DENVER - A new product is being launched by a Denver company that promises to help protect you from identity theft. It tells you right away whether you've been a victim of identity theft and just don't know it yet.
The idCHECK card looks just like a gift card and will be sold in stores. The company says it gives you a sort of instant "pregnancy" test for identity theft.
The patented concept is unlike anything else on the market to combat ID theft, which is big because each year ten million people fall victim to it.
"Nine out of ten people who are victims don't know it," said ID Watchdog President Daniel Mohan. "(The card) designed to answer one simple question; are you a victim of identity theft right now, yes or no?"
To get that answer you take the one-time use card, go to ID Watchdog's secure website and enter your information. After analysis of your records, you get a definitive answer.
"You've got a mortgage, rented a car, went to the hospital got a student loan," said Mohan. "Each time you do this you turn over vital personal information to a third party that's where you're most vulnerable this information is beyond your control and that's where identity thieves attack."
I was surprised by the test to find out that I'm at high risk for identity theft. A team of ID theft analysts determined it's because I had two addresses on my record where I had never lived.
"Any record unrecognized is a concern, but in your case, having two, it's starting to show a pattern and it may grow as you go along," said product developer Nicolas Bryla of ID Watchdog.
If you don't want to pay for services that charge a monthly fee to monitor your credit and identity, idCHECK offers a one-time flat rate analysis.
"We have logic in place that takes that whole picture and presents a report card in the end to you to say is it your files or is it your behavior or is it a combination of the two that's leading to you're a victim or you're not a victim," said Bryla.
If your results show there's a problem, they offer various levels to help clear your identity, which can take years on your own.
The Denver company will be rolling out the cards later this month at Best Buy, Radio Shack and 7-Eleven stores. They plan to add several more national chains by the end of the year.
They say several other ID protection company's are already trying to come up with their own versions of this card, which they expect will attract a large market.
The idCHECK card looks just like a gift card and will be sold in stores. The company says it gives you a sort of instant "pregnancy" test for identity theft.
The patented concept is unlike anything else on the market to combat ID theft, which is big because each year ten million people fall victim to it.
"Nine out of ten people who are victims don't know it," said ID Watchdog President Daniel Mohan. "(The card) designed to answer one simple question; are you a victim of identity theft right now, yes or no?"
To get that answer you take the one-time use card, go to ID Watchdog's secure website and enter your information. After analysis of your records, you get a definitive answer.
"You've got a mortgage, rented a car, went to the hospital got a student loan," said Mohan. "Each time you do this you turn over vital personal information to a third party that's where you're most vulnerable this information is beyond your control and that's where identity thieves attack."
I was surprised by the test to find out that I'm at high risk for identity theft. A team of ID theft analysts determined it's because I had two addresses on my record where I had never lived.
"Any record unrecognized is a concern, but in your case, having two, it's starting to show a pattern and it may grow as you go along," said product developer Nicolas Bryla of ID Watchdog.
If you don't want to pay for services that charge a monthly fee to monitor your credit and identity, idCHECK offers a one-time flat rate analysis.
"We have logic in place that takes that whole picture and presents a report card in the end to you to say is it your files or is it your behavior or is it a combination of the two that's leading to you're a victim or you're not a victim," said Bryla.
If your results show there's a problem, they offer various levels to help clear your identity, which can take years on your own.
The Denver company will be rolling out the cards later this month at Best Buy, Radio Shack and 7-Eleven stores. They plan to add several more national chains by the end of the year.
They say several other ID protection company's are already trying to come up with their own versions of this card, which they expect will attract a large market.
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