How Does an Employee Identity Protection Benefit Differ from Traditional Credit Monitoring?

The 2016 Yahoo breach that affected more than one billion users. The 2017 Equifax scandal that revealed the personal details of nearly every working American. The 2018 Facebook blunders that continue to jeopardize billions of users around the globe. 

By now, one thing should be resoundingly clear: if your employees’ — or your clients’ employees — personal data hasn’t yet been compromised, it likely will be — and probably sooner than later.

It’s no wonder more employers than ever are trying to protect their employees from the dangers of identity theft. Understandably, they have many questions about what solutions exist. One question we’ve heard many times during the course of our 10+ years of experience in the identity protection industry is, “How does an employee identity protection benefit differ from a traditional credit monitoring service?”

The good news is, we have an answer! 

Identity Protection as an Employee Benefit vs. Traditional Credit Monitoring 

As our technology has advanced, so have the tactics used by hackers, identity thieves, and other cybercriminals who seek to cause us harm. Due to the sophistication of their strategies and how quickly an identity can be stolen, traditional credit monitoring services aren’t enough to protect your employees. 

While there are many reasons why employee identity protection is superior to credit monitoring services, the following five reasons highlight the most pertinent differences.

#1 Employee identity protection accesses more than credit-based accounts

One of the most important distinctions is that traditional credit monitoring services only analyze data that can have a direct impact on your credit report. Unlike PrivacyArmor, which tracks non-credit accounts, high-risk financial transactions, and even password resets, credit monitoring services provide very limited reporting. 

Hackers and cybercriminals can do a great deal of damage to a victim’s life without exploiting accounts that are directly tied to a victim’s credit profile. Hacked accounts through stolen compromised credentials and fraudulent use of medical benefits don’t show up on a person’s credit profile, but they have devastating effects nonetheless. That’s why it’s essential to track more than just credit-based accounts. 

#2 Employee identity protection sends timely alerts

Traditional credit monitoring services also fail to send timely alerts to users. Many of these programs update weekly or monthly, and they only reveal important changes to users at these scheduled time intervals. This is a crucial flaw for traditional credit monitoring services, as every second counts when spotting identity theft.

The sooner the crime is detected, the less damage is done to a victim’s life and the less time it takes to restore their identity. When evaluating identity protection benefit providers, it’s important to inquire about alert speed. While PrivacyArmor alerts are sent as soon as a threat is detected, some providers can take hours or days to alert users. 

#3 Traditional credit monitoring services don’t include social media monitoring

If identity thieves, hackers, or other cybercriminals hijack your employees’ social media account, it can spell big problems for both your employees and your company. The compromised accounts can be used to phish co-workers, slander your corporation, fraud your customers, and cause even greater damage. 

This liability is just one of the reasons your employees need a benefit that protects their online reputation. Not all identity protection plans include this feature, so be sure to select a plan that, like PrivacyArmor, alerts employees to potential social hijacking in near-real time. 

If you’d like to pass along some helpful tips to your employees about protecting their privacy on social media, you can send them this link to our complimentary guide, “Protecting Your Privacy: Best Practices for Mobile, Social, and Search Settings.”

#4 Identity protection benefits should include restoration assistance and identity theft insurance

Traditional credit monitoring services simply alert victims to a problem; quality identity protection services help victims solve it. Each PrivacyArmor plan comes standard with Privacy Advocates who are available to help employees 24/7 in the event of identity theft. Our trained and certified crew handles the most tedious and time-consuming aspects of identity restoration for employees, ensuring they can focus on what really matters — their jobs.

PrivacyArmor doesn’t just safeguard employees’ time; we also protect their finances. Every benefit includes a $1 million identity theft insurance policy that covers the out-of-pocket costs associated with identity theft, including lost wages, legal fees, medical records request fees, CPA fees, child care fees, and more. And PrivacyArmor Plus will reimburse for stolen funds and provide tax refund advances in cases of tax fraud.

#5 Identity protection benefits help keep security top of mind

One of the most significant benefits of identity protection is also one of the less obvious — it helps employees keep corporate security top of mind. 

With so many breaches and security incidents occurring due to human error, quality protection plans take a holistic approach to privacy protection. With PrivacyArmor, that means providing your employees with the tools and resources they need to secure their own accounts as well as those of your organization. 

Next Steps 

If you’d like to learn more about how you can protect your employees — or your client’s employees — as well as your company’s bottom line, a great place to start is with our free ebook, The HR Guide to Employee Data Protection and Identity Theft Prevention. If you know that identity protection is right for your employees and you’re evaluating providers, then our Identity Protection Service Checklist might be helpful.

Have questions? That’s great, because we have the answers. You can contact us anytime online, or give us a call at 480.302.6701.