By this time most every American has heard the phrases “touch economic times†and “economic downturn†to ad nauseaum. What some people not have heard about is how the recession can breed identity theft. It’s a sad but true fact that as more people are out of work more tend to turn to crime in order to make ends meet. Note that it is not most people, but only a select few. However, a select few is enough to make the risk of becoming an identity theft victim all the worse.
Statistics compiled for 2008 state that identity theft was up 47%, with over 10 million people victimized. These people spent an average of at least 200 hours getting their financial and personal lives straightened out after the crime occurred.
These hours can take away from the time you have to work or to search for a job if you’ve been laid off. And even if you are able to deal with the problem during off hours it adds unneeded stress and a potentially severe loss of income from legal fees, fines and other expenses. Even the best insurance policy on your credit card isn’t likely to help you out with the majority of these charges.

 So what are you to do to prevent this disaster from happening to you? Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do to prevent it 100%. However, there are several things you can do to make it less likely, far less likely.
There are services that can help you!
Identity theft protection services from companies such as LifeLock, TrustedID, Identity Guard, Debix and IDWatchdog. Many of these policies have insurances or guarantees that are in place specifically to help you with legal expenses and other items you’ll have to pay for to get your identity restored. Some pay up to a million dollars or more.
Before you can be eligible for this type of coverage, you have to be a member of one of these services. The point of the insurance/guarantee is to serve as a backup method if the plan fails to keep your identity safe. Ways the plan can help keep your information away from identity thieves may include:


*Keeping a very close watch on your credit report for any changes

*Looking through online illegal databases to prevent your information from getting bought or sold

*Contacting you immediately if anything even remotely suspicious occurs regarding your accounts

*Putting fraud alerts or freezes on your credit file as needed


*Searching thousands of databases for signs of identity theft
The exact level of coverage you receive depends on the company you choose to work with and what plan you decide to buy. It’s best to look at several plans side by side and weigh the pros and cons of each before making a final choice in the matter.
So essentially an identity protection plan can (a) work its darndest to make sure identity theft doesn’t happen to you, and (b) protect you financially on the slim chance that identity theft still occurs. All you have to do is sign up, sit back and stop worrying! Not a bad proposition. Don’t you think?