topic Re: Costco - Identity Protection in Community Chat

Costco - Identity Protection

Qwackertoo — Sun, 08 Feb 2015 22:38:18 GMT

Has anyone signed up for Identity Protection thru Identity Guard from them?

9.99 a month for Executive Members

vs.

19.99 to Lifelock . . . which I've read bad reviews on

It is becoming tempting. with all the data breeches in the news every other week it seems.

Up to 1 Million protection.

Re: Costco - Identity Protection

dooBdoo — Sun, 08 Feb 2015 22:44:31 GMT

Qwackertoo, I don't use either but I wanted to mention some detailed info I posted on a another current thread about LifeLock (and also links to ways we can protect ourselves for free):

O/T ~ How Do You Protect Your Credit? LifeLock?

hth!

Re: Costco - Identity Protection

Qwackertoo — Sun, 08 Feb 2015 22:48:09 GMT

Thanks dooBdoo, I'll take a look!

here is a link that compares the two.

http://costco.identityguard.com/?websearch=Costco.comIdentityProtection&mktp=costco&utm_medium=Costco.com&utm_campaign=Standard&utm_term=Costco.comIdentityProtection

The lost wallet benefit is interesting. Wonder IF I signed up I'd stop having these awful dreams about my wallet getting stolen. Had another one just the other night.

I'll also see IF it would just protect my husband & I or also IF I could add my kids until they graduate college.

Husband will probably say NO. I admit, I do get nervous about it these days. And with a recent thread and people filing false IRS returns and getting false tax refunds. Scary stuff.

Re: Costco - Identity Protection

dooBdoo — Sun, 08 Feb 2015 23:01:05 GMT

You're welcome! I think you'll find some helpful comments from everyone on that thread. At this point, most of us share your concerns -- and rightly so.

Thanks for the link. Yikes! about those stolen-wallet dreams! I have some recurring themes in mine, but that one hasn't surfaced... yet.

Re: Costco - Identity Protection

Qwackertoo — Sun, 08 Feb 2015 23:10:58 GMT

Thanks for the link. I think I'd be tempted to go with the Costco one . . . I'd think they would thoroughly research any company they would actively promote for their members.

Yep on the dreams, I think I've had about 10 or more of them in the last 2-3 years. Weirdest thing ever.

We could probably do all that ourselves for free . . . but there are so many break-ins now that I'm feeling a bit at risk. I think the 9.99 for my peace of mind would be worth it.

Re: Costco - Identity Protection

Puzzle Piece — Sun, 08 Feb 2015 23:45:29 GMT

Thanks for the info.

Re: Costco - Identity Protection

millieshops — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 00:19:45 GMT

One of the problems with so many of the so-called protections is that they inform you after the fact - that can be helpful, but if it doesn't prevent fake transactions, it's not worth a whole lot of money.

I try to do my own checking on my financial accounts and my cards - and I do have freezes on my credit accounts. Still, it is scary because the thieves are stealing for a living - they don't do this after earning legal money elsewhere. That means they have 40, 50 or more hours a week to steal from us.

Re: Costco - Identity Protection

Qwackertoo — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 00:51:53 GMT

I think probably the most valuable part of the coverage is the reimbursement up to one million IF you aren't reimbursed by your financial institution(s).

from the site:

Protect your good name and more. If you become a victim of identity theft while you’re an Identity Guard® Total Protection® member, our identity theft insurance can reimburse you for certain expenses up to $1 million.

More specifically, on the slim chance that your money is stolen by identity thieves while you are a customer, Identity Guard® will reimburse the difference between your actual loss and the amount reimbursed to you by your financial institution, up to $1 million. Keep in mind, you must:

Report your loss to us within 90 days;

Let us help you recover your losses; and

Apply for reimbursement from your financial institution.

Re: Costco - Identity Protection

NoelSeven — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 01:48:24 GMT

QT -

I just saw this in my email and my immediate thought is to sign up ASAP!

I'm having DD go over it first, but like you, I trust Costco. They have always been an outstanding company and good to their workers.

ITA, the best part is ONE MILLION DOLLARS coverage!

We're Executive Members, so that a mere $10 a month, well worth it, imo!

Any additional thoughts?

