{"id":27300,"date":"2024-04-22T15:03:29","date_gmt":"2024-04-22T23:03:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/?p=27300"},"modified":"2024-04-16T13:43:10","modified_gmt":"2024-04-16T21:43:10","slug":"is-identity-theft-protection-worth-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/is-identity-theft-protection-worth-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Identity Theft Protection Worth It? Here\u2019s What to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In the criminal world, identity theft is a big business.\u00a0 According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/news-events\/press-releases\/2021\/02\/new-data-shows-ftc-received-2-2-million-fraud-reports-consumers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">most recent figures<\/a> from the FTC, there were nearly 1.4 million cases reported in 2020 in the United States alone, about a third of which resulted in financial losses, and there were likely many more that were <em>not<\/em> reported.\u00a0 When you add in the numbers from other wealthy nations, including Canada, the UK, Australia and the members of the European Union, well\u2026 there\u2019s plenty of incentive for identity thieves to keep doing what they\u2019re doing.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That means there\u2019s also plenty of incentive for consumers to protect themselves.&nbsp; A number of services are available to meet that demand, including various identity theft protection products and even identity theft insurance.&nbsp; But is identity theft protection worth it for most consumers?&nbsp; There\u2019s no hard and fast answer \u2014 it\u2019s a call you\u2019ll have to make for yourself \u2014 but we can help by breaking down the pros and cons for you.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Quick Review of Identity Theft<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Before we get into identity theft protection, let\u2019s take a moment to review <a href=\"https:\/\/www.consumer.ftc.gov\/articles\/what-know-about-identity-theft\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">what identity theft actually <em>is<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0 In brief, it\u2019s when someone who isn\u2019t you uses a portion of your personally identifying information to fraudulently act in your name.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That information might include:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Your credit card numbers<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Your banking or investment account information<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Your Social Security number<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Details of your personal life (your kids\u2019 school, your full date of birth, your first pet\u2019s name) that are commonly used as security questions or could be used to impersonate you<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Once they\u2019ve got it, identity thieves can use this information in a number of problematic ways, such as:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Charging purchases to your accounts<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Opening new credit accounts in your name<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Getting a new card issued on your existing account<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Fraudulently claiming your tax refund or your dependents<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Using your identity to work illegally or to avoid arrest<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Getting a lease or utilities they wouldn\u2019t qualify for under their own names<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Emptying your accounts<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Using your health coverage<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Identity Theft Can Really Mess You Up<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Any combination of these things can make a hash of your life and credit rating, and sorting them out can be messy.&nbsp; It can often take months for the repercussions of a damaging identity theft to be sorted out.&nbsp; Some of your losses \u2014 fraudulent charges on a credit card, for example \u2014 can be easy to recover, but what about the time and money you invest (and the hardships you encounter) while you\u2019re doing that?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/identity-theft-protection\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><em>GET THEFT INSURANCE &amp; OUT-OF-POCKET EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENT WITH SPOKEO PROTECT<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In its 2021 report on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.idtheftcenter.org\/the-identity-theft-resource-centers-2021-consumer-aftermath-report-reveals-impacts-on-covid-19-identity-crime-victims\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the aftermath of identity theft<\/a>, the Identity Theft Resource Center found that 40% of last year\u2019s victims were unable to meet their bills as a result of the identity theft.\u00a0 Many more had to take on additional debt to make ends meet (not easy when your identity has been compromised), or were unable to secure housing until the theft was resolved.\u00a0 Chillingly, some 8% of respondents also reported having suicidal thoughts in the aftermath of their identity theft experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Clearly, any protection you can get \u2014 from identity theft itself or from its aftermath \u2014 has definite value.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Identity Theft Protection Works<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>So having established that identity theft is a Very Bad Thing, we\u2019re left with the question of whether to get some protection.&nbsp; First, to be clear, the term \u201cidentity protection\u201d is a bit of a misnomer: these services won\u2019t (and can\u2019t) prevent your identity from being stolen.&nbsp; What they <em>can <\/em>offer is some combination of these services:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Credit monitoring:<\/strong> The service tracks your credit score, some by checking it at specified intervals and some by reporting any changes in something approaching real-time.