Protect yourself from identity fraud - win annual subscription to the People's ID Bot

Identity fraud is a big concern nowadays.  We're always being advised to shred confidential correspondence before recycling it; to frequently change our online passwords; to be aware of scam and phishing emails and to be careful what personal details we share on social media. The recent Heartbleed bug caused many of us to re-think how we use passwords on sites.

Being the victim of financial fraud or having your identity stolen is an unpleasant experience.  I'm sure the perpetrators think it's a 'victimless crime' and that on the whole people are covered by insurance or are reimbursed by banks or credit card firms.  However, it causes untold stress and hassle, and not everyone is lucky enough to recoup their losses.

"A staggering 4 million* people in the UK have been victims of identity fraud. Even more troubling, the average cost of these incidents to each victim is £1,190* - but that rises, in some cases, to as much as £9,000. What’s more, it takes an average of 444 days** to discover that they’ve been a victim so by that time the trail may have gone cold and the case is harder to resolve." - source - IdentityProtect

Last year, on New Year's Eve I went to take some money out of the ATM machine for our night out.  My transaction was declined.  I couldn't understand why, so I called the bank.  It turned out my card had been cloned and they'd noticed some unusual activity in 'my' spending - my Other Half jokes that it's because it was with a sports store that I wouldn't be seen dead in!  Luckily for me, my bank were on the ball and refused the transactions and cancelled my card to prevent it being used.  It did however leave me with no cash or access to money all over the bank holiday period and was a total pain.

When I applied for a mortgage a few years back, I was advised to get a credit rating check done beforehand.  I was shocked to find some total stranger on my record, and counting against my credit score. It took me nearly a year of phone calls and letters to get that person removed from my file.  I have no idea how it happened, but a woman with a totally different address, and date of birth had somehow registered my name to sign up for catalogue accounts.  She'd been ordering huge amounts of clothing and not paying her account and ended up massively in debt to them.

Thankfully there is a solution to the threat of identity fraud.  The People's ID Bot by IdentityProtect offers protection and peace of mind.

IdentityProtect is a smart bot that scans the internet constantly.  It will then alert you straightaway if your personal information is at risk of being shared illegally, stolen or sold.   

In addition to the subscription service, there is a Facebook community called The Peoples ID Bot Project. The social media community are being encouraged to share news or stories about ID fraud and keep themselves up-to-date on current threats and issues.

To help you ensure your personal date is safe and sound, I have 10 free year-long subscriptions to offer readers.  To win one, simply complete the rafflecopter below before midnight on Tuesday 17th June 2014. Ten winners will be chosen at random from all eligible entries to receive special codes for a free years' trial. Valid and open to UK entrants only.




a Rafflecopter giveaway

This is a featured post.