Protecting families from identity theft

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Experian Consumer DirectSM, a provider of online direct-to-consumer credit reports, scores and monitoring products, has announced the launch of FamilySecure.com, a new resource to help parents and guardians monitor for identity theft that may be affecting them and their children. Through the Web site, parents and guardians can enroll themselves and their children in a comprehensive credit monitoring product that alerts them of key changes in their credit file and their children’s that could be a sign of identity theft.

With the patent-pending technology of FamilySecure.com, parents and guardians are notified of any credit inquiries, open accounts or public records such as bankruptcies, tax liens or monetary judgments associated with them or their child’s identity. If a match is found, the parent or guardian is alerted via e-mail and information is provided regarding how to take corrective action if identity theft has occurred. Parents and guardians can enroll an unlimited number of their minor children (age 18 and under) at FamilySecure.com.

“FamilySecure.com provides peace of mind for parents by monitoring their Experian credit report activity, as well as their children’s, for signs of identity theft,” said T Y Taylor, president of Experian Consumer Direct. “This new product represents our continued commitment to delivering the most robust credit monitoring products on the market to maintain the integrity of our customers’ personal information and back this with an unprecedented $2 million guarantee for identity theft expenses.”

According to the ID Theft Data Clearinghouse as reported by the Federal Trade Commission, 10,835 identity theft complaints were filed on behalf of victims under 18 years old in 2006, up from 6,512 identity theft reports filed on behalf of the same age group in 2003. In addition, a recent Experian-Gallup Personal Credit IndexSM survey showed that 31 percent of consumers feel it is very easy for someone to steal a child’s identity (data sampling was conducted in July, August and September 2007). Identity thieves prey on the personal information of children by illegally obtaining their name and Social Security number to establish lines of credit. If left unchecked and until the fraud is resolved, the minors’ creditworthiness can be seriously damaged and cause issues for them when they try to obtain credit as an adult.

Key features :

• $2 Million Guarantee — If a parent, guardian or child becomes a victim of identity theft while the parent or guardian is using the credit monitoring product and fraud resolution service provided by Experian Consumer Direct through FamilySecure.com, Experian Consumer Direct will reimburse certain identity theft expenses up to $2 million in accordance with the terms of the guarantee.
• Alerts — Parents and guardians receive e-mail alerts regarding key changes in their credit file as well as their child’s. If any credit inquiries, open accounts or public records are found using the parent’s, guardian’s or child’s identity, the parent or guardian is alerted.
• Fraud Alerts — If parents or guardians suspect they are a victim of identity theft, they have the option to place an automatically recurring 90-day fraud alert on their personal credit file, which requires lenders to contact them directly before extending credit.
• Credit Monitoring — Daily monitoring of their Experian credit file is provided for parents and guardians and monthly monitoring for their children.
• Credit Reports and Scores — Parents and guardians receive unlimited access to their Experian credit report and credit score.

How to enroll ?

A parent or guardian can enroll themselves and their children for $19.95 per month at www.FamilySecure.com.