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Wednesday, June 29, 2011

IDENTITY GUARD® Review

IDENTITY GUARD® TOTAL PROTECTION℠ is the best credit monitoring service and an outstanding credit protection company. They do a fantastic job identifying if your information is being sold illegally over the Internet or changed fraudulently in databases. There are three products included in the IDENTITY GUARD TOTAL PROTECTION service: credit account protection, Web monitoring and security software.

IDENTITY GUARD’s credit account protection is more than comprehensive. Instead of simply placing a fraud alerts on your credit file, IDENTITY GUARD tries to stop unauthorized use of your personal information before it occurs. This service includes a search for applications of credit in your name, such as credit cards or loans, as well as a search for applications for other accounts, like cell phone registrations. This application search takes place every business day. In addition, the service monitors your credit report to notify you of certain changes to your file.

If changes are made to one or more of your credit accounts at any of the three credit bureaus, IDENTITY GUARD will send you an email within 24 hours of the change so that you can quickly block and/or close the accounts and report the matter to the authorities. In our opinion daily three bureau credit monitoring is a must have for any monitoring service. By utilizing MOBILE LOCKBOX® (see below), you can choose to be alerted of any changes via text message. There is also a simulator for those looking to improve their credit score that allows them to see how different scenarios affect their credit score.

With its Web monitoring service, IDENTITY GUARD will scour the Internet far and wide to see if your information is being released or shared by identity thieves. This is possible because the service scans the online markets and channels used most often for the illegal trading and distribution of personal information.

The company will also check public records databases for inaccurate information regarding your accounts, which may occur because a thief has compromised your information or may simply be errors, but either way, you can correct them in a timely fashion. In other words, you will be alerted to changes to your sensitive information to help you stop identity thieves before they start opening accounts.

IDENTITY GUARD’s security software is known as ZoneAlarm. It was created to target identity thieves who try to install software on your computer through websites or emails or who con you into sending them your personal information through spoofed web pages. It has the capability to block viruses, spyware and fraudulent emails to protect you from phishing attacks, hackers and malicious spam. The software is updated regularly as new viruses and phishing attacks are created. ZoneAlarm is just as effective as McAfee and Norton internet security suites so you are in effect saving $50 per year by not having to purchase those products and it doesn’t hog all your system resources like Norton does. In other words your computer will run faster.

In addition to the above services, IDENTITY GUARD TOTAL PROTECTION offers two more services to give you more convenience and peace of mind: PRIVACYPROTECT® and MOBILE LOCKBOX.

PRIVACYPROTECT is another Web security product that can protect your personal information. Some of the more high-tech identity thieves can steal your personal information by remotely installing software on your machine that records your keystrokes as you type in personal information. You may already have this spyware on your machine without even knowing it. Once your machine is protected with PRIVACYPROTECT software, your keystrokes will be encrypted. So even if he is recording your keystrokes, all the spy will see – and be able to copy – is gobbledygook.

MOBILE LOCKBOX is a program that can help you safely store user names and passwords. Since the most secure passwords and user names can be complicated and difficult to remember, this service gives you a trusted place to keep them without writing them down while still allowing you to access them at your fingertips. All you need is a cell phone, PDA or computer to “lock up” your account numbers, passwords, files, records and other sensitive information. Plus, with all of this information in one place, it’s easy to cancel all of your accounts if you find that they have been compromised or if your wallet or purse is lost or stolen. Just give IDENTITY GUARD a call and it is taken care of all at one time.

IDENTITY GUARD’s Identity Theft Assistance Center will assist you through the entire process of recovery if you are ever victimized by this horrible crime.

Identity theft insurance* is also provided with coverage of $1,000,000 with no deductible for unauthorized fund loss, legal defense, lost wages and costs or expenses you may incur to recover your identity and restore your accounts. Some restrictions ($1000/week up to 4 weeks for lost wages for example) do apply so please see IdentityGuard.com for further details about their ID Theft Insurance.

