Costco Connection - December 2010

IDENTITY GUARD wants to keep your secrets safe

DIGI TAL VISION/JUPI TER IMAGES

The defender

CC: If I know I have a good credit score and I always shred my financial documents, why would I need to use this service?

MS: A credit score is a window into your financial life. Banks, potential employers, life-insurance companies and utility companies pull your credit score to evaluate your credit-worthiness. A low score could mean significantly higher interest rates and more money spent on a product or service for one customer, while a customer with a high credit score would pay significantly less.

Many things can impact a credit score, including late payments, high credit accounts, erroneously recorded accounts or activity, and derogatory accounts. It is for this reason that it is important to monitor credit scores based on data from all three credit-reporting bureaus [Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion]. Credit scores are an important part of all of our services, including Costco’s I;;;;;;; G;;;; service. Through monthly or quarterly updates, it is easy to track changes to your credit score.

But our service goes beyond credit scores, and consumers should be vigilant about protecting their entire identity online, through public records and when using their mobile devices.

By T. Foster Jones

INTERSECTIONS INC., THE company that provides I;;;;;;; G;;;;®, the ID protection program offered by Costco, recently added enhancements to the program. The Connection contacted Intersections CEO Michael Stanfield for a brief Q&A about I;;;;;;; G;;;;, Costco and the ongoing need for ID protection.

The Costco Connection: We noted in our October 2010 Update section the recent addition of new features to the service available to Costco members. What made those necessary? Could you explain how those new features work?

Michael Stanfield: We are living in the digital age, where our identities are shared with friends through social networking, our financial assets are conveniently accessible online through our trusted financial institutions and instantaneous transactions are made, all to give us immediate gratification. The conveniences of online transactions also pose great risks if we do not take precautionary steps to protect ourselves

Connecting

For more information about the IDENTITY GUARD program, visit Costco.com and search “Connection 1210.”

from opportunistic fraud-sters. The new services added to Costco’s I;;;;;;; G;;;; product help reduce the risk of identity theft.

■ ID Risk Assessment® will analyze your vulnerability to identity theft using innovative advanced technology that determines your risk level.

■ ZoneAlarm® protects your computer and all stored information from damaging viruses, spyware and malware.

■ ID Vault® gives you one-click, secure log-in access to your accounts—plus auto-form fill-in of your credit-card information—for extra protection when you shop or bank online.

■ M;;;;; L;;;;;;® gives you access to personal financial information and critical documents in a secure online location from your PC or mobile device, and receives alerts for changes to your financial account or credit report.

■ Lost Wallet offers immediate customized support to help those who report lost and stolen cards. We help notify creditors and develop an action plan so you can act quickly should an identity thief use your stolen assets.

CC: There are many providers of identity-theft solutions—why Intersections? What is better or unique about the company?

MS: There are many providers of identity-theft solutions, but few can provide a comprehensive solution that can address today’s threats and be supported with meaningful, exemplary customer service.

Intersections has been in the identity-theft prevention business for more than 14 years and has been the engine behind the financial industry’s private-label identity-theft protection programs. We are a cus-tomer-centric company, and we want our customers to use our product and to understand how each feature works.

Our solutions help protect consumers from online threats, keep them aware of their credit and public information profiles and potential threats, and provide them with identity-recovery services in the event of an identity-theft situation.

With millions of consumers being victims of identity theft each year, it is important that consumers have someone they can turn to and trust to help guide them along the path to recovery. C