If you’ve been thinking about purchasing an identity theft protection service but you’re just not sure how helpful it’s going to be, perhaps a recent survey will assist you in making the decision. This study, conducted by Harris Interactive, involved surveying over 3,000 Americans 21 years of age or older, some who were covered by identity protection plans and some who weren’t. One of the most telling results of the survey was the increase in peace of mind that the current subscribers had. Over 70% of subscribers indicated that they were highly satisfied with this aspect that comes from being covered.
Also, 64% of subscribers responded that they were confident that they would be safe from complications due to things like credit card fraud and breaches in Internet security. Only, 38% of non-subscribers responded in a similar fashion. And 79% of subscribers said that their plans help protect them in ways they wouldn’t be able to do without its assistance.
A few more interesting things to come out of the study are:
*Those who were victimized while covered by a plan spent about half as much time resolving the issue as those who were not covered.
*Covered individuals had their identities recovered in about a quarter of the time it took for non-covered individuals.
*Plan holders spent about $345 on recovering their identities, instead of the average of over one thousand dollars that those who weren’t covered spent.
*The majority of plan holders who were victimized reported that their plans alerted them to the potential of fraudulent use of their information.
It’s important to note that LifeLock, the industry leader in identity theft protection, was a sponsor for this study. However, it’s also good to be informed of the fact that the individuals taking the survey did not know that this was the case, so as not to skew the results.
If you’re still not sold on an identity theft protection plan, please read our article titled Identity Protection, Do I Really Need It or peruse this site and find a plan that offers a free trial period. You may find that the peace of mind you get from simply having identity protection is more than worth the money. Plus, who knows? You may find that you sign up just at the opportune time, right before you become an identity theft victim. Then the time and money that you save may prove to be invaluable.