Re: Costco - Identity Protection

millieshops — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 01:53:08 GMT

My only thought is that you read the reviews on Costco's offering. Some are very positive, some are terribly negative. I didn't count, I just read what was there. If I understand the set-up, it's not a Costco Company but a company Costco reps use, but I'm not totally sure of that. Just a little uneasy because of the number of complaints.

Not one person complained about not being reimbursed for a loss, but no one mentioned being reimbursed either.

Re: Costco - Identity Protection

tansy — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 01:54:04 GMT

Is it $10 for a couple or $20 to cover both?

Re: Costco - Identity Protection

Qwackertoo — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 01:55:54 GMT

I think it is 10.00 per membership, so a couple plus their kids. But I don't see an age maximum.

Re: Costco - Identity Protection

Qwackertoo — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 01:59:13 GMT

On 2/8/2015 millieshops said:
My only thought is that you read the reviews on Costco's offering. Some are very positive, some are terribly negative. I didn't count, I just read what was there. If I understand the set-up, it's not a Costco Company but a company Costco reps use, but I'm not totally sure of that. Just a little uneasy because of the number of complaints.

Not one person complained about not being reimbursed for a loss, but no one mentioned being reimbursed either.

Where are you seeing the reviews? I just see the link under their "services" at the top of the home page and then clicking on it takes you to the identity guard website .. . not the usual stars and pages of reviews. I guess I'm not looking in the right place for them.

Re: Costco - Identity Protection

Qwackertoo — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 02:04:24 GMT

On 2/8/2015 NoelSeven said:
QT -

I just saw this in my email and my immediate thought is to sign up ASAP!

I'm having DD go over it first, but like you, I trust Costco. They have always been an outstanding company and good to their workers.

ITA, the best part is ONE MILLION DOLLARS coverage!

We're Executive Members, so that a mere $10 a month, well worth it, imo!

Any additional thoughts?

I'm still looking and reading. One link that takes you to add it to your "cart" also gives you the first two months for the price of one.

I'm not so worried about credit cards as they'll immediately refund and reverse charges but IF someone were to hack into our investment accounts or bank accounts . . . so I plan to look and see what coverage the likes of Vanguard and Fidelity offer IF someone hacks our accounts.

Re: Costco - Identity Protection

Qwackertoo — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 02:08:41 GMT

I see on one consumer site they have five stars for their insurance quality.

And for the kids, up to FIFTEEN kids . . . haha . . . only 2 here . . . but you have to provide proof including birth certificates and ss numbers.

Re: Costco - Identity Protection

corita — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 02:10:21 GMT

On 2/8/2015 millieshops said:
One of the problems with so many of the so-called protections is that they inform you after the fact - that can be helpful, but if it doesn't prevent fake transactions, it's not worth a whole lot of money.

I try to do my own checking on my financial accounts and my cards - and I do have freezes on my credit accounts. Still, it is scary because the thieves are stealing for a living - they don't do this after earning legal money elsewhere. That means they have 40, 50 or more hours a week to steal from us.

Millie - I have been interested in "freezing" credit accounts. Where can I go to get more info??? I have asked several people and they had never heard of it...TIA

Re: Costco - Identity Protection

Qwackertoo — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 02:13:30 GMT

I think the Zone Alarm would be good too . . .guess you could load it onto your various laptops, desktops and smart phones. I'd have to call and ask how easy that would be and how one would do it . .. guess they send a membership "kit" which would save the cost of buying other spyware, virus etc for home computers.

And the ID vault for user names and passwords vs a "cheat" sheet that someone could find and use.

Oh and for kid ID addition looks like 4.99 extra PER month.

Re: Costco - Identity Protection

NoelSeven — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 02:20:49 GMT

On 2/8/2015 Qwackertoo said:
On 2/8/2015 NoelSeven said:
QT -

I just saw this in my email and my immediate thought is to sign up ASAP!

I'm having DD go over it first, but like you, I trust Costco. They have always been an outstanding company and good to their workers.

ITA, the best part is ONE MILLION DOLLARS coverage!

We're Executive Members, so that a mere $10 a month, well worth it, imo!

Any additional thoughts?

I'm still looking and reading. One link that takes you to add it to your "cart" also gives you the first two months for the price of one.

