Category Archives: Technology

Do I Need Identity Theft Insurance?

Faster recovery with identity theft protection

Faster recovery with identity theft protection

You’ve probably seen advertisements for identity theft insurance. Have you wondered what it really is and if it’s something you need?

The insurance pros over at the Equifax Finance blog recently covered the topic of identity theft insurance in the article, “

Do I need Identity Theft Insurance?

Here’s the rundown: Identity theft insurance is niche insurance, for those people who are concerned about the costs involved with repairing their identity should a theft ever occur. Recovering from identity theft can be costly in time and in money. Identity theft insurance can’t actually stop a theft, of course. It just helps reimburse individuals for the costs of restoring their identity, like phone bills, lost wages, notary costs, certified mail costs, and possible even attorney’s fees. The insurance also usually provides access to services that can also help. If you are interested in purchasing identity theft insurance, be sure you know what you are buying. Get all the details on policies from several different companies, comparing price, coverage, limits and deductibles.

If you have been a victim of identity theft, call one of the three major credit reporting agencies to request a fraud alert (whichever agency you contact will alert the other two agencies, so you only need to call one). Order a copy of your

credit report so you can see what is going on.

Get more identity theft protection information at the Equifax Finance blog.

Equifax is Looking to keep your Privacy Private

Protection from identity theft

Protection from identity theft

The Personal Solutions line of consumer protection products and services from Equifax has a powerful new tool to help keep you safe: privacy monitoring. This service scours the indexed web and finds traces of your personal information, and can either simply alert you or can remove these traces that can lead to solicitations and online identity theft.

Equifax offers this new service at no additional charge to subscribers of the Equifax Complete series. The new system is in partnership with Reputation.com, a company which has proven its service to clients in more than 100 countries since 2006. The service seeks to find and protect the personal details of users, including their full name, age, gender, family members’ names, connections to relatives, and their general contact information, including email addresses and telephone numbers to increase

protection from identity theft.

To learn more about this exciting new way to keep safe and stay protected from online identity theft, visit the Equifax.com personal solutions page. You can also find frequently-updated personal finance advice resources on the Equifax Finance Blog. Finally, Equifax makes it easy to stay in the know when it comes to personal finance by having easy access on social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter to remind you about how to save money, avoid debt and have a plan for money management.

New Website Aids Charleston Home Buyers

South Carolina homes

If you’re a South Carolina home buyer looking for new digs in Charleston, you’re in luck. Carolina One Real Estate and the Historic Charleston Group have teamed up to launch www.CharlestonBuyersGuide.com.

Visitors to the site will find an advanced MLS search, interactive map, information on local communities, all kinds of useful information for buyers and sellers and a blog. When searching for a home, buyers will be sure to love the site’s access to Microsoft’s Bird’s Eye View as well we Google’s Streetview. Buyers will also be able to view comprehensive listings that can be saved for future reference, and they can request for property information that matches their predetermined criteria to be emailed to them. The additional information provided in the community listings, market reports and blog is also of use to buyers, sellers and real estate professionals alike.

“CharlestonBuyersGuide.com was designed to fill a niche in the Charleston, SC real estate market,” John Lisi, the site’s co-founder says. “There was really no other website out there that emphasized the buyer and also utilized special technologies.”

According to Zillow, home values in Charleston have risen 7 percent in the last year to a median sale price of $249,300. This is higher than the national average sale price which is currently around $160,000. In addition, the market in Charleston is primarily made up of single family homes (68 percent), but condos (19 percent) are also prevalent.

For more information on the Charleston real estate market and to view the city’s current listings, be sure to visit www.CharlestonBuyersGuide.com.

Online Shopping Sales Tax and ID Theft Protection

ID protection for online shopping

ID protection for online shopping

Two things that probably do not enter your mind when shopping online are sales tax and ID theft protection. However, the experts at the Equifax Finance Blog think they should spring to mind with every item your ‘click’ into your virtual shopping cart.

Currently, thousands of Americans have being clicking their paychecks away for this season’s latest holiday gifts. Many gifts are probably shipping from several states away as we speak. In their article, “

Online Shopping, Sales Tax, and You,” the Equifax Finance Blog experts want to remind you to look at your sales total before clicking ‘submit’ on your purchases.

If your total does not reflect a sales tax, it is a purchase that you will need to keep records of for you taxes due in the springtime. This is because many local governments are suffering from the lack of funds being collected in person at local businesses due to the overwhelming influx of online shoppers.

It may not seem like a big problem to some, but for many states who rely on the sales tax for governance funding (which is used for schools, highways, etc.), it is a real concern. If you haven’t been paying sales taxes for your online purchase, check out Governing.com and find out what you should have paid.

When tax season comes some individual tax returns may have a ‘Use Tax’ line on them. This line is where online shoppers will need to fill out their shopping payment information.

Being aware of your online shopping purchases can also become an identity theft solution for some shoppers, because comparing your purchase history plus bank statements regularly is always a smart idea!

For more information about taxes, credit reports,

ID protection and more, please check out the Equifax Finance Blog today!

Net-Zero Homes Under Construction in South Carolina

net-zero South Carolina real estate

When you think of housing markets leading the way in green and energy efficient building, you most likely think of California. However, green home builder Nexus EnergyHomes is expanding their efforts to the South Carolina market with two new communities where geothermal and solar PV is a standard combination for each home.

The developer’s Carolina real estate designs call for geothermal heating and cooling, energy recovery ventilation, PV solar array, state-of-the-art electronic and web-based controls and monitoring systems, super insulated building shells and Energy-Star rated appliances.

When combined, these technologies enable homes to produce almost as much energy as they consume, saving these lucky homeowners thousands of dollars each year annually on energy expenses.

Sunchaser at Bridlewood Farms in Ridgeville, South Carolina is a 30 home community with homes ranging in size from 1,900 to 3,100 square feet and pricing from the mid $250,000s.

At Sundial GeoSolar Community of River Birch in Summerville, South Carolina, buyers will find 12 three to five bedrooms homes with 2,500 to 3,450 square feet and pricing from the mid $300,000s.

For more information on these net-zero energy home opportunities, visit the Nexus EnergyHomes website.