Debix tries to broaden the reach of its smart identity theft service
Debix is one of the smartest services I’ve ever seen to combat identity theft. It can stop the theft of your identity as it happens. Today, the company is slicing its prices so that a single consumer can protect himself or herself against identity theft for $24 a year.
Debix operates an efficient electronic network that is built on the premise that while a thief can convince an institution that he is you, the thief cannot convince you that he is you. Debix provides a secure and automated phone call requesting authorization and the consumer says whether the transaction is legitimate. It verifies through your phone number and your voice whether the person being called is actually you. It can check your voice against a recording of your voice that you make when you open a Debix account.
“We think a lot of snake oil has been sold in this space,” said Bo Holland, chief executive of Debix. “We can stop fraud because we come at it from a technical and common sense point of view.”
More than half of identity theft victims reported in 2007 that their personal information had been used to start a new line of credit in their name, according to the nonprofit Identity Theft Resource Center, which provides victim support and public education about identity theft. Jay Foley, the ITRC’s executive director seems to be a personal fan of the service. “Bo has been talking to me since he came up with the technology,” he said. “It exceeds my expectations. No one else has stepped up to the plate.”
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