Identity Theft Assist Provides Comprehensive Service to Members

According to the Federal Trade Commission, identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the country.  Nearly 10 million people reported having their identity stolen last year alone. 

In an effort to combat the devastating effects of identity theft, ID Theft Assist, headquartered in Washington, D.C., offers ground breaking identity theft protection and recovery services that far surpasses any identity theft product currently on the market. 

ID Theft Assist, is a full-service, 24 hour, seven-days-a-week identity recovery service. If a member suspects that his or her identity has been compromised, all they need to do is make one call and speak to an experienced fraud specialist working on their behalf.  ID Theft Assist has access, upon client authorization, to an instantaneous credit report to determine if their identity has been a compromised.  Then they can begin the recovery process immediately.  Other identity theft products on the market do not have access to instantaneous credit reports and only offer self help tools to customers making them resolve the issue on their own. 

"Identity theft is the stealing of a victim's identity in order to obtain credit, credit cards from banks and retailers, make bank account withdrawals, apply for loans, establish accounts with utility companies, rent an apartment, or even obtaining a job using the victim's name" said Kathryn Jennings, spokesperson for ID Theft Assist.

Thieves can easily obtain information on a victim.  All they need is someone's social security number, birth date and any other identifying information such as their address and phone number.   

Unfortunately, even though people are attempting to safeguard their personal information, it's still readily available in databases around the world, on the internet, and accessible from public documents. According to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, thieves continue on a daily basis to hack into company databases throughout the world such as retailers, colleges and universities, banks, credit unions and Fortune 500 companies.

"We are here to assist identity theft victims get their financial lives back, said Jennings.  It's a very personal crime. Someone pretends to be you and that's very emotional.  Unfortunately, because of data breaches everyone is at risk no matter how well they guard their personal information."

Currently, ID Theft Assist handles identity theft recovery services for 14 million Americans.  Protection is available for purchase by individuals as well as businesses. Current clients include Nationwide Insurance, USI Holdings, AAA East Central, Keystone Insurers Group and numerous professional associations. Trion, an employee benefits company which has an umbrella of 500 companies such as The Philadelphia Eagles, Wawa, QVC, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and Drexel University are making it available to all their employees at a discounted rate.  Hitachi USA recently embedded the product as an employee benefit for their nearly 5,000 employees. 

ID Theft Assist, launched in January 2004, is a partnership between a leading credit bureau and Worldwide Assistance Services Inc., a respected 24-hour crisis response team providing a comprehensive identity recovery system. Worldwide Assistance Inc., a division of Europ Assistance Group, started in the United States in 1982.  Together their combined experienced and knowledge give them an edge over their competitors in offering identity recovery services quickly and thoroughly.  For more information on identity theft and ID Theft Assist products, log onto www.idassistonline.com.