One out of seven cases of identity theft in 2010 was committed by someone close to the victim — a relative, roommate, co-worker or some other acquaintance. And, the trend of family members who take advantage of their relative’s clean credit to carry out criminal activities is on the rise. Friendly fraud now accounts for 14% of all identity theft instances.
The cases of identity theft continue to rise because there are so many ways in which your identity can be stolen.
It has never been easier to become a victim of a data breech, scam, identity theft or other security problem. We get that it can be overwhelming for most consumers.
That’s why we are working with several companies in the online security space to provide new ways to combat the overarching problem of personal security. We believe that by adding new services and features to existing security software products – for free – and delivering an added line of defense beyond just the desktop will help you play a more active role in preserving your online identity.
Today we announced the latest product launch with Internet security leader, Avira. Our free credit monitoring and alert services, as well as the ID Watchdog identity monitoring and preservation tools are being distributed as a service through the Avira SearchFree Toolbar.
Now, in addition to protection against malicious websites, Avira customers in the US will be able to monitor changes in records through ongoing, free credit alerts. ID Watchdog and Avira also are allowing customers to extend the free service by purchasing additional monitoring services which identify changes in public and private records, including Social Security records, medical collections, driving records, national security watch lists, and criminal records and take specific action to resolve any issues.
We continue to be dedicated to combat the overarching problem of personal security and helping consumers play a more active role in preserving their identities and we are doing that by collaborating with other industry leaders to make it happen.
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In the first half of 2011 there were more than 350 corporate data breaches resulting in exposure or theft of 126.7 million personal records.
While stats like these are interesting and make for big news headlines, there is a bigger problem. That problem is that you are essentially helpless in what some like to call “ID Theft Protection.”
You are ultimately caught between the hacker and the corporation that is being attacked.
Today, the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) unveiled new tools and services in the form of IDTheftInfo.org to address these issues and help in the ongoing battle for both consumers and businesses.
As part of the CFA’s Identity Theft Service Best Practices Working Group, ID Watchdog has been working closely with the CFA and other advocates to develop the Best Practices for Identity Theft Services and the Nine Things to Check When Shopping for Identity Theft Services tips for consumers, as well as the new website.
We firmly believe that the only real protection against identity theft is active knowledge. In other words, playing a role in what is happening in your online portfolio of personal information.
The launch of IDTheftInfo.org is another great step toward educating people on the reality of identity theft by providing tools and information that empowers you to be active and understand the first signs of possible identity theft.
Check out the site at IDTheftInfo.org or learn more from the press release.
ID Watchdog is announcing our newest venture with leading Internet security specialist, Avira. This partnership is our fourth in the Internet security space and validates the ever-growing need for consumers to have a one-stop, easy-to-use security solution that protects their personal data beyond the PC.
Don’t be fooled – cybercrime and data theft are highly organized and increasingly motivated by monetary gain. In fact, as a recent CNN article by David Goldman points out:
These aren’t petty thieves. They’re committing breaches like the Sony (SNE) attack that stole credit card information from 77 million customers and the Citigroup (C,Fortune 500) hack that stole $2.7 million from about 3,400 accounts in May.
They’re organized, smart, and loaded with time and resources.
There may not be much you can do to prevent identity theft or data breaches, but it is extremely important to educate yourself in order to maintain the integrity of your identity. Our newest partnership with Avira will present yet another opportunity for consumers to do just that.
Keep up with latest data breaches and threats to your personal data by Following us on Twitter and joining us on Facebook.
ID Watchdog and our newest partner, BitDefender, are releasing a bundled personal id theft prevention product today.
Whether it is at your bank or in your university records — your most personal data is floating around out there. Recent incidents from hacks targeted at mega-corporations to NATO show that data breaches and identity theft are on the rise and here to stay, which is why ID Watchdog and BitDefender are collaborating to provide consumers with easy-to-use, free tools and services as a solution.
This identity protection software, available through the BitDefender Internet Security 2012, provides users with a free resource to monitor their credit reports and receive alerts should discrepancies arise. This tool is the first line of defense against identity theft, since changes to a credit report are often the first signs of identity theft or to potentially damaging changes to a credit score.
Although you can’t prevent identity theft, you can find it and fix it fast. This added layer of protection from ID Watchdog and BitDefender is just what every consumer needs to protect their personal data beyond the PC.
Stay informed on the latest data breaches and threats to your personal data. Follow us on Twitter and join us on Facebook.
CreditAlert – the one-stop option from AVAST and ID Watchdog that provides additional ways to protect private data beyond just the PC – is here!
The new product is live and ready for you to try:
- AVAST CreditAlert Free – This option introduces the anti-virus industry’s first-ever integrated free credit report monitoring and alert service. This innovative feature alerts users when changes are detected in their credit file, and provides guidance to help them determine whether the change is an early indication that their personal information has been compromised. The feature is free, with no strings attached, and is easy to activate. Best of all, activation will not impact your credit score in any way.
- AVAST CreditAlert Premium – This low-cost subscription provides comprehensive protection that not only includes credit monitoring and alert services from all three credit bureaus, but also broad-based identity record monitoring, internet surveillance, and full-service identity restoration services. If your personal data is compromised in any way, trained specialists step in on your behalf to investigate, stop and resolve unauthorized activity at no additional cost to you.
And it gets better – ID Watchdog is proud to announce a partnership with award-winning password management solution, LastPass. ID Watchdog will extend credit monitoring, management and ID theft detection and resolution services to all LastPass users – just another way we are working to help better protect your identity and personal data.
For more news and updates Follow us on Twitter and Like ID Watchdog on Facebook.
We are all one-of-a-kind and should stay that way. That’s why ID Watchdog and AVAST Software are joining forces to help better protect your identity and personal data, online and off.
The recent string of high profile data breaches at places like Sony and Citibank may leave you wondering what steps, if any, you can take to become a smarter consumer and maintain the integrity of your identity.
Watching your credit is the first, and easiest, way to understand what is happening. Unfortunately, credit monitoring services are often expensive, intimidating, time consuming to sort through, and hard to understand if you’re not a financial expert — until now.
ID Watchdog’s technology was added to the new beta version of AVAST’s Anti-Virus software to provide consumers with free tools and services that cast a broad net, alert them to signs of personal information misuse via their credit report and allow them to take immediate action to address any issues.
The new product called CreditAlert and has two flavors:
- AVAST CreditAlert Free – This option introduces the anti-virus industry’s first-ever integrated free credit report monitoring and alert service. This innovative feature alerts users when changes are detected in their credit file, and provides guidance to help them determine whether the change is an early indication that their personal information has been compromised. The feature is free, with no strings attached, and is easy to activate. Best of all, activation will not impact your credit score in any way.
- AVAST CreditAlert Premium – This low-cost subscription provides comprehensive protection that not only includes credit monitoring and alert services from all three credit bureaus, but also broad-based identity record monitoring, internet surveillance, and full-service identity restoration services. If your personal data is compromised in any way,, trained specialists step in our your behalf to investigate, stop and resolve unauthorized activity at no additional cost to you
You may already know and use AVAST to protect your PC from viruses. Now, with the addition of ID Watchdog’s credit monitoring and resolution services, AVAST is providing a one-stop option that provides additional ways to protect private data beyond just the PC. Offered as a beta first, CreditAlert will be offered on a larger scale in the coming months.
