Month: August 2020

We’ll help you decide which service is best for you by breaking down the differences between them.

It’s important to keep your ID secure in order to prevent identity theft and fraud. But with so many options available to help with this, it can be hard to know which one to choose. Different financial institutions offer various protection and monitoring services, but it can be unclear what each one entails. For example, what is the difference between credit protection and ID theft protection, and should you also consider a credit tracker? In this article, we explore the available protection and monitoring services to help you make an informed decision about what you need to safeguard your banking accounts.

What is identity theft protection?

Identity theft can potentially ruin your financial stability and even your entire life. It is the first step of identity fraud, which is why protecting yourself is so important. Identity theft protection involves monitoring your personal information for any suspicious or unusual transactions or credit applications. Although you can do this on your own for free, there are several identity theft protection services available. Companies like LifeLock and IdentityIQ offer basic plans for around $10 a month, which perform regular checks to safeguard your personal information. By setting up identity theft protection, you can prevent further criminal activity and secure your personal details.

(Image credit: Number1411 / Shutterstock)

What do credit monitoring services do?

Like identity theft protection, credit monitoring keeps an eye on your personal financial activity. 

Unlike identity theft protection, however, credit monitoring services limit their activity to changes on your credit record. So, while loan applications will be highlighted, large expenditure may not be. Credit monitoring services issue alerts, often via SMS or email. These inform you of changes so you can act if the activity is not yours.

For peace of mind, these services are overseen by humans (although some automation is used) and can track your activity with a single credit agency or all three.

Credit monitoring is often available as part of an identity theft protection subscription. However, most banks and card companies offer configurable alerts to help you monitor account activity. It’s worth enabling this feature regardless. 

Is there a free alternative to credit monitoring? Yes – you could simply request a free credit report every year from Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.

What is credit protection?

If you’re concerned about maintaining the health of your credit, credit protection can help you with that. It offers a more specific set of services than identity theft protection and credit monitoring. Credit protection can prevent identity theft by providing you with systems and tools. You’ll also receive alerts about any new or unexpected items on your credit report. This service can also cancel any lost or stolen credit cards without causing you any trouble. In general, credit protection prevents any unauthorized activity from affecting your credit score.

Although it is an automated service, credit protection is now commonly offered as part of bundled bank accounts and credit cards. Therefore, you may already be paying for this service without realizing it. To confirm whether you have credit protection, check your existing credit package agreement.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Should you consider a credit score tracker?

Beyond the world of credit protection and the fear of identity theft, credit management services can help you to improve your credit rating. This profile management is designed to assist you in building your credit score so that you can apply for a loan or mortgage confidently.

However, these tools can also observe changes to your credit score. So, while a credit score tracker is intended to help you track issues such as missed payments or incorrect defaults, it can also highlight potential identity theft.

The takeaway is that if you are rebuilding your credit and are already using a credit score tracker, you shouldn’t need to sign up for a paid identity theft protection service. You’re already doing everything you need to gain familiarity with your finances and check for undesirable activity.

Should you take identity theft insurance?

Sitting at the top of all these different services is identity theft insurance. Identity theft insurance is available from several providers, including ID protection, credit monitoring, and tracker services outlined above. Some team up with your bank or finance company – others need to be sought out to sign up.

Providers offer these services on a monthly or annual subscription and throw in the added benefit of actual insurance.

You can take this precaution to safeguard your identity, credit, and finances. Identity theft insurance will be activated if you’re hit by identity fraud.

What happens next? Well, your credit will be frozen. Cards will be canceled and reissued to you. Any stolen credit will be refunded to you. Loans taken without your knowledge will be canceled, and the insurance will cover the costs associated. In some cases, identity theft insurance will also cover legal fees if ID fraud-related action is taken against you. 

Unsurprisingly, identity theft insurance isn’t cheap. However, as with all personal insurance policies, it should be considered, especially if you consider yourself at risk of ID fraud.

Use these tools to avoid ID fraud 

ID fraud can affect anyone. The chances are you’ve already had at least one data item stolen. Mitigating the risk of a thief using your stolen ID for profit is your best defense. Identity theft protection, credit monitoring services, credit protection, credit tracking, and ID theft insurance are all options you can use.

Coupled with a greater awareness of identity theft and better digital security, you can lower the likelihood of being hit by ID fraud.

But there is a caveat: cost. Some of these services are only available with a monthly subscription. Can you afford to cover yourself for possible ID fraud? Given the potentially devastating impact, with millions affected each year, the answer must be “yes.” 

