The service is aimed at helping victims close compromised accounts, place fraud alerts and prevent additional damage. Such efforts could help squelch identity theft, which claimed an estimated 8.9 million victims and accounted for $56.6 billion in losses in 2005, according to Javelin Strategy & Research.

In the past year, about 130 credit unions and community banks rolled out free identity theft recovery services to their customers, according to Identity Theft 911, which contracts with businesses providing the service to customers and employees.

MetLife Insurance (MET), for example, which has offered free identity theft recovery service to its homeowner policyholders since June 2005, extended it to customers of its online MetLife Bank in December.

Glenview State Bank in Glenview, Ill., considered many options before it selected the service offered by Identity Theft 911 last March. "What struck me about the company is that it can hold a customer's hand and walk them through the steps they need to take if they're a victim," says David Kreiman, the bank's director of marketing.

Unlike identity theft insurance, Identity Theft 911 will not reimburse expenses and legal fees incurred in troubleshooting identity fraud. But it does help consumers clean up problems after they report an incident so they don't ever need an attorney, says Sheryl Christenson, CEO of Identity Theft 911.

Each victim is assigned an expert who acts as a personal advocate throughout the process, she says. The advocate will help notify governmental agencies, prepare documents, make phone calls to notify creditors, add passwords to accounts and even deal with debt collectors, if necessary.

Flight attendant Donna Dichtl, a Glenview customer, relied on Identity Theft 911 last August when she saw some unusual charges on her American Express bill. After calling the card company, she contacted the identity theft service. It notified the major credit-monitoring services. "The service also gave me other good advice, such as making a police report, which I have never thought about doing," she says. After that, the problems stopped.

Fort Bragg Federal Credit Union, which has 66,000 members, has provided free identity theft recovery help since December 2005.

Although only 12 of its members needed help last year, the credit union will keep the service. "It's so important because the people were able to get their identity restored and get their accounts straightened out," says David Elliott, president of the credit union.

There are other ways consumers can protect against identity theft. Among them:

•Identity theft insurance. Policies typically provide basic coverage for victims. While they don't cover direct monetary losses, they tend to pay for phone bills, lost wages and legal fees related to identity theft.

Most have coverage limits of $10,000 to $15,000. Policies generally cost $25 to $60 per year, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners says.

•Credit-monitoring services. For a fee, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion can help consumers keep a close eye on their credit report to spot potential fraud. Although that can be a useful tool, it might not always prevent identity theft, and it doesn't assist victims after it happens. Cost: about $12.95 to $14.95 a month. 

Labels: banks, identity theft

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