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WHAT IDENTITY THEFT

PROTECTION SERVICES

CAN AND CANNOT DO FOR YOU

by Carrie Kerskie
he identity theft protection industry
is estimated to grow at a rate of
T 17.6% between 2019 and 2024, with
an estimated value of over 17,600 million by
2024. The reason for this growth is that more
people are concerned with identity theft. The
rising number of reported data breaches,
coupled with the realization that companies are
harvesting and selling our personal information
has led to an increased level of fear.
Identity theft protection services represent themselves as Dark Web Monitoring
being able to protect you from identity theft. But do they? In recent years, identity theft protection services have started
Before purchasing an identity theft protection service, it is crucial offering dark web monitoring. They claim to monitor the dark web
to understand what they can and cannot do for you. and alert you if your information is discovered. While this may
sound like a great feature, keep in mind that these companies only
alert you. They are unable to remove your information from the dark
Identity Theft Protection
The name of the industry, identity theft protection services, web. Besides, it is impossible to monitor the entire dark web.
would lead you to believe these companies can protect you from Your information could be on the dark web, but not detected in the
becoming a victim of identity theft. Unfortunately, this is not true. areas these companies are scanning. Since 2005 over one billion
The services offered by these companies are reactionary. They only personal records were exposed in data breaches. Assuming your
notify you after an event. They do not offer any proactive solutions information is already on the dark web is not an unrealistic
to help you prevent it before it happens. assumption.

Credit Monitoring Identity Theft Restoration
Identity theft protection services monitor your credit report or Another feature of an identity theft protection service is that they
reports, depending on the company. If a change is made to your may offer assistance when you become a victim of identity theft.
credit report, such as a credit inquiry, the company will send you an Unfortunately, the assistance you receive could range from them
alert. The purpose is to keep you informed of changes to your credit sending you a do-it-yourself repair kit to them doing the work on
report. A beneficial feature if you are not the type of person that your behalf to restore your identity. Trying to determine which level
reviews his credit reports every year. of assistance you will receive is difficult to determine based on their
marketing. One of the most well-known identity theft protection
The downside is that not every type of identity theft is detected services was fined TWICE by the Federal Trade Commission for
through credit monitoring. If someone uses your identity to take deceptive advertising (making you think they can protect you and
over your bank account, it will not be detected by credit monitoring. not helping you when you became a victim) and failure to protect
If someone presents your identity for employment purposes or when customer information. To help you determine the level of assistance
arrested for a crime, it will not be detected by credit monitoring. you may receive, ask the company if you are required to sign a
Further, credit monitoring primarily consists of monitoring the three limited power of attorney. If the answer is no, then you will be
major credit reporting agencies: TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax. restoring your identity yourself.
Did you know that there are more than three credit reporting
agencies? That’s right. Without monitoring all of them, you could be In summary, identity theft protection services cannot not protect
a victim and never know it. A better alternative to credit monitoring you from becoming a victim, but they can help you monitor for
is to place a free credit freeze on your credit reports. To learn more specific types of identity theft. Monitoring is the same, so it does
about a credit freeze, check out my previous article “Freezing Fraud” not matter which company you choose. However, what the
in the April 2019 edition. You can view it online at company does and does not do after you have become a victim varies
https://lifeinnaples.net/magazinewp/2019/04/21/freezing-fraud-by- by company. If you are not required to sign a limited power of
carrie-kerskie/ attorney, you will put in the hours to restore your identity.

92 Life in Naples | January 2020