Just be sure to check that you’re not already paying for any or all of these services as part of your bank account, credit card, or finance agreement. 

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Discover how data and the latest technological advancements can be leveraged to effectively prevent identity theft and safeguard personal information.

Running a business in today’s market challenges tackling identity fraud, which can be one of the most complex and costly tasks. Failing to meet regulations can result in financial loss and damage the company’s reputation, making fraud management a crucial concern in the boardroom. 

Although fraud is not a new problem, the fraud and identity theft industry is experiencing a resurgence. The increasing reliance on digital services and products has provided many advantages to businesses but has also created new opportunities for fraudsters. As more people access online services and applications from remote locations across the globe, the potential for digital identities to be accessed has increased. The fact that the fraud sector is now worth trillions proves that identity theft is no longer just a hobby for hackers. 

Business continuity is now dependent on the shift from analog to digital offerings, and organizations across industries are undergoing digital transformation to reinvent themselves. As a result, the number of interactions between digital platforms and customers is growing, providing more opportunities for fraudsters to exploit.

Using data to win the race against identity fraudsters

Regarding identity theft, we are seeing a surge in both attempts and the complexity of attacks. Essentially, as our digital world booms, so does that of cybercriminals. So, how can businesses navigate this evolving fraud landscape? As a critical first step, they should look to embrace data, collaboration, and emerging technologies like advances in identity verification.

What’s more, how technology can support identity theft prevention is evolving, and we can now use data as a core part of these defenses. An ever-growing, flexible, multi-dimensional data set can support decision-making, risk assessments, and market understanding. There’s, therefore, no doubt that leveraging the potential of connected data points to support identity theft prevention measures will become ingrained within future business operations.

Preventity identity theft with verification

Identity verification lies at the heart of fraud prevention. However, with each step forward in identity verification technology, there’s also a progression in identity theft methods. Ultimately, the battle between the two drives the need to continue innovating and developing new verification technologies. 

Most recently, we’ve seen businesses face the challenge of remote identity verification. Under remote working measures, businesses have suddenly shifted from in-person to digital verification, leaving a gap that the online world doesn’t provide: the certainty that a person behind the screen is who they say they are.

In a time of such heightened concern, there’s more need now than ever before for businesses to be proactive in their fraud prevention solutions – to protect themselves and their customers. Identity verification technologies can be quickly and easily implemented into business services. By embracing connected datasets, organizations can benefit from more intelligent, up-to-date, and relevant insights to verify who is a legitimate customer and who’s a fraudster.

Strengthening defences with data orchestration

Data orchestration allows organizations to coordinate the use of data effectively and efficiently through one layer. As risk officers strive to equip their organizations to be safe and secure, we see a transition from data orchestration being a future goal to becoming intrinsic to secure operations. For example, during onboarding processes, identities will be verified and cross-checked with existing datasets to determine if the person is who they say they are or if they’ve committed fraud in the past. This adds a contextual layer to fraud and identity theft prevention measures, improves accuracy, and ensures compliance.

Manual data processes and siloed systems are replaced with intelligent datasets to generate real-time responses to identity theft and fraud. Behavioral in behavioral (i.e., insight into a customer’s behavior as behavioral data) is increasingly used to detect the abnormal and increase the power of fraud detection. Furthermore, there is a growing emphasis on streamlining processes, so neither customers nor fraudsters are aware of them.

As a further example, device data can indicate potential identity hijacking. Consider the example where an individual’s mobile number has changed sim cards shortly before a significant transaction occurs. Using data to spot suspicious patterns of behaviors such as this can be vital to both the organizations, such as retailers or banks, and the customers involved.

AI and ML: The future of fraud prevention

Combining data and critical behavioral intelligence with technologies such as machine learning (ML) can open up possibilities for tackling fraudsters. Machine learning can uncover previously unknown fraud patterns and use automation to support real-time fraud detection and prevention. Furthermore, ML can reduce mistakes, improve accuracy, and boost efficiency, sharpening operations overall. Organizations across industries are making real progress here and investing more and more.

Ultimately, fraudsters are continually evolving and developing new ways of stealing identities – their methods can change daily. By adopting data and intelligence-driven strategies and leveraging sophisticated AI and ML capabilities, enterprises can detect potential identity theft as it happens, mitigate the impact – and, therefore, stay ahead in the fraud race.

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