Offering identity theft protection to your team is a quick win to strengthen corporate culture.
This HR benefit also cultivates empathy, peace of mind, and increased productivity.
When you consider the following identity theft statistics, the time for HR to implement this benefit is yesterday.
- There’s a new identity theft victim every two seconds. Javelin Strategy
- In 2021, identity fraud accounted for the largest share of fraud reports to the Federal Trade Commission. FTC
- Ransomware-related breaches have doubled in the last two years and will surpass phishing as the number one cause of compromises in 2022. ID Theft Center
I’m enthusiastic about identity theft protection because I just set up my new IdentityForce account and discovered it’s rated #1 by Forbes Advisor. My company cares enough to get us the best service out there.
Even better, the complimentary service is bundled with our Cigna Plan, so I can stop paying for the ID Theft policy I activated in 2013.
Is identity theft protection right for your organization? We’ll review four benefits to help you decide.
Identity Theft Protection Benefit #1 – Monitoring and Protecting
Identity theft protection casts a wide net by monitoring the key indicators of compromise. When bits and pieces of your identity land in the wrong hands, IdentityForce intervenes immediately.
Imposters are infamous for taking out new lines of credit and making car purchases. With daily credit bureau monitoring from TransUnion®, fraud and other irregularities are spotted quickly. IdentityForce responds with real-time alerts and places fraud alerts on your credit file to thwart identity thieves.
Monitoring and protection safeguards extend to the Dark Web to determine if fraudsters are trading your personal identifying information (PII). Cybercrooks routinely sell the following bits and pieces of PII to multiple parties:
- Email Addresses
- Checking Account and Routing Numbers
- Credit Card Information
- Social Security Numbers
- Passport Details
- Medical Benefits Statements
- Healthcare Group Member IDs
Wouldn’t you like to know if someone besides you or your family is using your medical benefits?
Learn More: Medical Identity Theft
How would you like to be represented in public records with forged court documents, unauthorized address changes, or fabricated sex offender charges?
Identity theft protection monitors these online activities and more, including your Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram accounts for inappropriate activity and threatening posts that serve as a pretext for malfeasance.
Learn More: The ID Theft Protection Employee Benefit
Identity Theft Protection Benefit #2 – Tracking and Alerting
Identity theft protection actively tracks and alerts users of changes. And Identity Force was quick to impress me with their timeliness.
I enrolled on August 2nd, and when I logged back into their feature-rich web portal on August 3rd, I saw the following message:
“Your personal information – including names, surnames, addresses, states, zips, cities, phone numbers, and email addresses – was identified in a data exposure associated with exactis.com. The data was located on the Dark Web in July 2018.”
They also notified me of an incident involving Bonobos in 2021 and Experian in 2016, along with the following recommendations:
- Change the password of the account and any other services where you use the same password immediately.
- Stay alert to identity theft and suspicious activity.
While I was already aware of these breaches and religiously follow LastPass password guidelines, knowing the solution accurately tracks my history is reassuring.
I feel the same about IdentityForce’s credit score, bank, and credit card tracking capabilities. I get dynamic visibility into my credit score and receive email and text alerts whenever anything changes with my credit cards or bank accounts.
This feature allows me to spot credit card and bank fraud quickly when charges, withdrawals, or balance transfers exceed customized, preset amounts.
Parents will love Child Smart Social Security Number (SSN) Tracker and ChildWatch. Anytime an unfamiliar name, alias, or address is associated with your child’s SSN or any indication of suspicious activity, you receive alerts directly to your dashboard.
Learn More: Child Identity Theft Facts You Need to Know
Identity Theft Protection Benefit #3 – Simulating
Identity theft protection from IdentityForce has tools that allow you to simulate various credit score scenarios with dollar amounts and conditions.
This value-added planning tool helps improve decisions that impact your credit:
- Add a Credit Card with a limit of____
- Cancel your oldest Credit Card ____
- Transfer Balance to a new card in the amount of____
- Raise credit line on a credit card by____
- Raise the balance on a credit card by_____
- Lower balance on a credit card by____
- Eliminate all credit card balances ____
- Add Credit Inquiries
- Add a mortgage in the amount of____
- Add a personal loan in the amount of____
- Add an auto loan in the amount of____
- Allow one monthly account to become delinquent
- Allow all monthly accounts to become delinquent
- One version goes into collections
- Add Tax Lien Public Record
- Declare Bankruptcy
In addition to gaining online access to your TransUnion® credit report and VantageScore® 3.0 credit score, you can also freeze your credit with TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax with a few simple keystrokes.
Learn More: The Benefits of Freezing Your Credit
Identity Theft Protection Benefit #4 – Restoring and Reimbursing
Identity theft protection specialists restore your identity and reimburse you for the trouble; the timing couldn’t be better, considering the current threat landscape.
Legal Jobs states, “Around 1 in 15 people become victims of identity fraud. Americans are most likely to have their identities stolen. 650,572 people suffered from identity theft in 2019. Over 1 million children become victims of identity crimes each year.”
And the risk gets elevated depending on the season. Experian reports the odds to increase around the holidays to 1 in 4.
These comprehensive services are designed for families and include a host of benefits:
- Fully-Managed Identity Restoration Services
- Online Identity Vault
- 24/7 Live Support
- Personalized Identity Reports
- $1,000,000 expense reimbursement insurance for legal fees, loss of wages, and other resolution processes
Allstate Identity Protection estimates it takes 100 to 200 hours and up to six months to undo identity theft. Can you imagine this time commitment’s toll on your professional life? I can’t imagine the drama wouldn’t spill over into your personal life as well.
A fully-managed restoration solution with a financial guarantee is the only option for most people.
Your Identity Protection Journey
Protecting your identity is a journey, and the technology you employ in and out of the office is always vulnerable to intrusion. Every device is interconnected, and there’s always a steady flow of new and emerging threats.
At Integris, we advise our clients to take advantage of professional technology perks, especially if they are yours for the taking. We recently rolled out LastPass Business, and this corporate account is linked to my personal account, which removes another expense from my income statement.
In June 2021, the Society for Human Resource Management predicted that 78% of companies would offer this benefit by 2022. If they are correct, there’s a good chance it’s already available to you.
When I first learned of the identity theft protection benefit via email, I thought it was a scam. Keep in mind that I spend most of my time researching cybersecurity, compliance, and cloud solutions, so I’m more paranoid than your average person.
After I confirmed it was legitimate, I jumped in, and I hope you’ll get this valuable service as soon as possible. You’ll love the resource library of articles and training videos. They’re informative, alarming, and engaging.
To learn more about the relationship between identity theft protection, cybersecurity, compliance, and managed IT, visit vCISO Consulting from Integris.
