Paying for ID Theft Protection May Not be the Answer

03-25-2009
Contact: Glen Loyd
608-224-5007

“Companies claiming they can protect you from ID theft are plentiful,” says Janet Jenkins, administrator of Trade and Consumer Protection, Dept. of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, “but the Consumer Federation of America found the descriptions of how 16 companies help consumers ‘confusing, unclear, and ambiguous’.”

The Consumer Federation (CFA) said these services may not always offer the protection that consumers are led to believe they will get.

"Some of these services may be helpful to consumers, but none can absolutely prevent your personal information from being stolen or used," said Susan Grant, CFA Director of Consumer Protection.

Grant says, “many of the benefits that these services advertise are things that consumers can do on their own for free or at minimal cost. CFA encourages consumers to follow the ten easy steps:

1. Practice mail security.
2. Guard your Social Security number.
3. Lock and shred.
4. Stop prescreened credit and insurance mailings.
5. Keep private information to yourself.
6. Be safe online.
7. Look at your bills and bank statements promptly.
8. Monitor your accounts online frequently.
9. Check your credit reports regularly.
10. Pay attention to debt collectors.”

To offer the best value to consumers, CFA believes that identity theft services should have the following characteristics:

• Clearly disclose the exact services and costs.
• Monitor public and private databases and other places typically unavailable to consumers that may contain their personal information.
• Alert consumers of suspicious activity related to their personal information by their choice of email, phone, text message or mail.
• Provide actual assistance, not just advice, to resolve consumers' problems if they become identity theft victims.
• Guarantee to do what they promise with no exceptions buried in fine print and no attempt to limit consumers' legal recourse through mandatory binding arbitration.

According to Grant of CFA, No service looked at appeared to meet all of these criteria, and none is a complete cure or solution.


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