Privista Soups Up ID Theft Monitoring Service

Privista has launched a privacy protection service called
ID Guard. In return for $19.95 a year, the service allows users to be
kept aware of changes to their credit profile, as well as alerts
them to any changes to their personal profile.

ID theft is now a growing problem in the US credit industry, with
several hundred people a month discovering that their identity has
been "borrowed," usually for thieves to rack up large debts on credit
cards and personal loans.

By maintaining a close watch on a users' credit profile, Privista says
it can keep a watch on someone's identity and alert them, usually via
e-mail, if something odd happens.

A spokesperson for the company told Newsbytes that the service uses
credit profiles maintained by Equifax, sending a weekly update to
subscribers, and monitoring up to 15 of their credit file attributes.

Originally launched in a beta test version last October, ID Guard has
now been enhanced as a commercial offering, allowing users to monitor
for suspicious changes in their credit file, such as changes to their
address, a new account being opened, unusual credit card account
changes, and a change in the subscriber's Social Security number.

The updated ID Guard now flags unusual changes to individual credit
cards, not just changes to a customer's combined credit balance.

With this enhancement, Privista says that online users can better
manage their spending, as well as more quickly identify potential
credit fraud.

Since launching the trial version of ID Guard last October, Privista
says that around 10,000 people have registered for the service.

Privista's Web site is at http://www.privista.com.