I'm not so worried about credit cards as they'll immediately refund and reverse charges but IF someone were to hack into our investment accounts or bank accounts . . . so I plan to look and see what coverage the likes of Vanguard and Fidelity offer IF someone hacks our accounts.

QT -

You know I've always respected your knowledge of finances and the economy, so I look forward to seeing your take on it.

I have the same concerns, not credit card, but stocks, other investments and savings accounts.

We had a credit card hacked once for $600. The bank called us ASAP and took care of it. We didn't have to do a thing.

Re: Costco - Identity Protection

Qwackertoo — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 02:30:20 GMT

Thanks for the kind words, Noel.

I found this on the Vanguard website . . . so I'm thinking IF account was hacked and money was stolen . . . it would be replaced. I'm surprised that 529's are excluded from the protection as they are in funds much like the others, Roth and plain IRA so not sure WHY they would be excluded. So I'm relieved to see that they do indeed cover fraudulent activity through no fault of your own. Off to check Fidelity for their protection details. We get 98% of our communications via email but some does find it way to our mailbox, mainly end of year 1099's and a few other documents. Much less than in previous years.

Details regarding this protection: This protection applies only to the following types of Vanguard® accounts: Vanguard nonretirement mutual fund accounts; Vanguard individual retirement accounts (IRAs); accounts maintained with Vanguard Brokerage Services®, a division of Vanguard Marketing Corporation; and participant accounts in retirement plans for which Vanguard provides recordkeeping and administrative services. Accordingly, this protection does not apply to annuities or to 529 college savings plan accounts.

This protection does not apply to unauthorized activity caused in whole or in part by your fraudulent, intentional, or negligent acts or omissions, including activity by a person whom you have intentionally or negligently permitted to transact in your account, or to whom you have intentionally or negligently given access to security information relating to your account. This protection does not apply to unauthorized account activity or account access by an employer or plan sponsor representative who is authorized to access your account but is acting outside the scope of his or her authority.

Vanguard will determine the type and amount of reimbursement—including whether to restore to your account cash and/or shares of securities equal to the amount of cash and/or shares of securities in your account at the time of any unauthorized activity—and whether to reverse unauthorized trades and reinstate positions as held at the time of any unauthorized activity. This protection does not cover any tax consequences; legal fees or expenses; other professional fees or expenses; or any special, indirect, incidental, consequential, punitive, exemplary, lost opportunity, or non-monetary damages. Vanguard reserves the right to offset any amount it would otherwise pay to you pursuant to this policy by compensation you have received from other sources for the same loss.

Vanguard may seek restitution for reimbursements made to you from the person(s) or entity that committed the unauthorized activity. Vanguard may, at its discretion and as a condition of this protection, require that you assign to Vanguard certain rights you may have regarding your loss and/or sign a release form. You may not assign any rights to this protection from Vanguard to any other individual or entity.

Re: Costco - Identity Protection

Qwackertoo — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 02:38:41 GMT

Fidelity has similar statement but doesn't specifically exclude annuities or 529's like the Vanguard site does. I plan to check a few others too.

So seems like the LifeLock and Identity Guard, while the million is nice, that they probably don't have to pay out often when it is through no fault of the account holder at brokerage firms. The other stuff is nice, the keyboard stroke protection, etc. etc. but expensive when you do it for a decade or more although Costco pricing is very competitive. My sister has the "freeze" on their credit bureau accounts, and her husband, so they do have to un-freeze them when they want to do something. Didn't realize the major three had started charging for that service but guess they saw the opportunity to make a nice profit on it.

I just feel "at risk" with so many crooks out there scamming and hacking and probably worry too much. I plan on talking with my husband about it tonight and he'll probably calm me down . . . and say we don't need it.

from Fidelity:

We value your business and the trust you have placed in Fidelity. We take security very seriously and use a variety of measures to protect your personal information and accounts. As part of our ongoing commitment to our customers, we’re proud to offer our Customer Protection Guarantee: We will reimburse your Fidelity account for any losses due to unauthorized activity.

Our Customer Protection Guarantee is designed to provide you with peace of mind when doing business with Fidelity. It covers all assets in Fidelity Brokerage accounts, Fidelity Mutual Fund accounts, Fidelity Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), and individual workplace retirement plan accounts under a 401(k), profit sharing, 403(b), or 457 plan for which Fidelity is the recordkeeper.