trusted id
TRANSCRIPT
TrustedID
Credit Monitoring
• Every 2 seconds in the United States, another person’s iden9ty is stolen or compromised.
• An individual is at a higher risk of being a vic9m of iden9ty theB than any other crime.
• For each year between 2010 and 2014, there have been over 10 million new cases of iden9ty theB reported with an average of $32 million in loss per year.
• Data breaches with large corpora9ons have increased the risk to the American consumer.
Some signs that one’s iden9ty may have been stolen can include:
• Receiving collec9on calls for accounts which are not yours
• Receiving bills or statements for unknown accounts
• Being denied a loan in spite of having good credit
• Receiving mail which reports income which is not yours
• Missing mail or statements for accounts which are yours
• Incorrect informa9on on your credit report
• ABSOLUTELY NOTHING (Your iden9ty may be in the hands of
iden9ty criminals and you won’t even know it for an extended
period of 9me)
Iden9ty thieves are becoming more sophis9cated and are stealing
one’s iden9ty and using informa9on to file false income tax
returns, stealing refunds. According to the Internal Revenue
Service, it is cri9cal for vic9ms of iden9ty theB to contact the IRS
Iden9ty Protec9on Specialized Unit as soon as iden9ty theB is
discovered or even suspected. This department is responsible for
direc9ng taxpayers whose iden9fy has been compromised and
can be reached at: 1-‐800-‐908-‐4490.
The first step in protec9ng yourself
from iden9ty theB is to educate
yourself about credit reports,
scores, etc.
Obtain copies of your individual
credit report and examine it for
errors.
If an error is found, report the error
to the repor9ng credit bureau and
monitor your credit report,
following up as necessary.
There are several companies which
offer credit monitoring services,
TrustedId is but one of them.
Consumers want to know which
company is the best to use and
which to avoid.
Where does TrustedID fall on the
spectrum of effec9veness, price
and integrity?
• 3-‐Bureau Credit Monitoring: daily monitoring of their subscribers’ credit reports from all
three major credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion and Equifax).
• Alerts: TrustedId states that they send alerts of any significant changes for fraud
protec9on.
• The Equifax 3-‐Bureau Credit Report is a proprietary product which is available for all
subscribers in addi9on to the free credit report which is provided under federal law.
• Iden<ty Threat Score: allows customers to see where their personal and financial data
may be at risk for iden9ty thieves and suggests steps to take in order to correct these
weaknesses.
• Financial Iden<ty Protec<on: monitors informa9on in public databases and on black
market internet sites.
• Medical Benefits Protec<on: that no one else is receiving treatment under your
iden9ty.
• Social Security & Federal Income Tax Benefit Protec<on: determine if anyone is
stealing social security benefits or filing taxes in your name and receiving your
refund.
• Lost Wallet Protec<on: cancel credit accounts and receive replacement credit
cards in the event of a lost or stolen wallet.
• Family Protec<on: protec9on may be extended to up to four more family
members living at the same address for an addi9onal charge.
• $1 Million Iden<ty TheK Insurance: covers out-‐of-‐pocket costs
associated with iden9ty theB.
• Protec<on Specialists: customer support specialists answer ques9ons
and take ac9on if there’s a reason to suspect that your iden9ty has been
compromised.
• Employee Benefits Program: TrustedID offers an employee benefit
program for companies wan9ng to add credit monitoring and iden9ty
protec9on as an employee benefit.
The Equifax 3-‐Bureau Credit Report is decep9vely described by the front-‐line company
materials (website) and representa9ves saying, “Get online access to your credit scores
from the three major credit bureaus. See the scores that lenders see when deciding to
give you a loan or line of credit.”
The contract explicitly states, “You should not assume that You will receive the same
evalua3on, credit terms or condi3ons. Equifax does not represent that the Equifax Credit
Score is iden3cal or similar to any other credit score or score model. Moreover, any
es3mated score changes predicted by Our Products are only es3mates and are provided
for educa3onal purposes solely to enable You to determine how future financial decisions
(e.g., obtaining a new car loan or mortgage) might impact your credit score.”
• At the end of the 14-‐day trial, customers are automa9cally
enrolled in a 90-‐day contracted period, rather than a monthly
contract like most other companies.
• There is ample evidence to suggest that customers do not
receive the services which they are paying for and that all of
the credit reports are not regularly refreshed.
TrustedId states that they offer tools to help their users protect themselves
from iden9ty theB and fraud, yet there are many reports available which state
that the company does not fulfill their promises to customers.
Prospec9ve customers should also be aware that the company is owned by
Equifax and that the government filed an ac9on against Equifax sta9ng that the
company sold credit informa9on to outside sources.
