Identity Theft Shield

They say the best identity theft shield is allowing a company to monitor your life but is it worth the cost? Well, just think of how many people really have access to your information - any information on a day to day basis. Everyone from co-workers to the postal service to your doctor's office has access to personal information that puts you at risk. But still many consumers hesitate on insuring another part of their lives.

We insure our cars just in case and we insure our homes, just in case and of course, we insure our lives for when we're gone but how are you protecting yourself while you're still here enjoying life?

Identity theft is becoming the crime with the most anonymous get away for those who don't invest in a great identity theft shield to protect everything.

If you thought you're covered with credit monitoring then that's a good start but there are so many holes that the credit bureau doesn't monitor for you. If someone steals your identity who is to say they want to use your credit? We're inundated with protecting a credit report but nothing is mentioned about your name, address or social security number for other criminal means.

Every thief out there does not intend on touching your credit; some want to get access to your bank account and this can be accessed by simply stealing banking information from your garbage or even from your employer. Yes, co-workers steal and how would you know? Who would alert you before the damage has been done?

This is where a good identity theft shield blocks your information from being used by alerting you early on that someone is trying to use your name. How intricate are these services? They monitor many public venues that you probably wouldn't think of checking like property tax records and voting registry's and other online settings. These services also know whom to contact quickly in addition to the obvious law enforcement agencies.

Consumers are more inclined to think the police can handle everything if someone were to steal their identity but law enforcement cannot clear up the damage for you. They can only provide you with a police report and seek out the culprits. That will help a little but what's more damaging is the impact of someone stealing your identity. It's not the crime itself but the impact of the crime and what it does to your credit report, your health care coverage and your life insurance.

Suppose your identity was stolen and someone used it for health care; if the health care provider found out they probably would block it until they could investigate. You can be sure many health care providers may even blame you for allowing someone to get free health care on your name. It happens! And it would be up to you to prove this was not the case.

That is only one scenario but imagine dealing with multiple vendors and providers trying to prove that someone stole your identity and you knew nothing about it.

An identity theft shield also insures you against multiple damages that creditors may hold you liable for. Contracts today mention some initial amount that you are held responsible for, such as credit card accounts may say $50. But this adds up with multiple creditors and you may find yourself spending hundreds or thousands to pay out-of-pocket expenses for someone else's theft.

An identity theft shield is just another form of life insurance that you need while enjoying today.

Greg McKeon is an expert on identity protection services after having been victimized in 2007. He is also a contributing writer for the popular identity theft site, IDProtectionGuide where you can read the latest reviews on identity theft services like Lifelock and Guard Dog ID.