Identity Protection Service

The first step in protecting myself from future identity theft: seek out an effective identity theft protection service. If anyone else was using my information, then I wanted to know about it immediately.

First I contacted a number of friends, and although I heard about a few different products and services, the one that got the most glowing reviews was TrustedID. I got online and did a little searching and found nothing but positive reviews at every turn. As I tend to do when all I find is praise, I tried to find some negatives, but the more I dug, the more convinced I became that this was my company.

So I went here to purchase a membership. There are two levels, starting at just $10 a month. I went with the greater protection for my own peace of mind (only $5 more), but the $10 package offers enough features to catch just about any would-be identity thief before they do too much damage.

Instantly I felt relieved, like an enormous weight of fear had been lifted. After the ordeal I experienced from having my identity stolen, I knew another incident could push me toward my breaking point. Now I felt protected.

When I first tried to signup their server was having an issue, but a few minutes later I tried again and it worked flawlessly. Signup was easy and painless… a simple form and I was on my way. At first I was concerned with the question, “What if this doesn’t work?” My mind was eased by their guarantee: As a TrustedID member, if you become a victim of identity theft because of a failure in their service, they will help fix it at their expense, up to $1,000,000.

And the service works. They monitor various networks and file-sharing communities and notify me if my information is being used. They notify me of any payday loans using my information. I’m notified if a sex offender moves into my zip code, or is fraudulently using my address (a problem that is more common than one might think). They search the Web for the illegal selling or trading of your personal information. If such activity is detected, they alert you and help you take steps to resolve the problem. Their customer service, which runs 24/7, has been incredible. Most importantly, the process has been simple – they take care of it all, and I just sit back and receive notifications.