The Best Identity Theft Protection Services Of May 2024 – Forbes Advisor – Technologist

Financial Identity Theft

Financial identity theft is any scheme that involves using a fake identity to steal money. Criminals may use a victim’s name to:

• Apply for a credit card
• Apply for a loan
• Access the victim’s financial accounts
• Open a new bank account, which will then be used to commit other forms of fraud
• File a tax return and receive a refund

Victims often become aware that their identities have been stolen because they receive a statement in the mail from a financial account they don’t recognize. Or they may receive a letter from the IRS informing them about a suspicious return that’s been filed in their name.

Once you become aware that identity thieves have your information, it’s important to act quickly to minimize your financial losses. To limit credit fraud, you can place a fraud alert on your credit reports and freeze your credit.

For tax identity theft, you’ll want to notify the IRS that you may be a victim of identity theft. Once it’s confirmed that you’re a victim, you’ll be issued an IP PIN each year that will be used to verify your identity on all future returns. You can also request an IP PIN at any time.

Medical Identity Theft

Medical identity theft is when someone uses another person’s information to obtain medical care or services. This can include using someone else’s name to pay for treatment, obtain prescription drugs or make an insurance claim under the false identity.

Often, someone becomes aware that medical identity theft may have occurred by receiving an unrecognized bill from a healthcare provider or being contacted by an agency that’s trying to collect on medical debts for services that they never received.

If you’ve been the victim of medical identity theft, the path to recovery starts by checking your medical records with all related healthcare providers. If one or more are unwilling to share your records with you, you have the right to appeal. If you find incorrect information on your medical records, contact the medical provider in writing to dispute any errors and request their removal.

Online Identity Theft

According to the FBI’s 2022 Internet Crime Report, cybercrime losses reached an all-time high in 2022 of $10.2 billion, up from $6.9 billion in 2021. Phishing, identity theft and spoofing were each in the top 10 of most common crime types by victim count.

To avoid online identity theft, always verify senders before clicking on any email links, set up two-factor or biometric authentication on your accounts when possible and consider using cybersecurity tools like antivirus and VPN to protect your devices and online privacy. You should also be wary of sharing information on social media that could be useful to an identity thief.