There a lot of ways you can protect YOURSELF from identity theft, but it sure would be nice if someone else would do it for you. Many financial institutions are offering this protection to their customers, and there are some companies who will help you – but much of the time, protection will be for a fee.

Most of the identity theft plans being offered by a growing number of financial institutions will reimburse customers for out-of-pocket expenses up to a certain dollar amount and help them through the process of contacting creditors, writing affidavits and filing reports.

Paid plans are usually low-cost – around $3-10 per month and provide a certain amount of coverage up to a specific dollar amount. This is done in the form of an insurance policy against loss from identity theft. For example, one company’s identity theft plan costs $10 per month and gives coverage for losses up to $15,000.

They will also give customers a copy of their credit report; monitor the customer’s credit at the three major credit report agencies daily and issue a report of any changes or possible problems. These plans also often offer up access to some consumer education plans to help them clear up any problems and prevent identity theft from occurring. While this all might sound like a stellar idea, many consumer advocates view these plans with a wary eye. Why? Because they usually only protect your from credit fraud.

This insurance runs the risk of giving consumers a false sense of security. You still need to monitor your credit reports and your bank statements. Debit card problems only show up on bank statements. Not credit reports. If there’s a problem in your bank accounts, you will probably need to be the one to find it. These types of plans don’t do it for you.