Things to know about identity theft

What is identity theft?

According to the United States Department of Justice, the terms identity theft and identity fraud refer to "all types of crime in which someone wrongfully obtains and uses another person's personal data in some way that involves fraud or deception, typically for economic gain."

Why do I need identity theft protection?

Identity theft occurs every 3 seconds to someone in the US. With identity theft protection from ID Experts we can help you avoid this very difficult and unpleasant occurrence. We constantly search and monitor more than 1,500 databases of information in order to prevent others from stealing your identity. We provide you with extensive advice on how best to protect your ID. And if you fall victim to ID theft, one of our specially trained recovery advocates will work with you every step of the way to restore your identity and recover any lost funds.

How can I find out my risk of becoming a victim?

With your ID Experts FraudStop membership, you have access to a detailed protection test on our Member Site that will provide you with a personalized protection plan. The test will assess your current risk level and suggest additional proactive measures you should be taking. While the protection test is optional, we strongly recommend that you take it. It only takes a few minutes, and you will receive your personalized protection plan right away . Your plan will provide you with important measures you can take to protect yourself from becoming a victim of identity theft.

How does ID Experts help prevent me from becoming a victim of identity theft?

We constantly monitor over 1,500 data sources looking for changes in your personal information that can be indicators that someone is attempting to stealth your identity. A small sample of the records that are monitored by FraudStop include credit files to detect the opening of new or changes to existing financial accounts; real property records that can detect the purchasing of property in your name; criminal records that can detect the commission of crimes in your name; land/cell phone records that can detect the opening of phone accounts in your name; and vehicle ownership records that help detect the purchase of vehicle in your name.

Can I still become a victim of identity theft if I am protected by ID Experts?

No identity protection service can prevent identity theft 100% of the time. Unfortunately the criminals just keep getting more and more clever. So while we do everything possible to prevent ID theft from happening to our members, it can still happen to you. That is why we have a team of highly trained and experienced personal recovery advocates. If you become a victim of identity theft, you will be assigned your own recovery advocate who will work with and for you to do everything necessary to restore your identity.

What does the recovery advocate do?

If you become a victim of identity theft, we assign to you your personal recovery advocate to work your case from beginning to end so you can remain productive at work and at home. On your behalf, our experienced advocates dispute all fraudulent charges, contact affected merchants, deal with collection agencies, and complete any other tasks needed to ensure that all theft-related problems are resolved. There is no time-limit on how long they will work on your ID theft; they will work on your case until your ID is fully recovered. Your personal recovery advocate will be your main contact and source of information during this very trying and scary time.

Why do I need to cover my family for ID theft?

Children are increasingly being targeted by ID thieves. They are particularly attractive targets because they often don't detect identity theft until they grow up and apply for credit or a student loan. With an ID Experts FraudStop Family Plan, your whole family will be protected from identity theft. And the Family plan is especially economical.

Do I also need credit monitoring if I have FraudStop?

Anyone can get a copy of each of their three credit reports (there are 3 credit bureaus each of which maintains a separate credit file on you) once a year for free. To do this, go to annualcreditreport.com. If you have an interest in monitoring your credit history or credit score more frequently, credit monitoring services might be worthwhile to consider.

Do I need to provide you with my Social Security Number?

We strongly believe that everyone should be very careful with their personal information, especially their social security number. Because of this, we have created an identity theft protection service that does not require you to provide a social security number. Only if you become a victim of ID theft will we need to ask you for your social security number and other information so that we can work on your behalf to restore your identity. And if you sign up for our optional credit monitoring, you will need to provide your social security number directly to TransUnion, the credit bureau that provides this service for our members.