TrustedID

TrustedID carved out a niche in the personal identity protection market by offering a suite of solutions aimed at safeguarding consumers from identity theft. The company was founded in 2004 by Scott Mitic and Omar Ahmad. Mitic, formerly a vice president at FICO creator Fair Isaac, was motivated by the observation that credit bureaus seemed to prioritize selling consumer data over protecting it. This perspective shaped TrustedID's focus on proactive identity protection.

The firm's business model centered on direct-to-consumer subscriptions for its services, alongside forming strategic partnerships to broaden its reach. A notable partnership was an exclusive relationship with AARP, providing credit and identity theft protection to its millions of members. The company's revenue was generated through these subscription sales to individuals and families, as well as by providing employee benefits programs and data breach response services to corporate clients.

TrustedID's flagship product, IDEssentials, provided a multi-faceted defense against identity fraud. Its features included monitoring across the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion), internet scanning for compromised personal data, and assistance with fraud alerts. The service also offered tools to manage online reputation on social media platforms and provided an option to opt-out of direct marketing and junk mail lists. A key differentiator was its ability to place and remove credit freezes with all three bureaus, a feature not commonly offered by competitors at the time. In July 2013, the Palo Alto-based startup was acquired by Equifax for approximately $30 million, becoming a part of Equifax's direct-to-consumer business unit, Equifax Personal Solutions.

Keywords: identity protection, credit monitoring, identity theft, data breach response, consumer security, Scott Mitic, Equifax acquisition, IDEssentials, three-bureau monitoring, credit freeze, fraud alerts, personal data security, online reputation management, AARP partnership, employee benefits, consumer privacy, data protection, financial security, subscription service