised while you are using Triple Alert credit monitoring, the company will pay you up to $10,000 to help cover the cost of legal fees, investigators, lost wages and actual funds that are stolen by the identity thieves. Triple Alert can even help you obtain an investigator to assist you with recovery.

This protection begins as soon as you become actively enrolled. (Please note that the guarantee is not available in the state of New York.)

Get Affordable Pricing …
Triple Alert is very affordably priced. It costs just $4.95 per month for each person you wish to protect. This amounts to about 17 cents per day. There is no contract or commitment you have to assume in order to become a member either. You can simply cancel the service if you no longer wish to use it and you will only be billed until you finish up the current month.

Get Convenient Customer Service …
If you would like more information on the Triple Alert service, you can visit the frequently asked questions section of their website. They also have representatives available at any time between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. PT, weekdays, or 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends.

Sign Up Today
It’s easy to sign up for Triple Alert credit monitoring, just go to triplealert.com and click on the “sign up” link on the homepage. You can also order your credit report and score from this page at the same time if you wish.

With identity theft so rampant in recent months, some will do almost anything to protect themselves and their accounts. It hardly makes sense not to sign up for a service that will cost you just pennies a day and could end up saving you so much more.