Which is the most popular Identification theft prevention service?

Answer 1

Most people don't need identification theft prevention service. You can protect yourself by making good decisions: 1) Shred your mail (credit card offers, bill statements, checking account statements, etc.). 2) Don't give out your Social Security number to anyone who calls you--they may say they're from your bank or credit-card company, but they're probably lying. 3) Don't leave your Social Security card in your wallet. 4) Check your credit report three times a year (there are three different credit bureaus: go to annualcreditreport.com and every four months get a report from a different bureau). Check to see if there are any accounts you don't recognize. Report them. 5) Do your bills electronically. When bills, credit-card offers, etc. come in the mail or you leave payments in your mailbox, especially if it's not a locked box, anyone can take this mail and steal your identity and your money. 6) Check your accounts regularly online (credit cards, bank statements) and report any suspicious activity. 7) Don't use wireless networks (cell phone or laptop) to do financial stuff--those networks can be hacked. Using landlines (DSL, phone) are much much safer. 8) Don't respond to emails from your bank, credit card company, etc. that ask to "confirm your account" or some other fishy story by giving your Social Security number, PIN number, etc. These emails come from scam artists who figure that, if they send 1 million emails pretending to be from a particular bank, some of the recipients will actually be customers of that bank and may fall for the scam. If you get a message asking for confidential information, call your bank, credit-card company, etc. (don't use the number in the email--look it up) and double-check that it's really from the bank, etc. It sounds like a lot, but it's a much better idea for you to do this than to pay someone else. For one thing, an ID theft service can't do half of this stuff--the most they can do is alert you to suspicious activity. But it's your money: you have a better idea when something fishy is going on.