TrustedID

TrustedID Inc., founded in 2004, is an American identity protection company. The company's suite of products include free and paid services that help consumers detect risk of identity theft and control the use of their personal information. The company sells its products through a range of different channels, including major companies and through its website.

History

TrustedID was founded by Scott Mitic and Omar Ahmad following personal experiences with identity theft. The company is headquartered in Palo Alto, California, and also has offices in Berkeley and Santa Maria, California. The company's early angel investors include Esther Dyson, Kim Polese, Brad Garlinghouse and Geoff Ralston, with institutional investors including Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Opus Capital. In 2011, the company acquired two companies, Unsubscribe.com, funded by Charles River Ventures, and Reppler.com, funded by Norwest Venture Partners.^[1] In 2012, TrustedID acquired Catalog Choice, a non-profit founded by Chuck Teller.^[2] In 2013, the company itself was acquired by Equifax, one of the three national credit bureaus.^[3]

Product

TrustedID's initial products, launched in 2006, were focused on helping consumers "freeze" their credit reports, following the advent of legislation that gave individuals the right to stop the three national credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian and Trans Union, from selling an individual's credit data without first getting consumer consent.^[4][5] Over time, the company evolved to include a broader set of protections, including anti-malware protection, fraud alert placement and black market Internet monitoring. In 2009, the company added credit report monitoring which alerted users to changes in their credit data which indicated possible risk of identity theft.

With the acquisition of Reppler.com in 2011, TrustedID added capabilities in reputation management for individuals, alerting them to content on the Internet which would create negative consequences, especially during life transitions such as college and new job application processes.

With the acquisition of Catalog Choice in 2012, TrustedID started offering "opt out" services to United States consumers. The company has now processed more than 25 million consumer opt outs, covering more than 10,000 direct mailers.^[6] A mobile application released by the company in 2011 makes it possible to opt out of advertising mail by simply taking a picture of the front of the piece of mail.

TrustedID also offers data breach response solutions for companies and organizations that expose confidential customer, employee or member information.

Marketing

TrustedID markets primarily through partners, including Dell, FICO and Intuit. With Dell, TrustedID's free identity protection comes bundled with each consumer computer sold in the United States and paid products are offered as an upgrade when customers customize the configuration of their personal computer. TrustedID's products are also marketed and promoted by Suze Orman through channels that include QVC and the celebrity's own website. TrustedID's products are also included in Suze Orman's Approved Card, a prepaid debit card.

Awards & Recognition

The company's flagship product, IDEssentials, was awarded "Best-in-Class" by Javelin Strategy & Research in 2010.^[7]

External links

Official website

References