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Former federal agent from Secret Service forms company to catch identity thieves
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A U.S. government official with the State Department’s Passport Services places a new blank U.S. Passport with an embedded electronic chip into the “book printer,” entering personal data and the photograph of an applicant at the Passport Services office in Washington. – Getty Images
WASHINGTON (Map, News) - A new company is banking on the idea that if someone becomes a victim of identity theft, they’d like to have 100 former federal agents on their side when tracking down the criminal.
D.C.-based iSekurity will make its services available to the general public May 1. Company founder Reginald Ball, a former Secret Service agent, witnessed many cases of identity theft during his years on the job.
“One of the things I saw was that for the federal government to take on the case, there’s a certain dollar threshold, and it’s substantially high,” Ball said. “Therefore a lot of victims don’t meet that threshold.”
Ball gathered a group of more than 100 former federal agents from the IRS, Secret Service, FBI and other divisions when starting his company.
The firm’s clients will pay a monthly fee to be members of the service and will be able to use the company’s resources if they become victims. Ball likened the business model to an insurance company.
The company does not plan to reveal its pricing scheme until after the May 1 launch, he said.
iSekurity is distinguishing itself from other companies that provide identity theft services by focusing on catching the perpetrators rather than preventative measures, he said.
“We’re the best in the business,” he said. “We’re fighting for the good guys and going after the bad guys.”
Thomas Harpointner, chief executive officer of e-business company AIS Media, compared iSekurity’s business model to Pre-Paid Legal Services Inc., a company that acts as sort of a lawyer insurance company for those who might eventually need representation.
“There’s definitely room for the type of services they provide, as something beyond the preventative stage,” Harpointner said. The service would likely most appeal to individuals who have already been victims at some point or fall into a high-risk category, such as the elderly, he said.
mfrederick@dcexaminer.com