\u00a0 The best services track all three of the major reporting agencies; lower-cost options may track just one.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Identity theft monitoring:<\/strong> The service watches for suspicious activity involving your Social Security number, changes of address, your information appearing in public records in places where it shouldn\u2019t and similar forms of vigilance. The very best identity theft protection services, like Spokeo Protect, monitor the black markets of the so-called <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/how-to-find-out-if-your-information-is-on-the-dark-web-and-what-to-do\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">dark web<\/a>, where identity thieves buy and sell personal information.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Recovery assistance:<\/strong> Some services will help walk you through the process of undoing all of the havoc that\u2019s been caused by the identity theft and any resulting fraud.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Identity protection insurance:<\/strong> You may also have the option of buying identity theft protection and identity theft insurance as a package deal, but we\u2019ll discuss the insurance part separately.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Is Identity Theft Protection Worth It?&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Deciding whether identity theft protection is worth it (for you) is purely a value judgment.&nbsp; To decide, look at the pros and cons, the price of the service(s) you\u2019re considering and the actual services offered by that particular vendor.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Cons:&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Many of the services offered, like monitoring your bank accounts and credit score, are things you can do for yourself for free.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Some providers (your bank and your credit card company) may offer similar services at little or no charge.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Whether you pay monthly or by the year, it\u2019s yet another expense you\u2019d probably rather do without.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Depending on the services offered in a given package, it might not actually meet your needs.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Pros:&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>It frees up your time.<\/strong>&nbsp; Having someone else keep an eye on your accounts and identity means you don\u2019t have to, and how much is your time worth?&nbsp; Also, you\u2019ll be getting centralized alerts from one source instead of from a handful of different providers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The cost of the service may be less than doing the same thing on a DIY basis.<\/strong>&nbsp; You\u2019re entitled to one free credit report yearly from each agency, for example, but that\u2019s just three per year.&nbsp; If you want more, you\u2019ll have to pay.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>You may not have the skills to do it yourself.<\/strong>\u00a0 Dark web monitoring, for example, requires some seriously specialized skills.\u00a0 Wandering into the hackers\u2019 and criminals\u2019 playground as a layperson is rather like deciding to spend your evenings at a gang hangout asking questions: a bad outcome is likelier than a good one.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>It improves the chances that you\u2019ll be able to minimize the damage.<\/strong>&nbsp; The longer identity thieves operate undetected, the deeper the hole they can dig for you.&nbsp; Getting an alert as soon as your information is sold on the dark web or compromised in a data breach might help you get ahead of the scammers.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Whether it\u2019s worth it is a question of your budget and the extent to which you\u2019re willing to invest your time instead of money.\u00a0 Many of the leading services cost $10\/month or less, which is pretty modest (probably a lot less than you spend on coffee) for something that can save you a lot of money and frustration.\u00a0 As always, <em>caveat emptor<\/em>: be sure you understand what you\u2019re paying for, and what\u2019s <em>not<\/em> included, before you commit.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Identity Theft Insurance Works<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Like identity theft protection, identity theft insurance comes with a big asterisk: it\u2019s not going to make good on your total losses.&nbsp; That\u2019s because you already have protections against a lot of them.&nbsp; Your bank and your credit card companies, for example, will reimburse you for most fraud-related losses, and some losses might even be covered by your homeowner\u2019s or renter\u2019s insurance.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Identity theft insurance is intended as a backstop to those other protections, a way of recovering some of the losses that might otherwise fall through the cracks.&nbsp; These might include things like the costs of assembling, notarizing and mailing or couriering all of the documentation you\u2019ll handle during the recovery stage of an identity theft incident.&nbsp; There will be a <em>lot<\/em> of those \u2014 remember, you\u2019re interacting with credit-reporting agencies, government agencies, law enforcement, your banks and creditors and potentially collections agencies as well \u2014 so that sometimes becomes a nontrivial cost.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unless your scammer is caught and you have the opportunity to bring a civil suit (don\u2019t hold your breath), it\u2019s probably also your only opportunity to be compensated for things like lost wages or legal fees.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Is Identity Theft Insurance Worth It?&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>One again, let\u2019s look at the pros and cons:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Cons:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Yup, it\u2019s another cost, and \u2014 as with most other forms of insurance \u2014 it\u2019s one that you ideally will never use, and therefore never get back (we can hope, right?).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>There\u2019s a deductible.&nbsp; Find out what the dollar amounts are for the deductible and what the corresponding price points are for the coverage, and see if there\u2019s an option that fits your budget and comfort level.