The 5 Best Services for Small Firms to Fight Identity 2023

Do you know The 5 Best Services for Small Firms to Fight Identity 2023? The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recorded 1,434,676 cases of identity theft in 2021 in the beginning of 2022. More than 25% of all recorded cases of cybercrime are represented by this.

For both individuals and corporations, identity theft can have severe legal, reputational, and financial repercussions.

Small and medium businesses (SMBs) pay an average of $200,000 for a successful cyberattack. Many never fully recover. In fact, 60% of SMBs that have fallen prey to cybercriminals shut down their operations within six months.

However, most small business owners are unconcerned about identity theft. 56% of them responded in a recent survey that they were not concerned about being victims of cybercrime.

This much confidence is unwarranted. Targeting small businesses is considerably more common and likely than targeting large corporations.

It’s essential to invest in your company’s cyber protection to stop this. Along with more conventional cyber security measures, it ought to safeguard against identity theft.

This article begins by outlining the need of identity theft protection for small businesses. It then lists the aspects to watch out for and highlights the top 10 identity theft protection service providers in 2022.

Read More: FaceTime Call History/How to View Your FaceTime Call History

WHY YOUR SMALL BUSINESS SHOULD USE AN IDENTITY THEFT PROTECTION SERVICE

You’ve definitely heard of the traditional identity theft that occurs when crooks use someone else’s name to apply for credit cards, pay for medical bills, or spread malware.

However, in 2022, business identity theft will be a significant problem. Here, cybercriminals seize control of your company’s entire identity and can entirely destroy years of trust-building.

Several types of business identity theft exist. Cybercriminals regularly submit false applications for business loans or government perks using the name and credentials of your company. Many firms discovered that thieves had exploited their identities to apply for stimulus checks, particularly during the pandemic.

Further, they might create phoney invoices and phishing emails in your company’s name, offer products under your name while never actually delivering them, and other sophisticated scams. Finally, they vanish, leaving you to deal with the aftermath of irate clients.

And as cybercrime evolves, they might carry out all of these actions simultaneously to get the greatest financial benefit.

In each of these situations, it’s critical to respond quickly and establish a recovery plan for identity theft to handle the fallout.

Services for preventing identity theft can assist you in doing just that. They keep an eye on your private and professional information, alert you to any instances of identity theft, and support you while you recover.

IDENTITY THEFT PROTECTION FEATURES TO LOOK OUT FOR

Before delving into the specifics of various providers, it’s important to gain a general understanding of the things you should look for in a complete identity theft protection package.

FEATURES TO PREVENT IDENTITY THEFT

To start with, identity theft protection services provide a wide range of features to shield users from identity theft in the first place.

This frequently includes software tools for securing devices and Wi-Fi, like antivirus, encryption, and VPN.

Virtual private network, or VPN. By encrypting all of your internet traffic, this establishes a secure connection and makes it more difficult for hackers to access your personal data. This is an essential safety measure, especially while using public networks like those found in coffee shops or airports.

A password manager is a further function that is usually seen in identity theft prevention packages. And there’s a valid explanation behind it.

Your best line of defence against identity theft is to use strong passwords that are both complicated and unique. Many people still disregard the security of passwords, though. According to recent research, “qwerty,” “123456,” and, sadly, “password” will continue to be the most used passwords in 2022.

A password manager automates the creation of complex passwords for you, saving you the time and effort of having to memorise each one manually. Additionally, it checks your current passwords and indicates any that are too simple or have already been compromised in security incidents. Some even have the ability to automatically change major websites’ and services’ compromised or weak passwords.

MONITORING SERVICES

An extensive collection of monitoring tools sit at the core of any identity theft prevention that is worth its salt. Being informed of potential theft is, after all, one of the main advantages of identity theft protection services. This enables quick response to reduce harm.

Dark web monitoring is one sort of surveillance that is frequently provided. In other words, the identity theft protection company uses AI algorithms to search the less savoury parts of the internet for your personal and corporate data. You’ll receive a notification if any of your passwords, bank and tax information, or social security number is discovered on the dark web.

Monitoring of financial services and credit scores is also crucial.

Once a year, you are entitled to a free credit report in the US. However, identity theft prevention programmes monitor your credit score practically immediately. They will identify any big changes for you. Then you can assess whether it’s a result of your own behaviour or that of online crooks.

Similar to this, financial account monitoring uses sophisticated algorithms to track your credit card and bank account activity. You’ll be alerted right away if any unusual behaviour deviates from your usual habits.

