Credit/ID Monitoring

[Batteriesnare]

First off, I hate thieves!

With the data breach of Anthem - of which I'm a member - I've been looking for input on credit and ID monitoring from companies like LifeLock. Seems to me that there are very mixed reviews on the effectiveness and service from these companies and that it may not be worth the cost, even if your ID is stolen. I do a very thorough job of watching our accounts (debit, credit, investments) but short of the three free annual credit reports, I don't have much oversight on new, fraudulent accounts being opened with my information. My questions are:

1. Is this service/protection worth while or a waste of time and money? - particularly interested if you've had to deal with your identity being stolen.
2. Do you have a service in this field that you recommend? What has been your experience with their service and resolution on issues?
3. What proactive steps can I take to prevent and monitor for fraudulent accounts being created with my info?


Thanks for your time any any input you can offer!

[brutal]

Keep your credit info locked with all three. That shouldn't cost you anything. Unlock if you need to apply for credit or a thorough background check is needed.

I subscribe to Experian credit monitoring for $14.95/mo. Seemed to be the best deal going at the time.

P.S. Didn't the pres of Lifelock, the guy that posted his SSN on all the billboards, get jacked up?

[TFOGGER]

I am also an Anthem member. They should be offering to pay for a year of monitoring shortly.

excerpt from an email I received:


Please be aware that Anthem, Inc., the parent company of one of our health insurance providers, was recently the victim of a highly sophisticated cyber attack. Anthem has informed us that its member data was accessed, which could include our employees. Please note the attack was not directed at CU's servers, but since a large number of CU employees were affected, we are sharing what we know.

We are working closely with Anthem to better understand the impact on members. Here is what we now know:


Once Anthem determined it was the victim of a cyber attack, it immediately notified federal law enforcement officials and shared the indicators of compromise with the HITRUST C3 (Cyber Threat Intelligence and Incident Coordination Center).
The information accessed includes member names, member health ID numbers/Social Security numbers, dates of birth, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses and employment information. Social Security numbers were only included in a subset of those affected.
Anthem is still working to determine which members' Social Security numbers were accessed.
Anthem's investigation to date shows that no credit card or confidential health information was accessed.
Anthem's Information Security has worked to eliminate further vulnerability and continues to secure its data.
Anthem immediately began a forensic IT investigation to determine the number of impacted consumers and to identify the type of information accessed. The investigation is ongoing.
Anthem has advised us there is no immediate indication that any personal information has been misused.
Anthem has informed us it plans to offer credit monitoring services to affected employees. enrolled in identity repair services. In addition, impacted members will be provided information on how to enroll in free credit monitoring.

While at this time, the cause and impact of the attack is not clearly known, anytime personal information is involved, it is important to guard against phishing attacks.

[Batteriesnare]

I received the same email, but it seemed like they would be a while in determining who was effected, and what their plan to make it right would be. Trying to be proactive to head off more headaches later.

[Rooskibar03]

You can lock your 3 credit bureaus for free. Watch your bank account like a hawk. I've stopped using my debit card as much and have gone to one credit card for my monthly expenses, gas, grocery, eating out and then pay off at end of month.

[brutal]

My personal opinion is to NEVER use your checking account debit card anywhere but your bank ATM. Keep your max daily withdrawal amount reasonable and don't keep a lot of cash in the account tied to the card.

Get a good no annual fee rewards card, use it exclusively, and pay off religiously like it's your bank account.

[Wulf202]

My personal opinion is to NEVER use your checking account debit card anywhere but your bank ATM. Keep your max daily withdrawal amount reasonable and don't keep a lot of cash in the account tied to the card.

Get a good no annual fee rewards card, use it exclusively, and pay off religiously like it's your bank account.

That doesn't stop em. Trust me

[Ranger353]

I have had some experience with ID theft, not me but my Son and a family friend that was leaving with us for a short time. My Son is in the Marines and when he was changing duty stations he had his fire lock box stolen from this shipment. I know, I know, why in the hell did he ship that with his household goods? Beats me, and he never could me a good answer other than he thought it would be safe (no pun intended). He lost his SS card, birth certificate, HS diploma, his whole life. He locked his account on all 3 bureaus, but because "they" have so much of his info, someone was able to call the bureaus and unlock the account, change the PIN, and assume his identity to buy a freaking car! He had to have a magistrate and sheriff verify his identity through fingerprints and now has a PIN and pass phrase on his account with flags at the bureaus to watch out for impostors. What a nightmare, and it will never end because of all his info is compromised.

