Identity theft is a serious offense and it is essential that you have all the facts on this crime and know exactly what you need to do in the event that you are a victim of an identity theft crime. Even though there are a plethora of services that offer identity theft protection to consumers it can be fairly daunting to locate an identity theft protection service that will suit your needs. For this reason, the team at Star Reviews has decided to conduct their own private investigation on some of the best identity theft protection services available to consumers. On our search for the best identity theft protection services, we ran across Citi IdentityMonitor. This is what we discovered:
Key Features:
- Up to $25,000 of identity protection insurance
- 24/7 online access
- Credit monitoring
Star Reviews Favorite Feature:
Citi is a renowned credit provider; therefore you would expect their identity theft protection service to also be top notch as well. There are a lot of great things that this service offers, however our favorite feature has to be their 24/7 online access option to your credit report file.
Consumers are given the opportunity to log into their Citi account and view their up to date credit reports on a daily basis. There are no additional fees that are associated with this viewing either. You are welcome to view your credit report whenever you deem necessary. This will definitely help you keep an eye out for any suspicious activities that could occur.
Citi IdentityMonitor Experience:
The Citi IdentityMonitor website is fairly easy to navigate and only consists of one main landing page. Everything is hyperlinked so you can gain immediate information on all of the services that Citi IdentityMonitor offers to consumers. Some of their prime features include identity theft reimbursement insurance as well as Notify Express alerts.
If your identity is stolen during the time that you are protected by Citi IdentityMonitor you will be immediately transferred to their theft solutions center. The fraud team will lead you through the necessary steps that you need to take in order to cease this activity and regain your life. Citi will also cover any necessary expenses that you incur when trying to rectify your identity theft problem. For the first 30 days of using the service, you are only asked to render one dollar.
All Features of Citi IdentityMonitor:
- Up to $25,000 in protection insurance
- Up to $500 recovered for lost wages
- 24/7 access to your credit information online
- Fraud/credit report specialists available Mon-Fri. from 8am-11pm EST
- Personal credit reports, analysis and scores
- Consistent alerts sent through Notify Express if potential fraud is in the midst of occurring
- Credit monitoring daily
- Reimbursement for up to 4 credit reports
- Notary and certified mailing costs covered
- Loan and application fees covered
Citi IdentityMonitor Pricing:
Identity theft protection services are offered $12.95 per month. However for the first 30 days you will receive full identity theft protection for only $1.00.
Customer Service Options:
There are three different ways that consumers can contact this particular identity theft protection service. Emails may be sent; you can call their toll free phone number or contact IdentityMonitor via postal mail.
The team at Star Reviews called Citi in order to evaluate their customer service hotline. We did not like the amount of time that we were asked to wait on the line for. In total throughout the entire conversation, we waited for the time period of ten minutes. The representative that we spoke with was vague with her explanations about their services. She kept directing us to check out their FAQ page that is listed on their website. In fact, their FAQ page gave us better insight on their services than the customer service representative did.
Upside:
The first thirty days will only cost one dollar. Notify express alerts are sent to individuals whenever a possible identity theft crime may be in the midst of being committed against them.
Downside:
Customer service has set hours of operation, and the representatives are not adept when it comes to the services offered by the company. Only individual plans can be obtained, family plans must be purchased one account per social security number. There is no free trial for this service.