Company names mentioned herein are the property of, and may be trademarks of, their respective owners. Compiled and designed by Mark Fullbright , Certified Identity Theft Risk Management Specialist™ (CITRMS) as a free service for consumers to protect themselves from business scams.

1. IDENTITY THEFT SERVICES
Helpful Assistance or
Smoke & Mirrors

2. Fear as a Sales Tool
• Identity Theft Services often use outdated
statistics to create fear, which create sales.
• The only true and unbiased statistics of
Identity Theft are from the Federal Trade
Commission.
Consumer Sentinel Network - Federal Trade
Commission 2013
• Base your decision on paying for ID Services
on facts, not hype.

3. ID Theft Insurance
• In general, ID-theft insurance is secondary to any other
coverage that might pay out first, such as homeowners or
renter’s insurance.
• Ask if the insurance coverage includes the expense of
hiring an attorney if needed
• If you received a subpoena to appear in court for an
Identity Theft related case, is it covered?
• Some insurers include ID-theft coverage in their
homeowners-insurance policies.
• Ask plenty of questions! What is covered? How to get
reimbursed?

4. Web Monitoring Services
• These services often provide more false alerts than actual
security alerts.
• Names that are similar can send alerts
• Normal public records activity
• Most services do not guarantee that it will apprise you of
all instances that your SSN or associated records may
have been compromised.
• I find monitoring services helpful if you have been a victim
of identity theft. Try and fine tune them to reduce false
alerts.
• Also keep fraud alerts active. Don’t just rely on monitoring
services.

5. What other credit bureaus can provide
• The credit reporting bureaus aren’t the only repositories of
your personal data.
• Information in other databases can indicate that a crook is
using your identity.
• Per the FACT Act you can check these reports each year
without charge:
Specialty Credit Reports

6. Review that company!
Part of your due diligence is looking at the company that
will be helping with your identity theft issue.
Like any company you employ, do a basic background
check.
 Glassdoor
 BBB
 FTC
The National Association of Attorneys General

7. Can you can do yourself?
www.annualcreditreport.com
• TransUnion
• Fraud Alert
• Security Freeze 1-888-909-8872 (Freeze Line)
• Experian
• Fraud Alert
• Security Freeze 1-888-397-3742 (Freeze Line)
• Equifax
• Fraud Alert
• Security Freeze 1-888-298-0045 (Freeze Line)

8. What services do they provide?
 Medical Identity Theft
 Synthetic Identity Theft
 Identity cloning
 Financial identity theft
 Criminal identity theft
 Debt Tagging
 Fraud
 Account Takeover Fraud
 Wire Fraud or HELOC
 DL Identity Theft
 Document - Benefit Fraud
 Child Identity Theft

9. How does their website add up?
• Companies will tell you what they want you to hear. Check
their website to see if they are really for you:
 Is it easy to understand?
 Is it easy to navigate?
 Does it have free Consumer Resources?
 Is it up to date?
 Do they keep you updated on important Identity Theft trends?
 Does it have useful links to other Identity Theft related sites.

10. Advocate reviews
• IDTheftInfo.org
• Identity Theft
Resource Center
(ITRC)
• Consumer.ftc.gov
• Privacy Rights
Clearinghouse

11. The bottom line
• You may need some help in sending letters and making
contact with collection agencies and creditors regarding
identity theft fraud.
• If you’re not comfortable with your ID assistant, ask for
someone else. This is no time for amateurs.
• Keep track of everything being done. Request a summary
of all work completed on your behalf and copies of any
letters sent.
• Request a good contact number to reach your ID
assistant.

12. Disclosure
Company names mentioned herein are the property of, and may
be trademarks of, their respective owners and are for educational
purposes only.
This document is not an endorsement of any of the companies
mentioned. It is suggested that consumers conduct their own due
diligence before purchasing Identity Theft services.
I have not received any payment or compensation for mentioning
any companies in this document.
I do not imply one company is better than another or by not
mentioning a certain company imply it is substandard.

13. STAY SAFE, STAY SECURE
Compiled and designed by Mark Fullbright , Certified Identity
Theft Risk Management Specialist™ (CITRMS) as a free
service for consumers to protect themselves from deceitful
companies taking advantage of Identity Theft victims.