Our friend that was living with us had a similar issue where he had a bunch of credit cards on his credit reports that he never opened. I helped him lock his account at the 3 bureaus last year and he has had no issues since then. This is really scary times we are living in.

I am not sure LifeLock would have done anything for my son, but the locks at the credit bureaus are free and seem to work well for basic run of the mill ID theft.

[kwando]

Great info, I guess I'll be calling to lock my credit. I don't see myself opening any cards, as credit cards are evil!

[Batteriesnare]

Called and locked mine as well, good info thanks!

[brutal]

That doesn't stop em. Trust me

True, but anything you can do to mitigate risk is beneficial.

As with all things, you must have a mult-layered defense to give yourself the best odds of survival.

I transfer money between checking and savings accounts and keep the amount tied to the debit card low.

In addition to limiting my debit card use, I try to only use my Amex for online purchases. If you really want to protect yourself, use virtual account numbers if your provider offers, or a prepaid disposable CC. Product returns on throw away CC numbers can be tricky, one of the main reasons I don't use them - that and Amex doesn't offer it. I'm comfortable using Amex as they have always been awesome any time there's been a fraud issue - and that's happening quite a few times in recent years. I get a replacement card the very next day if there's cause.

Use e-mail alerts for any spend over $xx, any transfers, etc.

If you receive a preset PIN for anything, make sure you change it ASAP.

[68Charger]

OK, I've been sent the email from Anthem, my info may have been compromised

first- I have now received an update thru my employer, other scumbags are trying to use fear over this event to "phish"... so NEVER click on a link in an email supposedly from Anthem.. and don't give info on phone calls either, they are ONLY sending letters via USPS.

now that that's out of the way, my personal AMEX had an unauthorized charge last week (already dealt with), so I was already jumpy... then this news comes out. I don't think they're related... I pulled my credit reports, put a 90 day fraud alert on them and notified my ID Shield provider (they only help if my Identity is stolen, so they were not any help, just confirmed I was already doing the right thing.)

It should be noted that there are several levels of protection from the credit agencies... just calling it a "lock" is not very descriptive.
note: there are 3 Credit reporting agencies... Equifax, Transunion, and Experian.

1) 90 day "fraud alert"... this costs you nothing, and will request that creditors notify you if someone is applying for credit on your identity (hard inquiry type, more on that later)... the creditor actually CAN ignore this request- but that should be rare. A Fraud alert put on any of the 3 Credit agencies SHOULD notify the other 2.
2) Active duty "fraud alert"... if you are active duty military, you can get a fraud alert put on indefinately (at least at Equifax, and that should carry to the other 2)
It should be noted that a "fraud alert" can be ignored, or cancelled by a really good ID thief... but they will work in many cases.

3) a full credit lock. This must be done in writing, and should also be accompanied with a request for additional security features (such as an additional PIN or other means to unlock) with this in place, you will be UNABLE to apply for any credit, all will be denied... if you ever have any unauthorized accounts opened in your identity, this is what you should do, with the most secure method you can request from the credit agencies.. (a PIN is not very secure- but if it's you're only choice, make it unique and difficult)

Besides working with the credit agencies on a free level (all the above options should be no cost, with possible exception of #3).. there are services that will help...
I don't use Lifelock, so I can't help you there- I use LegalShield with Identity theft protection... the Identity theft protection is $9.95/mo, and their Legal services have been of help at times (other times it sucks)

I also signed up at creditkarma . com to see what was on my credit report.. they don't appear to work with Experian, so I got my credit report directly from them to compare.
As a side effect, I actually learned that some things my wife had done harmed our credit score (closing old accounts we weren't using, asking for credit limits to be reduced, etc.)

