Consumer

Protect yourself from identity theft for free

ATLANTA — Channel 2 Consumer Advisor Clark Howard says the threat of identity theft is real, and Atlanta resident Bryan Kujowski can attest to it.

Kujowski’s identity was stolen a few years back when an employee at his company accessed the payroll and accounting systems.

"There are so many hackers out there. We are so exposed."

“He had opened bank accounts in my name and was transferring funds from my accounts into his new accounts, which had new checkbooks and a new address, an address that had nothing to do with me,” Kujawski explained.

While the thief was stopped before any serious damage was done, Kujowski began using two different services to keep tabs on his personal information.

“I paid a lot of money on a monthly basis for both of those, to be super vigilant and comforted knowing that monthly reports, and if there is any activity on my social security number, I can follow up on it quickly and not suffer what I did before,” he said.

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More recently, Kujawski started using Civic, which offers him the same protection but without the cost. The service is free.

Civic’s CEO, Vinny Lingham, says he believes the banks should be the ones paying to protect you.

“So we are going to be free forever for consumers. There is no premium services. Our business model works,” Lingham said. “We charge companies, so when the bank wants to check that it's you, we charge them a small fee. That fee is a fraction of what it costs if it's not you. If it's not you, it's going to cost them thousands. If it's the wrong person.”

Civic offers 24/7 support, real-time alerts when someone has tried use your information, and up to $1 million in identity fraud coverage. %

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“So if you have had your identity stolen and you need some assistance or support in resolving it, we have agents on standby to help you at any point in time get you through it. We understand the pains and we've got professionals to make sure that you're covered, and we pay for that cost as well. We cover that cost,” Lingham said.

Civic isn’t the only way to protect your personal information for free. Credit Karma and Credit Sesame will help you monitor your credit and give you free credit scores as well.

Kujowski says protecting your identity before it is compromised is key.

“There are so many hackers out there. We are so exposed. Every time we do a transaction we are exposed,” he said.

Howard says there is one important step to take.

“If you are paying for credit monitoring right now, stop doing that. But if you really want to protect your identity, go to a more difficult step-credit freeze,” Howard said.