They do promise to reimburse you for any financial loss as a result of identity theft with their simple no-nonsense disclaimer: “On the slim chance that your money is stolen by identity thieves while you are a customer, you will be reimbursed the difference between your actual loss and the amount reimbursed to you by your financial institution, up to $1 million. The major stipulations are that you: report your loss to us within 90 days; you let us help you recover your losses, you apply for reimbursement from your financial institution.”*

With its credit monitoring and comprehensive online protection, IDENTITY GUARD is the perfect weapon against 21st century thieves. With over 10 million identity theft victims per year, they are a great partner to have on your side. It’s much better to be protected than to end up in those statistics.

IDENTITY GUARD is offering their TOTAL PROTECTION service for $14.99 a month (regularly $17.99) with a 30-day no-obligation trial period. Price is locked in for subsequent years so long as you don’t cancel. Just click the link below this sentence to receive this discount and get the peace of mind you deserve.

IDENTITY GUARD TOTAL PROTECTION Discount – click here.

Intersections, IDENTITY GUARD, TOTAL PROTECTION, PRIVACYPROTECT , MOBILE LOCKBOX and ID RISK ASSESSMENT®
are federally registered trademarks of Intersections Inc.

*Reimbursement will be provided by insurance carrier. Insurance underwritten by National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, Pa. The description herein is a summary only. It does not include all terms, conditions and exclusions of the policies described. Please refer to the actual policies for complete details of coverage and exclusions. Coverage may not be available in all jurisdictions and is subject to actual policy language.

TrueCredit Review

TrueCredit is a service provided by TransUnion Interactive. It is different from the credit monitoring solution offered by TransUnion in that TrueCredit monitors all three credit bureaus. This service offers a free 30-day trial, and costs $14.95 per month thereafter.

One advantage to TrueCredit is that you can request an updated copy of your Experian and Equifax credit report/score once every 30 days, and can update your TransUnion report/score once per day. When you request these reports from TrueCredit it doesn’t have a negative effect your credit score.

TrueCredit is constantly looking for new features to help consumers monitor their credit report. Recent new features include instant message updates, insurance scores, and a mortgage simulator. Insurance scores is especially interesting in that it allows you to see data used by insurance companies to determine what rate you pay.

Every time you log into your TrueCredit account you will see a “change checker.” This window provides a quick snap-shot of recent activity on your credit report. Even if you never login to the website TrueCredit will send you an email within 24 hours of any key change to your credit report.

On the negative side of things, some TrueCredit customers have reported frustration with spammy emails and affiliate ads after signing up with the credit monitoring service.

TrueCredit is dedicated to helping consumers monitor their credit, but doesn’t offer business solutions.

If you have any questions about products offered by TrueCredit you will have to rely on articles on the website. We were unable to find an email address and the “virtual agent” is exactly that, virtual. The agent is a robot named Jenny and she is easily confused, but she did give us the phone number (which can’t be found anywhere else on the site).

The only benefit we were able to find with TrueCredit that you can’t get with TransUnion is credit monitoring that tracks all three credit bureaus. Such a feature is the mark of a truly comprehensive credit monitoring solution.

For information about how to improve your credit report, look at How to Build a Better Credit Rating and TopTen Tips for Finding a Credit Counselor. If you are looking for help protecting your identity, check out our Identity Theft Protection Services Reviews.

Credit Report.com Review

CreditReport.com claims to be one of the leading providers of credit report and scoring information for consumers. CreditReport.com has served consumers since 1998 and is a registered trademark of Mighty Net, Inc, which is not directly affiliated with any of the three major credit bureaus.

This service is a good solution if you are concerned about identity theft and don’t require additional assistance in monitoring your report for fraud. If you are not familiar with identifying potentially fraudulent items on your credit report we recommend you look at one of our top three contenders in the credit report category as they offer services that watch for such activity.

When you order a 3 credit bureau report and credit score from CreditReport.com you are automatically signed up to receive a 7 day free trial for a credit report and credit score monitoring service. This service costs $14.95 per month if is not canceled during the free trial period.

With the CreditReport.com monitoring service you will receive email alerts if there are any significant changes to your reports or score.

The 3 Bureau Credit Report service provides unlimited online access to the report for 60 days. This doesn’t mean you can generate unlimited reports, but rather you can view and print the initial report as many times as you want.