A third kind of monitoring service is concerned with potential legal issues. If your identity has been fraudulently used for criminal activity, court records monitoring and sex offender monitoring algorithms automatically search millions of criminal records and sex offender registries.

The fourth option is identity monitoring on social media. Hackers frequently use the identities of companies and people for their own ends, such as spreading malware.

Additionally, some identity theft protection service providers provide services to keep an eye on payday loans and attempts to have your postal address altered.

IDENTITY THEFT INSURANCE AND FRAUD RESOLUTION SERVICES

Identity theft insurance and fraud resolution services are the final two key components of comprehensive identity theft protection services.

Identity theft insurance offers financial assistance if your identity is stolen, as the term implies. The majority of the time, companies pay up to $1 million in damages under ordinary plans.

But money alone won’t be sufficient to recover from the effects of corporate impersonation.  This implies that the skilled specialists at your identity theft protection company will assist you in handling the logistical and legal facets of your recovery.

THE 5 BEST IDENTITY THEFT PROTECTION SERVICES FOR SMALL BUSINESSES IN 2022

Here is our ranking of the top 10 suppliers of identity theft protection services in 2022 after explaining why identity theft protection is essential for small businesses and what features to look out for.

1 – AURA

The first company on our list is Aura, which grew out of five security and privacy-focused businesses: iSubscribed, Intersections, Pango, Figleaf, and PrivacyMate. The collective knowledge here includes some that dates back 20 years.

All the technical components required for preventing identity theft are combined in Aura. It includes a password manager, a VPN, secure browsing options, and antivirus software.

Out of all the companies we compared, Aura also provides the most comprehensive array of monitoring services.

Additionally, Aura offers services for people search site elimination, missing wallet repair, credit locks, financial planning, and protection from spam calls and junk mail.

All plans also come standard with $1 million in identity theft insurance and 24/7 customer assistance.

Individuals, couples, and families can purchase Aura for $12, $22, and $37 per month, respectively.

Up to 10 devices per adult may have all software features—extensions, desktop applications, and mobile applications—installed.

2 – IDENTITY GUARD

Identity Guard is an easier to use substitute for Aura. It comes with many of the same benefits as Aura but lacks all software capabilities aside from secure browsing.

Additionally, Identity Guard has a proven track record of preventing identity theft.  It is thus among the market’s oldest and most seasoned identity theft prevention services.

Identity Guard provides monitoring services for the dark web, credit and investment monitoring, social media monitoring, and bank account and credit card monitoring.

Value, Total, and Ultra are the three price tiers, with monthly prices of $8.99, $19.99, and $29.99, respectively.

3 – NORTON LIFELOCK

The next cybersecurity product on the list is LifeLock from Norton, one of the industry’s major companies.

Thanks to Norton 360, LifeLock includes a wide range of software security choices as well as monitoring tools and identity theft insurance.

The Standard plan, which costs an average of $11.99 per month but only offers basic credit monitoring through one credit agency and a pitiful $25,000 in financial loss protection, is somewhat expensive.

The Ultimate Plus package, on the other hand, costs $34.99 a month and includes three-bureau credit monitoring, $1 million in insurance, crime and financial monitoring,

4 – PRIVACYGUARD

One of the most customizable options on the list is Privacy Guard, which gives you the choice between Total Protection, Identity Protection, and Credit Protection.

Monitoring of public data, bank accounts, credit cards, personal documents, social security numbers, and the dark web are all included in identity protection.

It also includes a secure browser, stolen wallet protection, monthly status updates, a dedicated fraud resolution agent, and $1 million in identity theft insurance. Monthly pricing begins at $9.99.

You receive daily credit monitoring and monthly triple-bureau credit score tracking from Credit Protection. You will also have access to a financial calculator suite, a credit information helpline, and a credit score simulator. The starting price is $19.99.

Total Protection has a starting price of $24.99.g and combines the advantages of both policies.

5 – IDENTITYIQ

IdentityIQ is a fantastic all-around choice that offers lots of versatility.

On the website, its Secure plan, which starts at $6.99 a month, is a little obscure. It offers surveillance for social security numbers, dark web activity, and credit reports.Additionally, it offers protection for attorneys and specialists as well as compensation for personal expenses when recovering from identity theft.

For $9.99 a month, the Secure Plus plan also includes annual credit monitoring and scores. The Secure Pro package offers enhanced credit monitoring, public record monitoring, and semiannual credit reports for $19.99 per month.

Finally, the Secure Max Plan includes a credit score simulator, a monthly credit report, and a $25,000 identity theft insurance policy.