Identity theft is on the increase. Everyday we hear stories about identity theft by hackers and millions of identifies are on sale after such security incidents. When looking for a Identity Protection company, it is important to check out the services offered by them. Some of the key identity protection services offered by these companies are:

• Fraud Monitoring : Monitoring the internet, internet underground, dangerous websites to check if your information is listed fraudulently. The fraud monitoring also looks for the illegal exchange of personal information. Most of the identity protection companies offer’s this service

• Fraud Alerts :  When these identity protection companies detect fraudulent activity, if the “Fraud Alerts” service is included, they notify the major credit bureaus that is attached to your credit report. Fraud alert with a credit bureau means, they will have to call you and take your approval before a line of credit is opened. Fraud alerts are valid for 90 days and should be updated.

• Resolution Services :  Most of the identity protection companies provides recovery assistance for stolen identities. They contact the required authorities and credit bureaus when a data breach occurs. Many times, this includes the legal and/or monetary assistance

• Stolen Wallet Assistance : It is not so common to lose your wallet. However, in such an event, many of the identity protection companies offers help in contacting the banks or credit card issuers to cancel your accounts

• Additionally, look for the Service Guarantee (which is the maximum amount of money the identity protection service will spend to help you in case of failures or defects from the company) and the insurance coverage you might get as part of the identity protection service offered.

It is also important to understand and analyse the types of identities protected by these identity protection services. A key set of identity records are listed below:

• Social Security Number (SSN)

• Full Name

• Street Address

• Email Address

• Telephone

• Credit Card Numbers

• Bank Account information

• Financial loans/lease information

• Drivers License

You might need to consider the option to include / extend the service to Family Members including children. Consider the Identity Protection service provider who offers credit monitoring and provides credit history reports.