CreditReport.com also allows you to request a copy of a credit report from a single credit bureau. If you go this route you may choose which of the three bureaus your report comes from. This is not as effective as monitoring all three, but if you just want a quick snapshot it is a good option.

CreditReport.com is not an actual credit bureau which means they are not able to investigate disputes. It is recommended you contact the three credit bureaus if you discover inaccurate information on your credit report.

Identity protection, theft resolution services, and identity theft insurance are not provided by CreditReport.com.

CreditReport.com is dedicated to individual consumers and does not provide services directly to businesses. Also, they are not authorized to provide credit reports to anyone except the consumers, which means businesses can’t use CreditReport.com to request consumer credit reports.

If you have any questions or concerns about services offered by CreditReport.com, you may contact them via telephone or email. There is also a detailed frequently asked questions section available on their website.

CreditReport.com offers inexpensive credit report services to consumers and provides excellent educational material on their website, but they lack business and identity protection solutions.

For information about how to improve your credit report, look at How to Build a Better Credit Rating and TopTen Tips for Finding a Credit Counselor. If you are looking for help protecting your identity, check out our Identity Theft Protection Services Reviews.

Please Note: We did not actually request a credit report, credit score, or credit monitoring services from this company. Review is based on available information, sample reports and experiences with customer service.

Credit Monitoring Services

Online credit monitoring services provide consumers with a suite of tools that help you to take proactive action in monitoring your credit report, while protecting your credit and identity information. Monitoring services notify you via email and/or wireless telephone instantly of any changes made to your credit report, which can help you identify fraudulent activity faster, and therefore minimize the negative impact it would have on your credit.

Notifications by Credit Monitoring Services

What types of activity will generate a notification or alert from the credit monitoring services? As a member of such a service, you’ll receive notification whenever your address has been changed, a new account has been opened, or when an existing account has been changed. This is extremely valuable information as you will know immediately if someone is attempting to use your good name to obtain financing. Time is of the essence when dealing with credit and identity fraud, and without credit monitoring services, it could be several months before you are aware of fraudulent activities.

Tips for Improving Credit

Most credit monitoring services also provide a host of tools that allow you to see what your credit score is at the current time, as well as steps you can take to improve it. Since credit scores are used to determine whether or not to extend individuals credit and at what interest rate; it’s important that your score be as high as possible.

Citi’s Credit Monitoring Service provides a very useful credit analyser function that allows members to determine the effects of several types of activities on their credit score. For example, if you’re considering applying for a car loan, you can use the analyser to determine how much of an impact applying will have on your score, as well as what would happen if you obtained the loan or applied and were denied the loan.

You can also use the analyser to view how missing a payment or two might effect your score overall, or determine which activities will raise your score the most and how long it will take. Extremely useful for individuals who are working diligently to improve their credit score, the Citi Credit Monitoring Service with credit analyser takes the guesswork out of improving your credit.

Identity Theft Insurance

Many credit monitoring services offer identity theft insurance programs that will reimburse members of the credit monitoring service up to a certain dollar amount if there are instances of fraud. (This service is not available to individuals living in the state of New York.) Typical expenses that are covered by identity theft insurance include:

* Lost wages for several weeks of work missed if you take time off to deal with the fraud
* Repayment of notary or certified mail costs for the delivery of affidavits.
* Long distance phone costs in conjunction with the fraud
* Attorney fees incurred for dealing with the fraud

Companies Offering Credit Monitoring Services

There are numerous companies that offer credit monitoring services. Most of the services offered are the same or similar, but a few companies having notable differences may make their services more beneficial to individuals. If you’re looking to improve your credit, you want to be sure a credit monitoring service offers an analyser, like Citi Credit Monitoring Service,creditreport.com, TrueCredit, or Identity Guard.

If you want to see results from all credit bureaus, then it’s important that you select a company that provides access to all of the major credit bureaus and not just one. Equifax offers a credit monitoring service, but only for your credit information with Equifax. Each of the credit bureaus may report slightly different information, so you may want to go with a service that can provide access to all 3 of the major credit reports.

The Pros and Cons of a Credit Repair Service

Many people choose to utilize a credit repair service in order to help fix their credit score. While this service can be beneficial in some cases, it also has a few drawbacks that you should know about. Here are some of the pros and cons of using a credit repair service.

