With full scaled identity thefts on the rise, satelliting businesses tag along with complimentary protection offers. They work quite like regular insurance policies but this time, it’s your personal life and information on the line. Question is “What if that’s not enough?”.
With year of gathered data, the main causes for online attacks, hacks, and identity thefts are well known. Facts are that users’ negligence is the main reason for identity theft opportunities, and success. People are just not tech-savvy enough to completely comprehend the risk factors and actions needed, and as long they don’t know, insurance is just a minor compensation for their loss.
What Is Identity Theft Insurance?
Basically, identity theft insurance is a form of enhanced security monitoring and compensation provided by 3rd parties. Practically speaking, flagged actions online are being checked with you, as well as all suspicious credit account or social security number usage.
Problem number 1 – to provide that service, these companies monitor you and your personal information.
Problem number 2 – your information is stored on their servers, which if hacked, expose your information.
Enrollment is easy. You do it over the phone or email and pay a monthly fee for the service chosen. Basic plans cost around $10/month, while premium packages can go up to $30/moth. The compensation you could get goes up to $1 million. While that sounds nice on paper, in reality, you need to prove the value of your loss, be it emotional, financial or otherwise, to be compensated accordingly. One good thing is that as a victim, you’ll be appointed to an expert to guide you through the post-id-theft process.
What Happens When Your Identity is Stolen?
Once initiated, the post-id-theft process is long and stressful. For precaution reasons, it’s strongly advised to change everything from bank account to social security number. You will also have to report it to the IC3 which holds the jurisdiction for internet crime. Last, and probably the most tiring is filling up all the paperwork regarding the case.
At the end, you are most likely to be reimbursed for some portion of the coverage, and your identity will be restored, but (!) – no one can reimburse you for the psychological trauma, time and effort spent and potential future damage you may sustain.
The Problem
What people don’t know is that online, every action you take leaves a digital trace. IT professionals call it a digital footprint. With that digital footprint, hackers can assemble one’s full profile to be abused.
The lack of knowledge, and false feeling of safety make us reveal more than needed online, regarding ourselves, our family, place of work and what not…
When it comes to compensation, any of those could be a factor of a declined insurance claim. On one hand, you are offered compensation for a possible information leak and abuse, but on the other, you are expected to be knowledgeable enough to not get to that point…
Can You Stop It?
Of course, you can! There are a few ways of prevention, they only vary in efficiency and price.
The simple ways to stay under the radar of hackers is by clearing your history and cookies regularly. Using incognito mode can also help to some extent. Besides that, you’ll have to pay attention where do you leave your personal information. Every browser has this options, so the service is free. The downside of this method is that it’s not completely working. Even with regular browser cleanups, the digital footprint is staying in the virtual world.
The most effective way is the use of software designed specifically for this task.
PC Privacy Shield will wipe out your online digital footprint, including your browsing history, file usage and chat records.
By scanning through accounts and profiles PC Privacy Shield gets all the info scattered around and reports back to the user, for him/her to decide what to do next – wipe it clean, or keep specific information intact.
Installation and software’s interface were designed that way even beginners won’t have difficulty using it. Its simplicity and efficiency are its main quality. When it comes to price it’s way cheaper than the insurance fees. The license is paid annually and updated regularly.
ID thefts, like many other crimes, have a very common flow;
1 – An opening… An opportunity. A potential breach of information and security.
2 – The thief – Someone smart enough to see it, exploit it, and abuse it.
3 – Alerts – Monitoring and response protocols to cut your losses.
4 – Investigating and understanding where the problem was, in order to avoid it.
5 – Compensation – If applicable.
ID theft insurance vendors take care of 3, 4, and if you are lucky 5.
But, why not just cut that cycle before it begins? It’s always better to prevent it than to heal it. And prevention is something everyone has to do for themselves.