What is identity theft?

Identity theft refers to the unauthorized use of an individual's personal identifying information (PII), such as name, social security number, bank information, and other related sensitive information that can compromise a person's privacy, security, and financial assets.

How do I protect myself from identity theft?

You can protect yourself against identity theft by securing your personal information -- online and offline. Make sure to engage in best practices such as using strong passwords, protecting your devices with updated security software, monitoring your bank transactions, securing your personal documents, and minimizing the amount of information you share online. For proactive protection, McAfee® Identity Protection Service can actively monitor your sensitive information and give step-by-step guidance when you need it the most.

What should I do if I’m a victim of identity theft?

Begin by analyzing the situation and reviewing the compromised information. Then, notify the relevant authorities, such as your bank, insurance agency, a local police station, or a national cybercrime complaint center. While the relevant authorities are helping you with the case, check and secure your financial accounts, devices, and proof of identity. McAfee Total Protection Ultimate plans include identity theft insurance to cover up to $1,000,000 of qualifying losses, and hands-on restoration support to help you reclaim your identity. Identity theft insurance not available to McAfee Security for T-Mobile subscribers in the State of NY or Puerto Rico due to regulatory compliance.

What is the most common form of identity theft?

The most common form of identity theft is financial identity theft, which refers to any type of theft when someone uses another individual’s information for financial gain. Some examples are New Account Fraud, Account Takeover Fraud, Business Identity Theft, and Tax-Related Identity Theft.

How do I prove I was a victim of identity theft?

You must report identify theft to the FTC at https://www.identitytheft.gov/#/assistant or 1-877-438-4338. Prepare your personal identity documents such as ID cards or SSN to verify your name, utility bill/mortgage statement for address verification, along with bank or credit card statements to show where fraudulent transactions took place. The identify theft report proves to businesses that your identity has been stolen.

How do I access my identity protection?

You can access and manage your identity protection on protection.mcafee.com .

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Step 1: Check your Protection Score to see how safe you are online.

Step 2: We'll alert you if we find your information in a data breach, so you can take immediate action.

Step 3: We assist you in resolving the breach. Once resolved, your Protection Score goes up.

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Protection Score checks the health of your online protection and provides simple steps to improve your security. Knowing how safe you are is the first step toward a safer life online.

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Simple instructions make it easy to set up and fix gaps to improve your online security.

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Where can I find my Protection Score?

Protection Score is included with McAfee Total Protection. You can access your score in the McAfee Protection Center.

What affects my Protection Score?

Activating McAfee protection on other devices will increase your score.

Running an antivirus scan will increase your score.

Installing web protection to your preferred browser will increase your score.

Adding personal identifiable information (PII) to your identity monitoring will increase your score.

If your email is found in a data breach, your score will go down.

If your government ID or any financial info is found on the dark web, your score might drop more than an email or phone number.

When you resolve any identity breaches we find, your score will go back up.

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FAQs

These answers might help.

No, an excellent score does not guarantee total safety. No connected life can be totally secure, but an excellent score does show you’re doing a good job of preventing and handling risks. There are many ways hackers can get their hands on your personal info so you’ll still need to practice good digital hygiene to make sure you stay protected from threats.

Setting up your McAfee Protection, following safety recommendations, and addressing your alerts are all factors that impact your score. If your personal info was exposed in a data breach, your score may drop, but you can improve it by taking steps to regain control of your identity. We’ll show you how to protect yourself after a breach and help you get your score back up.

The score ranges from 0 - 1000. A score over 700 is considered very good, while any score above 850 is considered excellent.

0-399 Low
400-599 Fair
600-699 Good
700-849 Very good
850-1000 Excellent