Identity Guard Review
Identity Guard – The Company
The Identity Guard package of services is the brainchild of Intersections Inc., a publicly traded company with over ten years of experience in protecting consumers from the threats associated with identity theft. The company does business with several leading financial institutions in the U.S., assisting them in creating identity solutions catered to their specific products and customer base.
Intersections Inc. has over eight million customers and has offices in North America, Europe and Asia. It offers solutions to businesses worldwide, and Identity Guard is just one of many products they have developed in this area.
Overview
Identity Guard offers three-fold security for your personal information with the following services:
Credit Account Protection
The first service Identity Guard gives to the consumer is credit account protection. Instead of placing a fraud alert on your credit file, like some other identity protection services, or simply monitoring your credit as the bureaus do, Identity Guard offers a comprehensive credit monitoring service to try to stop breaches before they happen.
This service includes a search for applications for credit in your name, such as credit cards or loans, as well as a search for applications for other accounts, like cell phone registrations. This application search takes place on a daily basis.
In addition, the service monitors your credit report to ensure no changes have been made to your file without your knowledge. If any information changes at any of the three credit bureaus you are notified within 24 hours. This is the best credit monitoring service available, far surpassing those offered by the credit bureaus themselves.
Internet Protection
The second service offered through Identity Guard is internet monitoring. This means that the company will scour the Web to see if your information is being released or shared by identity thieves. This is possible because the service scans the online markets and channels used most often for the illegal trading and distribution of personal information.
The company will also check public records databases for inaccurate information regarding your accounts, which may occur because a thief has compromised your information or may simply be errors, but either way, you can correct them in a timely fashion. In other words, you will be alerted to all changes to your sensitive information to help you stop identity thieves before they start opening accounts.
Internet Security for your Computer
ZoneAlarm Internet Security software has a good amount of protection for your PC or laptop computer. It was created to target identity thieves who try to install software on your computer through websites or emails or who con you into sending them your personal information through spoofed webpages. It has the capability to block viruses, spyware and fraudulent emails to protect you from phishing attacks, hackers and malicious spam. The software is updated regularly as new viruses and phishing attacks are created. ZoneAlarm is in the same league as Norton and McAffe Internet Security so this is a $50 yearly savings.
Stay ahead of identity thieves
If any changes are made to one or more of your credit accounts, Identity Guard will send you an email within 24 hours of the change so that you can quickly block and/or close the accounts and report the matter to the authorities. Or, if you have Mobile Lockbox, you can choose to be alerted of any changes via text message.
Every quarter you will receive a copy of your credit report and score from each of the three bureaus at no extra charge in order to scan it for inaccuracies.
Additional Products
In addition to the Identity Guard Total Protection Plan, which includes all three of the services above, Identity Guard offers the following products to give you more convenience and peace of mind :
PrivacyProtect: Some of the more high-tech identity thieves can steal your personal information by remotely installing software on your machine that records your keystrokes as you type in personal information. You may already have this spyware on your machine without even knowing it. Once your machine is protected with PrivacyProtect software, your keystrokes will be encrypted. So even if he is recording your keystrokes, all the spy will see – and be able to copy – is gobbledygook.
Mobile Lockbox: Since the most secure passwords and usernames can be complicated and difficult to remember, this service is available to help you store them in a safe place while still allowing you to access them at your fingertips. All you need is a cell phone, PDA or computer to “lock up” your account numbers, passwords, files, records and other sensitive information. Plus, with all of this information in one place, it’s easy to cancel all of your accounts if you find that they have been compromised or if your wallet or purse is lost or stolen. Just give Identity Guard a call and it is taken care of all at one time.
Identity Theft Recovery
Identity Guard goes even further to protect your identity if you find that you have been victimized. If unauthorized changes to your accounts, or any other event for that matter, turns out to be the result of identity theft, the Identity Guard service will assist you through the entire process of recovery.
You can take advantage of all of the resources available through Identity Guard’s customer service department, which is staffed by individuals well-versed in the workings of the credit world. The service will also provide you with assistance for some of the expenses you may incur as you work to recover your identity and restore your accounts. Coverage of up to $20,000 is available, with a deductible of $250.
To prevent identity theft from happening again, the Personal ID Risk Assessment product will help you and Identity Guard determine which of your accounts and personal information are the most at risk and concentrate their protection efforts in these areas.
Identity Guard Promotion
The price for the Total Protection Plan, which both Identity Guard and Identity Theft Labs recommends, is $17.99 per month.
For a limited time, Identity Guard is offering the Total Protection plan for just $14.99 a month with a 30-day no-obligation trial period. Click here today to get started or to find out more. Discount automatically applied.
