How Does TrustedID Protect Your Credit?
With so many credit monitoring companies to choose from, what does Trusted ID offer? Well, TrustedID doesn’t monitor your credit. It doesn’t need to. The problem with credit monitoring is that it alerts you after suspicious activity is detected on your credit reports. It doesn’t actually stop thieves, though you can quickly take corrective action to prevent any further damage.
TrustedID stops identity theft before it happens. Customers have control over their credit through TrustedID’s web-based service called IDFreeze. This product includes an easy on/off button to set credit locks or flags on your reports, requesting that creditors contact you for permission before doing anything with your credit reports. This is a right of all Americans, according to the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003. You can place locks on your credit reports for free by yourself - however, you must renew these locks every 90 days. TrustedID will do this automatically for you.
Going further, you can completely freeze your credit reports from any outside inquiry, and can only be opened with your PIN number. Since November 2007, all 50 states participate in this, a move lobbied by Trust ID.
TrustedID also offers an early warning detection system that constantly checks to see if your credit card number is being bought and sold on the Internet. Working with a security company called CardCops, chat rooms, newsgroups and specialized searches are scanned and used to detect if your card number is being discussed or traded. This potentially allows you to contact your card company before fraud is committed in your name.
They also give you the ability to easily opt out from all pre-approved credit card offers. This reduces one easy source for identity theft – removing the ability for a thief to go through your garbage or mail and easily signing up for these offers in your name.
Finally, should your identity be compromised, TrustedID insures you up to one million dollars for legal costs to restore your good name, as well any lost wages.
Benefits:
- ability to lock and unlock your credit reports with one button in your online account
- the monitoring of your credit card numbers being traded in cyberspace
- a $1 million identity theft insurance policy (provided by AIG and Lloyd’s of London)
- receive and evaluate your credit reports every year from Equifax, TransUnion and Experian
- phone an identity theft specialist for any questions you may have
- competitive pricing at $12.95 per month, or $109.95 per year (save $45 by signing up today! No promotion code needed.)
This content current as of November 20, 2007
