September 14, 2024

By Burton Kelso
The Technology Expert

We’re over halfway through the year and already we have seen some of the biggest, most damaging data breaches.

From personal information getting scraped, stolen, and posted online, to the medical data of most people in the United States getting stolen, these data breaches have already passed at least 1 billion records stolen. Identity theft is a growing problem globally, but thankfully there are services out there to protect you from crooks who are looking to profit from stealing your identity. Best of all, you might already have access to these services for absolutely free and don’t know Here’s what you need to know.

What is identity theft? Identity theft happens when criminals illegally take identifying information about you such as your name, birthday, Social Security number, addresses, bank accounts, credit card numbers, driver’s license details, and other personal information, and use it to commit fraudulent acts. With your personal information, criminals can open credit cards and banking accounts in a victim’s name, steal retirement or medical benefits, and purchase real estate illegally. These acts can damage your credit status and cost you time and money to get your information in back in good standing.

What do identity theft protection services do? Identity theft protection services are designed to automatically scan the internet, online databases, and the dark web for your personal information and credit information. Once your information is located, these services can determine whether this information has been misused or part of known data breaches, if found somewhere it shouldn’t be. These services can also help you recover your identity if it’s stolen.

How can you get identity theft services for free? You can purchase ID theft protection services, which can cost $200 or more per year. But you also have access to free services. An excellent place to start is the FTC’s IdentityTheft.gov website. It provides easy-to-use tools to begin the identity theft recovery process, including a breakdown of the recovery steps. You can also find warning signs of identity theft. You can also find free identity theft services from the following places.

Your bank or credit union
Your credit card company
Your employee benefits plan.
Your homeowners or renters insurance.
Organizations you belong to, such as AAA or AARP.

Also, if your information was leaked in a data breach, you’ll likely be offered free credit or identity theft monitoring for a time. Take advantage of this service. Sometimes you’ll get coverage for a year or two at no charge. If you’re worried about ID theft one of the best things you can do is just to freeze your credit reports.

Hopefully, this will give you tips to help you find free identity theft protection. If you have any questions, please reach out. I’m always available.

Want to ask me a tech question? Send it to [email protected]. If you prefer to connect with me on social media, you can find me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter and watch great tech tip videos on my YouTube channel. I love technology. I’ve read all of the manuals and I want to make technology fun and easy to use for everyone! If you need on-site or remote tech support for your Windows\Macintosh, computers, laptops, Android/Apple smartphone, tablets, printers, routers, smart home devices, and anything that connects to the Internet, please feel free to contact my team at Integral. My team of friendly tech experts are always standing by to answer your questions and help make your technology useful and fun. Reach out to us at www.callintegralnow.com or phone at 888.256.0829.