Numerous data breaches have occurred over the past few years. From the Target data breach to electronic health records being tapped into, consumers are at risk for identity theft like never before. Unfortunately, most are completely unaware of it. Many even assume that credit monitoring is enough to protect themselves from identity theft.

In fact, Target and other companies tried to calm the waters by offering free credit monitoring to identity theft victims after the attacks. But this is just a Band-Aid on the problem—and mostly a public relations ploy. Credit monitoring doesn’t provide even close to adequate protection. If you’re only relying on credit monitoring as a ways to prevent identity theft, you’ve given yourself a false sense of security. It’s scary, but true.

The Facts

It is estimated that over 4.6 million California residents have been affected by healthcare data breaches since 2009. Nationally, it is estimated that over 32 million U.S. residents have been affected. In July of 2014, an IRS worker was charged with identity theft, and contributed to over $1.2 million in fraudulent charges using information he obtained while working for the IRS. It’s said that 39 percent of data breach victims will have to deal with identity theft at some point. That means spending an average of 600 hours to recover their identity. With the growing number of data breaches occurring in the U.S., it’s time to take steps to protect yourself and your family.

Why Credit Monitoring Is Not Enough

Credit monitoring works just like it sounds: it just monitors. It doesn’t take action or provide ways to prevent identity theft from occurring. In fact, it only notifies you once identity theft has been discovered. After it happens, credit monitoring can’t help you recover from any type of identity theft.

Credit monitoring is only effective when someone uses your information to apply for a new bank account, credit card, or other account. But it doesn’t do anything to protect you during a data breach. When a data breach happens, the thieves have all of your personal information—including your credit card data—they can use to make expensive purchases. Your credit monitoring will never see the actual charges. And most credit monitoring services only monitor credit bureau reports, which means they could take weeks to find out fraud has occurred in the first place. It’s an ineffective system, to say the least.

The Right Ways to Prevent Identity Theft

Fortunately, there’s one identity theft protection company that offers a full-service product. It not only educates you in all the ways to monitor your credit and identity, but also provides law enforcement grade, fully managed recovery of your identity. It allows you to continue living your life instead of spending countless hours trying to fix it yourself.

Very few identity theft protection companies offer these turnkey services. By signing up with a service that does, you can:

• Have peace of mind in knowing your identity is fully protected—not just monitored
• Know what is on your credit report and public records the second they are posted
• Save out-of-pocket costs on recovering your identity when the theft occurs
• Have access to identity theft experts 24/7
• Ensure your identity is restored to pre-theft status

The Identity Advocate works exclusively with an identity theft protection company known as ID360. The comprehensive service provides numerous ways to prevent identity theft, and is unlike any other on the market. To learn more about ID360 and see how it protects your identity, visit The Identity Advocate for a special offer today. You simply can’t risk becoming yet another victim of a data breach and the resulting theft. Remember: it’s not a matter of if. It’s when. 

In the wake of the recent Target data breach, in which identity thieves gained access to the personal information of at least 70 million customers, the company announced it would offer free credit monitoring for a year. While this is a good first step for the retail giant, it gives affected customers false hope.

At face value, credit monitoring seems like an attractive service. After all, it helps detect suspicious activity on your credit report and gives you a heads-up about potential problems. But many credit monitoring companies market their service as being an identity theft protection plan. This simply isn’t the case.

The reality is that credit monitoring is just what it says it is: monitoring. It doesn’t prevent identity theft or your credit from being hijacked. Considering the fact that one in four data breach notification recipients become a victim of identity theft, simply monitoring these attacks isn’t enough. You need to proactively take steps to protect both your credit and your identity.

Credit Monitoring Gives a False Sense of Security

Credit monitoring services alert you when any type of new account appears on your credit report. Unfortunately, by this time the identity theft has often already happened. Credit monitoring didn’t prevent the theft; it simply notified you of the fraudulent activity so you could start the long process of trying to repair your credit.

Look at credit monitoring as being only a small part of a comprehensive identity theft protection plan. Keep in mind that, although you’re alerted when changes occur on your credit report, some events may go unnoticed or even be reported incorrectly. Many consumers don’t discover that their identity has been stolen until debt collectors show up at the door.

The same goes for three-in-one services that offer to monitor all three credit reporting bureaus. These methods aren’t secure because an identity thief can still open accounts in your name without actually having your credit report pulled. There is also an extensive delay between when an account is opened and when it shows up on your credit report. By the time you’re notified, the identity thief could have dozens of accounts already opened and racking up debt.

Tips for Preventing Identity Theft

You need an identity theft protection plan to keep thieves from using your information in the first place. A few tips:

• Be proactive and sign-up for identity theft protection with ID Theft Solutions, the only company managed by law enforcement that restores your identity back to pre-theft status.
• Be cautious of the websites you visit and the Internet connections you use to access them. Public networks aren’t secure and identity thieves can easily gain access to your computer, email accounts, and bank accounts.
• Never share personal information via email, over the phone, or with anyone you don’t know well. Identity thieves like to impersonate customer service representatives and ask to verify your birthday, Social Security number, or other personal data. If you’re not expecting contact, hang up and call the company back at a phone number you can trust.
• Lock up your financial and medical information, and shred documents you no longer need.
• Implement a credit freeze and check your credit card statements at least once a month for suspicious activity. You can also sign up with CreditKarma.com to check your credit score and also receive monthly monitoring for free—without your credit being affected in any way.
• Add a fraud alert to your credit report if you suspect you’re at risk for fraud (such as using a debit or credit card during the Target data breach debacle).

Whatever you do, don’t just depend on credit monitoring as your identity theft protection plan. With one new victim every three seconds, identity theft is a growing problem that shows no signs of letting up. Visit The Identity Advocate to start safeguarding your identity today, and don’t forget to join our mailing list to have identity theft prevention tips delivered to your inbox each month.

By: Rebecca Levin

Refinancing a home loan is one of the biggest decisions you can make. It can affect any future purchases you make and impact your credit in ways your lender might not be able to predict, but just getting approved for a refinance can be a battle unto itself. To refinance, you must jump through a variety of hoops and have a reasonable credit score in order to do so.

Which brings us to the question: should you use an identity protection service to secure your credit score? If you would like to iron out any instances of fraud, identity theft, or any errors in your credit report before applying for refinance and you have the money, then the answer is yes. Utilizing these services will not harm your chances of refinancing.

Identity Detectives

Identity protection services are a valuable resource for detecting fraud and protecting against identity theft. They go above and beyond your credit card agency to assess the instances of identity theft that might have occurred, and help protect your credit from further fraud damage. Many agencies also allow you to purchase credit insurance. This insurance aids you financially in purchasing expert legal help in the event that your identity has been stolen, help that would otherwise be unaffordable.

Furthermore, these companies allow you to view your credit report whenever you desire, so you can see any misrepresentations in your score and correct them before applying for refinancing. This is a valuable tool, considering that viewing your credit report multiple times a year can be a costly experience.

Security Is Not Free

If you have the time and would like to save some money, then it might be better to check your credit score manually and iron out any problems without the aid of an identity theft service. If you do choose to utilize one of these services, however, you can rest assured that it will not harm your chances of refinancing. You can sign up at www.creditkarma.com and begin to receive free credit reports. You can also sign up through the blog  to have complete  protection and recovery services as well at here:  http://www.theidentityadvocate.com/identity-theft-protection.php

Rebecca Levin is a contributor to mortgagerates.inmyarea.com, which is a consumer friendly financial services and information site. To find out more about Rebecca and her work, please visit her Google Plus account.