Regardless of whether your info has been compromised, contact all your credit card companies to ask about fraud protection services... most CC accounts offer 0% liability as long as you notify them "in a timely manner" about the fraud. AMEX was awesome last week, since I had text messaging setup for ANY purchases without the card present. I was notified about a $375 charge to Sportsman's Guide for exercise equipment.. (less than 1 minute)... contacted AMEX, then Sportsman's guide... purchase cancelled, police notified (not that I think that's going to do shit), card cancelled and replacement in the mail NBD.
What amused me was that Sportsman's was unwilling to tell me the name & address of the order (for fear I would go retaliate, or "privacy concerns")... but I managed to get the order# out of them to "ensure I had some way to refer to this issue"... right after the call I was able to open the order#, and see the name & address it was ordered to.. (house is for sale, so probably a drop site)
For those wondering, I did NOT have a Sportsman's guide acct, they verified that account had been created hours before the charge... using my billing address with a different shipping address.

I'm also going to lock down all social media accounts as tight as I can (a source to get other info like photos, etc) FB is the only one used by my family.

I hope this info helps someone... the right way to deal with this kind of problem is swift counter - moves that will either reveal them or stop them in their tracks.. make your ID harder to work, and they'll go after the 1000s that are easier.

[68Charger]

Just realized I didn't clarify "hard inquiry type"...

There are 2 types of credit report inquiries... "hard" or "soft"...
1) a "soft" inquiry would generally be things you didn't request, unless it was you pulling your own CR... As a rule, these are inquiries that will not DIRECTLY result in additional credit. (pre-qualified mail offers would come under this) Soft inquiries do NOT effect your credit score.
2) a "hard" (firm?) inquiry would be an application for new credit- a new loan would be obvious, but other requests like a new contract (apartment, cell contract, gym membership, etc) could also result in a "hard" inquiry.. and if you have a full lock on your credit reports, such required could be denied... so you would have to unlock your report when applying for such things. Hard inquiries DO effect your credit score.

I'd say sorry for the long-winded post, but feel free to ignore it (at your own peril)... Cyber security is something I take seriously, since I deal with financial networks... and have studied hacking techniques to a moderate degree (it is not my primary focus on my job, but I would be called into any incident)

I'd say good luck, but I believe luck is for rabbits...


If you want another source, a decent description I've seen recently: https://www.creditkarma.com/article/hard_inquiries_and_soft_inquiries

[CO Hugh]

Neighbor has life lock, it seems pretty good. He receives a call whenever his wife opens an account, or if out of town any large purchases. I think there is a referral for them through the NRA.

[GilpinGuy]

I'm with Anthem as well. This morning I did the fraud alert. It's free and it lasts 90 days. You can submit it again after 60 days.

I'm also doing the full credit lock or security lock for both me and my wife. This is free and it lasts forever but it cost $10 in Colorado to get it unlocked. Well worth the cost IMO. Different States have different fees.

This was all done online and very easy - no hard copies needed to be sent in.

Here are the links to the Credit/Security Freeze pages:
Equifax

(http://www.freeze.equifax.com/Freeze/jsp/SFF_PersonalIDInfo.jsp)TransUnion

(http://freeze.transunion.com/sf/securityFreeze/landingPage.jsp)Experian (http://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html#addFreezeFee)

[Ranger353]

Scam Email Going Around in Wake of Anthem Security Breachhttp://www.kktv.com/home/headlines/Scam-Email-Going-Around-in-Wake-of-Anthem-Security-Breach-291653181.html

Scammers are now trying to take advantage of the data breach involving Anthem. They are sending out fake emails to try to get your personal information.
The email look real and includes logos for Anthem. It might also include a link to sign up for credit monitoring.
You'll remember that Anthem announced that hackers stole information for 80 million of its customers, including names and social security numbers.
A spokesperson for the Better Business Bureau says it's no surprise that scammers are following the news headlines.
"Scammers are watching the news constantly and as soon as there's something that will tug at someone's heart strings, they jump on that and use that to their advantage," said Crystal Johnston, the Director of Marketing for the Better Business Bureau of Southern Colorado.
The most important thing to keep in mind is that Anthem will be contacting customers through the regular mail.
While customers wait to hear from the insurance company about whether or not they are impacted by the breach, the BBB also has some advice of what people should do in the meantime.
"They need to act now, contacting their credit monitoring agencies, contacting their banks, their credit cards, putting flags on their accounts stating that passwords need to be enacted and no one is allowed to touch the account except for this individual," said Johnston.
You might remember when we first learned about the breach, we reported that the City of Colorado Springs uses Anthem to access their list of doctors. A spokesperson for the city tells 11 News they have been in contact with Anthem on a daily basis since then, and right now there is no evidence that employee information was compromised.