Service to warn customers if account details appear on hacker forums

Affinion Security Center has launched a new service called IdentitySecure, which will warn internet users when criminals steal credit card or login details and are selling them on the internet. The company will monitor hacker forums, IRC chat rooms and other sites on which information of this kind is traded. If their names or account details show up, ASC will warn customers, allowing them to take appropriate measures to prevent further misuse.

ASC has been providing fraud and identity protection services for almost 30 years, but these services have been intended for banks and financial institutions. Those customers have rebranded and repackaged the ASC services as their own offerings for their customers. IdentitySecure on the other hand is targeted at individuals, who can subscribe for $15 a month to receive notification when the system detects that their identity information has appeared on the criminal sites.

The service takes an approach based on users' experience that their identity information can be lost without them being caught by a phishing attack. It is often possible that companies that they do business with may have lost data, so rather than trying to enforce control over that data, ASC thinks that monitoring the sites who trade in stolen identity information will be a more effective tactic.

The IdentitySecure package, only available currently in the US, also includes assistance should an incident occur, PC security software and insurance for losses of up to $25,000.

(jbe)