Very few people are aware of the fact that the credit reporting agencies make a tremendous amount of money selling your personal information. Because of this, FACTA was passed in 2003 forcing them to allow people to place fraud alerts on their credit reports. However, those alerts are only good for 90 days, and then you must take other measures to protect your identity. This article may enlighten you as to some other issues concerning your credit. But, if you have chosen to invest in these services, you should see this LifeLock Review first.

FACTA also forced banks and lending facilities to verify your identity before loaning any money based on your credit profile. This would be a really good thing is there were not so many online banks in business who have no way of verifying that you are who you say you are. If a theft can forge your driver’s license, they can get a picture of you, too, and there is nothing you can do to stop them.

This means you are still wide open to fraud if your personal financial information gets stolen, or they buy it from some business that retails credit information. Credit bureaus are allowed to sell your information to any business that seems to have a valid reason for needed the data. The biggest question would be why they would have any valid reason to obtain your Social Security number, let alone your address, phone or place of employment.

There is no good reason for your private information to be sold, for any reason, however, that is the current means of your information having a chance of getting into the wrong hands. As a result, identity theft is currently a $200 billion dollar a year loss to companies and retailers. These businesses have had to resort to implementing their own Fraud Alert departments in order to track down and prosecute the offenders.

LifeLock provides a means of constantly monitoring your activity with their Identity Alert System. It searches all public databases for any shred of information about you that it finds on the Internet or membership lists. When activity is detected you receive an alert and their team starts helping you stop the thief and clean up the damage.

There is also an Identity Theft Insurance policy you get for up to one million dollars in damages, expenses, and legal fees. It doesn’t cover business profits, loss of wages, out of pocket expense or lost opportunities. It can take 600 hours to clean up the scrambled mess an identity theft has caused.

Another of their services is scanning know criminal web sites where any bits of your personal information may have been posted. Such information includes your street address, phone number, social security number, or mother’s maiden name. Should any information appear they alert you and help in beginning the clean up process.

One of the things identity thieves do is put in a change of address on your files so that any bills they run up will never get to your address. If you don’t know what they are doing, you can’t stop them. So, this service monitors for any changes to your information and then alerts you so you can stop it, or remove yourself from any mailing lists, which can also help reduce the junk mail you get each month.

If your wallet or purse is stolen, one of their specialists is on the job helping you cancel or replace such things as your driver’s license, social security card, insurance and financial cards, even checks and travelers checks. Equipped with this knowledge about identity theft services, you should know how to help prevent, or stop, your identity from being misused. It is crucial that you keep a vigil on your credit activity to protect you and your family. For those who have decided to use these identity theft prevention services, this LifeLock Review is worth checking out.