Despite my concerns I rejected the identity fraud protection services offered by banks and the like. The major problem I have with these services is that they only catch a problem after the fact. I'm also annoyed by the monthly fee -- especially since it's the banks who ultimately permit criminals to open accounts, albeit under false pretenses. So personally I think the ID protection plans have been useless and a money grab.
"The Achilles' heel in all of these plans is that the financial institution does not have to make a reasonable attempt to contact you, so the fraudulent account may still get opened. Even with a credit freeze, some financial intuitions won't contact you. There's no way to prove or disprove an institution called you" -- cnet.com
I don't know how LifeLock works but when its CEO is an ID fraud victim after publicly bragging about LifeLock's security, it doesn't exactly inspire confidence. As Jeremy Clarkson discovered, it's not a matter of whether or not you're vulnerable to ID fraud, but a matter of whether or not you'll be targeted.
In the United States the three credit monitoring companies (Equifax, Trans Union, Experian) are legally required to each provide a free credit report annually. I've been checking my credit reports every four months.
Am I being paranoid? I don't think so. Millions of Americans are victims of identity fraud annually. Besides, I'd feel much worse being a victim having done nothing than being a victim and having at least tried to be proactive.
Anywhoo, all this is to say is why haven't I heard of Debix sooner? From an article on cnet:
"Not only does Debix put a credit freeze on your profile, but it uses its own phone number to log whether the credit institution tried to contact you. And if you're not available, Debix puts the pending account or loan on hold until you are able to return the call. And by using a Debix phone number, not your home number, on your credit report, that adds another layer of security to the product.
So how does Debix work in the real world? Say you are at a car dealership and you need to finance a new car. Shortly after the salesperson leaves the showroom floor, your mobile phone should ring. That's Debix; you know it because it's your voice saying a secret code. Then Debix asks if you indeed are seeking to establish a new account. If yes, you type in a secret personal identification number.
Say you are on vacation and Debix conveys a permission request for a new account. Since you didn't request a new account, you press star and you are instantly put in touch with a Debix investigator, who then contacts the party requesting the credit check. The advantage here, says Holland, is that the ID fraud case is still hot. In some cases, Debix has been able to identify a particular IP address and then turn that information over the local law enforcement. This saves local law enforcement time; they don't have to get a warrant for the bank's information--Debix has already provided the information. [...]
Sound too good to be true? In a study published by Julie Fergerson, vice president of Emerging Technologies, and Debix's Holland, the authors looked at 30,000 Debix-secured transactions during a two-month period at the end of 2007. Of those, 380 were identified as fraud and were stopped immediately. Overall, the rate of new account fraud among Debix customers was zero percent.ITRC's Foley said he was impressed with the results within the survey. Holland told me that during the survey period there were four instances of new account fraud. In each case, however, the financial institution did not call the customer. With Debix, though, you have some recourse. Debix maintains a record and can prove the institution in question did not attempt to call the customer."
Bold is mine.
Debix has been protecting against ID fraud since 2004, so it's not an untried new kid on the block. Plus, it's only $24 (for a single adult) or $72 (up to 3 adults, 4 children) annually.
I doubt it's full-proof, but Debix sounds far better than anything else I've seen.
8 comments:
The only question is how to thaw your credit. There's no way Debix can afford to do it for you (assuming they could) at that rate.
So if it's just an alerting program, it's seems satisfying to be able to nail the bastids that are after your good name, but not that great of a deal after all.
There are some companies that offer INSURANCE.... identityfraud.com. They offer $25,000 insurance and fix all of the problems FOR YOU! So it is good to check if the program your bank or credit union offers has this coverage.
Response to Jeremy... Usually to "unfreeze" your credit - it costs money - the amount varies by state.
I just went to the Debix website and I don't think Debix puts an actual credit freeze (as was described in the article I sourced) on your account, so the fee for lifting a freeze wouldn't apply.
All Debix does is put Debix's number on your credit report -- informing anyone checking your credit to phone the Debix number for identity verification, as required by U.S. Federal law.
Assuming you reject such calls, then with Debix you've blocked a fraudulent account *before* it's opened.
In cases where creditors don't call for verification Debix has a record of who called and who didn't, so at least you have evidence of whether a creditor really called you or not (perhaps helpful in clearing up ID fraud after the fact).
FYI, ID Theft Insurance is included in the Debix annual fee. I think it's for $25k and appears to me to have similar coverage as some other insurers.
On further thought, are creditors legally obligated to verify identity if there's *not* a credit freeze?
As Jeremy posted, I don't see how Debix could survive if they had to pay the lifting fee each time.
Testing...
testing
Weird. As soon as I add a new comment, a previous comment reappears.
Eh?
Here is a Debix review I found that helped me make the decision to use them. According to this review it is a fraud alert not a credit freeze that is placed on your credit report.
The site I refer to is http://www.creditprotectionpro.com and they compare other companies as well but they are much more expensive. Who has money for that nowadays. :)
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