Identity theft protection services - worth the $$$?

August 31, 2005 1:50 AM

Are identity theft protection services worth the $$$? I'm referring specifically to services like TrueCredit and PrivacyGuard, but I know that several large US banks (i.e. Wells Fargo, Washington Mutual) also offer them as well.
posted by invisible ink to Work & Money (6 answers total)

Best answer: Probably not. You need to weigh up the likelihood of having your identity stolen (probably not that high) versus the cost (to be specious, your house?) as compared to how how these services help you. As I understand it, these companies protect your credit history. Big deal. You can do that yourself by getting the free reports every year from the big 3. You'll still have the trouble of recovering your life for which they offer nothing. A better product would be true insurance, say $10k if your identity is stolen to allow you to put things back in order.

I'd spend the money on a shredder and be careful, like not leaving documents with personal details anywhere.

Lots of interesting discussion on this here.
posted by quiet at 4:45 AM on August 31, 2005

Quiet's response is right on the money. If you're already doing your banking online and keeping an eye on your accounts, you probably don't need an expensive "monitoring" service.

But the TrueCredit site that you looked at seems (on first glance) to simply be a branch of TransUnion, one of the three credit reporting agencies--and getting your three credit reports (as Quiet mentioned) is DEFINITELY a good thing.

You don't need to pay them for it, though--you can get your three reports free once a year from the Annual Credit Report website. It's something that was mandated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
posted by bcwinters at 6:53 AM on August 31, 2005

I was thinking about that the other day, but if you're identity does get stolen it's more of a hastle then anything else. You're not on the hook for the money.
posted by delmoi at 7:42 AM on August 31, 2005

Yes, but WHAT a hassle. It can take years and costs thousands to get it cleared up.

I use MyFico.com's Score Watch service, which tells me of changes to my Equifax report that affect my credit score. This covers pretty much everything that can pop up on your credit report, not just identity theft, and I find it worthwhile.
posted by kindall at 8:26 AM on August 31, 2005 [1 favorite]

Best answer: bcwinters writes "You don't need to pay them for it, though--you can get your three reports free once a year from the Annual Credit Report website. It's something that was mandated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
""

Actually, there are three agencies that provide credit reports. You are entitled to a free report from each agency per year, but there is nothing in the Act that requires to get them all at the same time. Therefore, the smarter thing to do would be to get one report every four months, rotating amongst the credit agencies. That way, you are getting a fresh look at your report every 4 months and that will give you plenty opportunity to catch any identity theft occurrences in time.

Granted, the three reports are not completely synchronized, but they are close enough to allow you to do this.
posted by tuxster at 10:30 AM on August 31, 2005

Actually there are three big guys but others are in the field. When scrutinizing your reports, go for the printed ones. 3-in-1 reports and some onlines (TU in particular is cruddy online) are lacking in details and not what a potential creditor sees anyway. Free reports also allow the agencies 45 days to respond to your complaints rather than 30 if you pay. TANSTAAFL.

Art of Credit is a great place to read about reports and dealing with them if you need to challenge something.
posted by phearlez at 11:25 AM on August 31, 2005