Pros

One of the biggest advantages of using a credit repair services that you can work with a company that knows how to repair credit. When individuals try to repair their own credit score, there is a good chance that they do not know exactly what they are doing. By contracting with a professional agency, you know that they are going to know how to repair a credit score effectively. Many times, these agencies can significantly increase your credit score within a very short period of time.

Most of these credit repair services also have working relationships with creditors. For example, if you have a lot of credit card debt, the credit repair service may be able to contact them directly and help resolve any issues that you might have with them. As an individual, you may not have the capability to do the same thing on your own.

Whenever you work with a credit repair service, they will be able to sit down with you and help you avoid getting into further credit problems. Many times, they will be able to look at your financial situation and help you come up with a budget that works for you. This way, you can start to live within your means and avoid accumulating more debt in the future.

Cons

One of the biggest disadvantages of this type of service is that you will have to pay them for their services. In some cases, you might have to pay a substantial fee in order for the company to help you out. When you are already having money problems, you might not have any extra money lying around to pay for a credit repair service.

Another problem that you might have with a credit repair service is that there is no way to ensure that they are going to be able to do their job. You might pay them a large sum of money to fix your credit and then they do not follow through with the job. There are some scam companies out there that will take advantage of unsuspecting customers in this situation. It can be very frustrating to invest money in something only to find out that it is not legitimate.

With a credit repair service, you are going to be turning your credit over to an outside agency. They are going to tell you what to do and give you steps to take in order to repair your credit. In order to successfully complete the process, you will have to do exactly as they say. If you are not type of person that likes to be told what to do, this could be a problem for you.

How Credit Repair Companies Work

Many credit repair companies offer to fix your credit report errors fast. When you take a close look at their methods, though, you’ll notice that you can do the exact same things on your own for free. Some companies even make you do most of the leg work, which means you don’t really benefit from anything. Here’s what you need to know about how they work so that you can determine whether it’s a service worth paying for.

Obtain Information from You about Errors

Credit repair companies begin the process of disputing errors on your behalf by collecting the necessary information from you. The company you choose will send you copies of your credit reports from all major credit report bureaus and ask you to circle the records that are erroneous. You’ll most likely get a phone interview with a representative to explain why the record is inaccurate or incomplete.

Send Dispute Letters on Your Behalf

The company will then customize a letter template and send the appropriate bureaus credit dispute letters. In the letter, the company will ask for an investigation and for the record to be removed or corrected. It will also submit any documentation that you provided.

Set up Automated Payments

Some credit repair companies also set up automated payments with creditors so that you can work towards paying off your remaining debts. They may or may not try to settle with creditors. That depends on the services they offer.

These are all things that you could be doing yourself, and it may not be worth the expense to pay someone else to do them. The money you save could be put towards paying off your debts.

The 3 Major Credit Bureaus and Why Their Scores Differ

TransUnion, Equifax and Experian are the three major credit bureaus, and they all have different credit scores for each individual with a credit history. The difference in scoring can be confusing because you may not know which one is going to be considered the most by those who are reviewing your credit reports. The three credit bureaus have developed VantageScore in order to make your credit scores easier to understand, but it’s important to know how and why they score your credit they way they do.

Based on Special Scoring Models

Each of the major credit bureaus developed its own scoring model on which it bases all credit scores. As a result, you can get up to a 100-point difference. Here are the ranges to know about:

* Transunion scores range from 300 to 850 points.
* Equifax scores range from 350 to 850 points.
* Experian scores range from 330 to 830 points.

The two commonly used scoring models are called FICO or PLUS.

Data Collection Varies

Creditors may report your information to one or two of the credit bureaus but not to all three. Also, in the process of collecting information, what one of the major credit bureaus ends up with may be far different from the information gathered by the other two. Your financial record has a direct impact on your credit score, and different records will produce different scores. It’s for this reason that lenders and others often average your scores; they are trying to determine a more accurate number.

Check your credit reports for errors and send the major credit report bureaus dispute letters if necessary to make corrections. It may help to bring all three scores closer together.

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