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The coverage varies between vendors.&nbsp; You\u2019ll need to look closely at what is or isn\u2019t covered, and what kind of documentation you\u2019ll need to provide to support your claim.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Pros:&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>As with any form of insurance, you\u2019re trading a known and (presumably) manageable cost to guard against unknown and unpredictable costs.&nbsp; It\u2019s a security blanket, and a bit of sorely needed peace of mind.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If you need it, the coverage can shield you from some of the transient but miserable financial hardships that sometimes result from identity theft (remember those depressing stats from the Identity Theft Resource Center?).&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>As with identity protection services, you\u2019ll need to compare the cost of having it to the cost of not having it, and decide whether you\u2019re comfortable with that math.&nbsp; The trade-off is one of money versus peace of mind, and the relative worth of those two commodities comes down to your budget.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Paid Protection Is Only Part of the Picture<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s important to remember that neither of these products actually prevents identity theft; they just help minimize the costs and repercussions for victims.&nbsp; Even if you\u2019ve opted for one or both, a few proactive steps (or habits) can round out your security by reducing the likelihood that you become a victim in the first place.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One way to shorten the odds of your information going astray is simply to reduce how much of it is out there.\u00a0 Consider scaling back your social media presence, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/internet-safety-social-media-follower-audit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">auditing your followers<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/internet-safety-what-you-need-to-know-about-public-vs-private-social-media-accounts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">making your accounts private<\/a>.\u00a0 Use your mobile OS\u2019s security features to limit which apps <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/location-services-should-apps-know-your-location\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">can access your location<\/a>, contacts and other information (and remove the default <a href=\"https:\/\/www.comparitech.com\/blog\/information-security\/remove-metadata-from-photos\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">metadata from your photos<\/a> before you post them).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Be security conscious, inside your home and out.\u00a0 You don\u2019t have to be a networking pro to <a href=\"https:\/\/helpcenter.trendmicro.com\/en-us\/article\/tmka-20524\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">change the default password<\/a> on your router, for example.\u00a0 When you\u2019re using your devices away from home, don\u2019t log into sensitive sites (banks, credit card accounts, government agencies) from public networks.\u00a0 On the subject of passwords, make sure yours are strong, and don\u2019t reuse them from site to site (get a password management app, it really helps).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s probably impossible to completely remove the risk of identity theft, but this combination of proactive prevention and help with the cleanup can keep it from becoming a life-changing trauma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sources<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>US Federal Trade Commission: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/news-events\/press-releases\/2021\/02\/new-data-shows-ftc-received-2-2-million-fraud-reports-consumers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">New Data Shows FTC Received 2.2 Million Fraud Reports from Consumers in 2020<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>US Federal Trade Commission: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.consumer.ftc.gov\/articles\/what-know-about-identity-theft\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">What to Know About Identity Theft<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Identity Theft Resource Center: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.idtheftcenter.org\/the-identity-theft-resource-centers-2021-consumer-aftermath-report-reveals-impacts-on-covid-19-identity-crime-victims\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Identity Theft Resource Center\u2019s 2021 Consumer Aftermath Report Reveals Impacts on COVID-19 Identity Crime Victims<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Comparitech: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.comparitech.com\/blog\/information-security\/remove-metadata-from-photos\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How to Remove Metadata From Your Photos<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Trend Micro: <a href=\"https:\/\/helpcenter.trendmicro.com\/en-us\/article\/tmka-20524\">How to Change R<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/helpcenter.trendmicro.com\/en-us\/article\/tmka-20524\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">o<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/helpcenter.trendmicro.com\/en-us\/article\/tmka-20524\">uter Password<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><span id=\"docs-internal-guid-c39ed3b5-7fff-9f8a-df0b-24d00cf795d2\"><p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;\"><\/p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Identity theft affects millions of Americans every year, resulting in both financial losses and emotional trauma.  Is identity theft protection worth it?  Learn the pros and cons, and why you might want to give it some consideration. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":27301,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[810],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-identity"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Is Identity Theft Protection Worth It? 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