Identity Theft...What is the best protection?

[DisTeach1]

I think my SS# and birthdate fell into the wrong hands-What is the best way to monitor my credit, etc. for any unusual activity? I googled it, but notice that there are a LOT of companies out there-Has anyone ever put any type of security on their credit?

 

[jaminmd]

I think my SS# and birthdate fell into the wrong hands-What is the best way to monitor my credit, etc. for any unusual activity? I googled it, but notice that there are a LOT of companies out there-Has anyone ever put any type of security on their credit?

You can put a security freeze on your credit reports, which would prevent someone from opening credit in your name. It would be inconvenient, though, if you open accounts on a semi-regular basis, though.

Each state has specific laws on how to do this, so just google the laws for your state. Good luck!

 

[LuvOrlando]

Sorry to hear this, I hope things work out ok for you. I think there is a way to change your SS number if you need to do so, it's not easy but it can be done if there is an issue with identity theft. I would call the SS office ASAP and tell them you have concerns and see what they say. My homeowners has some protection so I'd call them too and see what they have to offer. What I wouldn't do is find some company out of the blue, that sounds too easy for fraud.

 

[golfgal]

Many homeowner's insurance policies offer a rider to help defray costs in the event your identity is stolen-just something to look into.

Contact all three credit bureaus and notify them and have them put a lock on your credit. You will have to produce ID for every transaction now but better safe than sorry.

We have free credit monitoring because one of our investment account companies had 'compromised information". It is "Triple Alert" from Experian, which is one of the credit bureaus. They email us once/month to let us know if any 'unusual" activity has occurred-it hasn't. I think we have this for 3 years.

 

[diznygirl]

We use Lifelock. They watch our credit for us. We can request some of what they do ourselves, but it has to be done every three months. Lifelock stays on top of it for us.

 

[cglaura]

I have the top 3 (TransUnion, Experian, Equifax) frozen. In my state it was free, no fee involved. You do have to pay to have it unlocked though, but I haven't needed to since I did it about 3 years ago.

I love it most because it has 100% eliminated credit offers in the mail and by phone. I don't carry cc debt so any offers for better rates, ect. are moot, all it means is less junk mail for me and less chance of someone getting a hold of that and applying in my name (I think mailbox theft is less common now though then the days before internet).

The freeze only applies to new inquiries or attempts to open credit. Any existing creditors still have access, so it won't affect your current accounts as far as reviews/increases/% rate adjustments/insurance, etc.

ETA: If you go to the websites of the credit agencies, you can find instructions on how to freeze. I did mine by certified mail.

 

[SandrA9810]

LifeLock really isn't worth it for the money. You can't even pull your report with it. Plus there's a lot of negatives out there with it.

I've used Citi's credit monitoring program before. It was really nice. It would send an email any time there was a hit for a report, or something new showed up. And every 30 days I could pull up the report from all three agencies. When I first signed up it was only 9.95 a month, I think it's now 15$ a month.
http://www.identitymonitor.citi.com/

There's another forum that a lot of people around here use. creditboards.com I think. They have an extensive topic of all the credit monitoring services that are out there.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

Generally the Social Security Administration will not change your SS# for this. It can be done, in extreme cases, but it's very hard to do and I don't think that they recommend it.

I had my SS# and everything stolen from the hospital where I had my son. Someone tried to open all kinds of accounts, all online, all the same day. Someone was kind enough to call me to alert me about it. I froze my credit with all three,TransUnion, Experian, Equifax, to insure that I didn't have any more trouble. It still took me months to get all of that off of my credit report. It's a pain in the tail.