Protect Yourself From Identity Theft
Protecting your credit doesn’t have to be expensive. There are plenty of low-cost and free options, including those provided by credit card companies.
WASHINGTON – Data breaches don't seem to be going away, so it's important to protect your personal information to prevent identity theft.
The good news for people hoping to save money is that you are your own strongest defense against identity theft.
That includes using unique and complex passwords for each of your accounts, enabling multifactor authentication for account sign-in and installing software updates for your devices, apps and web browsers as soon as they're available. Additionally, you should never click on links or attachments that appear in unsolicited text messages and emails; they may lead to scam websites or install malware on your device.
Besides good habits, here are some targeted services for a fee or free that can also help.
For example, DeleteMe (joindeleteme.com), which has plans starting at $8.71 a month, helps prevent damage by finding and removing your personally identifiable information from data-broker websites. "Most of us have our (information) available for purchase from multiple data-broker sites, so this removal lowers your risk footprint overall," says Mitch Mayne, a cybersecurity consultant.
For a tool for password management, 1Password (1password.com) is well reviewed and highly recommended for its long list of security features, which include a mix of advanced encryption, biometrics (face and fingerprint identification) and ease of use. Plans start at $2.99 a month, and you can sign up for a free, 14-day trial.
For more-comprehensive monitoring, prioritize services that offer restorative and preventive support. For example, both identity-theft protection plans from IDShield (idshield.com) come with guaranteed identity restoration, which gives you unlimited access to live customer support, but they also include password managers and VPNs.
They offer some degree of credit-score and credit-report monitoring, as well. ID Shield plans start at $14.95 a month. Consider the free alternatives. Many people don't realize they already have free services available to them through their relationships with financial institutions. If you have a Mastercard credit card or debit card, for example, you can visit mastercardus. idprotectiononline.com to sign up for free restoration and monitoring services, including alerts if your user credentials are compromised in a corporate data breach. You may also have a free identity-theft protection plan through your employer, and some renters and homeowners insurance policies include protection for financial accounts, too.
"Many identity-theft protections already come with products you use – your antivirus software, for example," says Mayne, "so it's worth your time and money to understand what you already have available before buying another product that does the same thing."
You can also explore free services online. For example, to find out if your information has been "pwned," or compromised in a data breach, and sign up for future data breach alerts, try using Have I Been Pwned (haveibeenpwned.com).
As for securing your credit reports and preventing certain forms of credit-card fraud, you can set up a credit freeze, which blocks anyone from opening a new loan or credit card in your name, by contacting the three national credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion).
You can also visit AnnualCreditReport.com to pull your credit reports for free once a week and review them for signs of fraud.
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