- Jun 24, 2016
- 636
New identity theft insurance is free for consumers;
Identity theft is a huge problem in America today.
In 2015, 13.1 million Americans were victims of identity theft, according to an Identity Fraud Study by Javelin Strategy & Research. New account fraud increased by 113% in 2015.
Companies that provide identity theft insurance do not generally pay the victims of identity theft, but rather reimburse the costs that may incur in restoring the identity and credit.
Identity theft insurance companies provide a great range of services. Some will put fraud alerts on your credit report for when someone attempts to use your credit. But frankly, fraud alerts are often ignored and there is no penalty on a company granting credit without contacting the consumer after a fraud alert. Other companies monitor your credit report on a regular basis.
It should be noted, however, that for less than the cost of any credit monitoring service, you can place a credit freeze on your credit reports so no one can get access to your credit report without your PIN. For more information about credit freezes, see my previous column.
Some of the things you should consider in deciding whether or not to buy identity theft insurance include:
1. The cost of the policy.
2. What services do you get for the cost? Will they merely reimburse you for the costs involved in recovering your identity or will they assist you in doing the work necessary to restore your identity and your credit?
3. Is there a deductible and, if so, how much?
4. Does the policy cover lost wages you incur while restoring your identity?
5. Does the policy cover lost wages you incur while restoring your identity?
6. Does the policy cover legal fees required to restore your identity?
Other companies proclaim they provide identity theft protection, but in fact that is not entirely accurate. They primarily monitor your credit and promptly notify you if you have become a victim of identity theft. It's like, after you get hit by a truck you didn't see coming someone comes over to you as you lay in the street and promptly informs you that you have just been hit by a truck. I would much prefer someone to warn me ahead of time so I could avoid being hit.
Just recently a new startup company called Civic became the first company to turn identity theft protection into truly warning you before the identity theft truck hits you. Civic created a network of businesses that use your Social Security number for authentication, including banks, financial services companies, lenders, insurance companies, health care organizations and background checking companies. When someone attempts to use your social security, you will be immediately notified via email or a push notification via the Civic app on your smartphone. That enables the consumer to immediately deny the transaction thus stopping identity theft before it begins.
In addition, Civic will also provide access to identity theft consultants by phone twenty-four hours a day. They can instruct Civic members what they need to do to remedy identity theft if it does occur in various situations such as income tax identity theft and the compromise of the member’s email account. Civic also will be providing members with a one million dollar identity theft insurance policy. Perhaps the best news of all is that there is no cost to becoming a member of Civic. Stand-alone identity theft protection policies from companies such as Identity Guard, Identity Force and Lifelock can cost as much as $25 per month.
The cost of the service is entirely paid for by the banks and other financial service companies that partner with Civic. They pay a small fee each time the company contacts a Civic member to notify them that their Social Security number is being used. The advantage to these companies is to reduce their own losses due to fraud and identity theft. Presently the number of Civic partners is small, but as more and more companies come on board, the advantages of becoming a member of Civic will increase dramatically.
Civic raised 2.75 million dollars in seed funding from investors including Ashton Kutcher, who has notably invested in a number of successful high tech ventures, to launch its public beta testing which began on July 19th.
Steve Weisman, an expert in preventing cyberscams and identity theft, is a lawyer and professor at Bentley University. He writes the blog scamicide.com, where he provides daily update information about the latest scams. His new book is Identity Theft Alert.
For Details of USA Today Subscription click here
Identity theft is a huge problem in America today.
In 2015, 13.1 million Americans were victims of identity theft, according to an Identity Fraud Study by Javelin Strategy & Research. New account fraud increased by 113% in 2015.
Companies that provide identity theft insurance do not generally pay the victims of identity theft, but rather reimburse the costs that may incur in restoring the identity and credit.
Identity theft insurance companies provide a great range of services. Some will put fraud alerts on your credit report for when someone attempts to use your credit. But frankly, fraud alerts are often ignored and there is no penalty on a company granting credit without contacting the consumer after a fraud alert. Other companies monitor your credit report on a regular basis.
It should be noted, however, that for less than the cost of any credit monitoring service, you can place a credit freeze on your credit reports so no one can get access to your credit report without your PIN. For more information about credit freezes, see my previous column.
Some of the things you should consider in deciding whether or not to buy identity theft insurance include:
1. The cost of the policy.
2. What services do you get for the cost? Will they merely reimburse you for the costs involved in recovering your identity or will they assist you in doing the work necessary to restore your identity and your credit?
3. Is there a deductible and, if so, how much?
4. Does the policy cover lost wages you incur while restoring your identity?
5. Does the policy cover lost wages you incur while restoring your identity?
6. Does the policy cover legal fees required to restore your identity?
Other companies proclaim they provide identity theft protection, but in fact that is not entirely accurate. They primarily monitor your credit and promptly notify you if you have become a victim of identity theft. It's like, after you get hit by a truck you didn't see coming someone comes over to you as you lay in the street and promptly informs you that you have just been hit by a truck. I would much prefer someone to warn me ahead of time so I could avoid being hit.
Just recently a new startup company called Civic became the first company to turn identity theft protection into truly warning you before the identity theft truck hits you. Civic created a network of businesses that use your Social Security number for authentication, including banks, financial services companies, lenders, insurance companies, health care organizations and background checking companies. When someone attempts to use your social security, you will be immediately notified via email or a push notification via the Civic app on your smartphone. That enables the consumer to immediately deny the transaction thus stopping identity theft before it begins.
In addition, Civic will also provide access to identity theft consultants by phone twenty-four hours a day. They can instruct Civic members what they need to do to remedy identity theft if it does occur in various situations such as income tax identity theft and the compromise of the member’s email account. Civic also will be providing members with a one million dollar identity theft insurance policy. Perhaps the best news of all is that there is no cost to becoming a member of Civic. Stand-alone identity theft protection policies from companies such as Identity Guard, Identity Force and Lifelock can cost as much as $25 per month.
The cost of the service is entirely paid for by the banks and other financial service companies that partner with Civic. They pay a small fee each time the company contacts a Civic member to notify them that their Social Security number is being used. The advantage to these companies is to reduce their own losses due to fraud and identity theft. Presently the number of Civic partners is small, but as more and more companies come on board, the advantages of becoming a member of Civic will increase dramatically.
Civic raised 2.75 million dollars in seed funding from investors including Ashton Kutcher, who has notably invested in a number of successful high tech ventures, to launch its public beta testing which began on July 19th.
Steve Weisman, an expert in preventing cyberscams and identity theft, is a lawyer and professor at Bentley University. He writes the blog scamicide.com, where he provides daily update information about the latest scams. His new book is Identity Theft Alert.
For Details of USA Today Subscription click here
