Do you know the demands of identity theft recovery [http://www.idprotectionguide.net/victims/] and how difficult the process can be? Consumers who've been victimized know all too well the daunting tasks of trying to clean up the damage. Sure, there are plenty of proactive measures to take but when trying to figure out the rules, guidelines and which laws to cite, identity theft recovery becomes a learning process that could take years to overcome.

We tend to think theft has a clear outlined definition and set of rules that law enforcement can take care of. However, with technological advances the realization of online theft has most agencies running in circles with no obvious method of protection. Hackers embrace the obstacles and learn to overcome deterrents and detours making it more difficult to close the gap.

What's worse is that creditors don't make identity theft recovery any easier on us. These days the all mighty dollar takes precedence over any proof you may have.

If your identity is stolen it will be completely up to you to prove it and the bad news is that not only will you have to prove it but you'll have to fight it out with each and every creditor then try and get it deleted from your credit report. And furthermore, you may still have items creep up on your credit report years from now.

You see, many times creditors sell off bad debt to debt collection agencies and this is exactly what you don't want to happen. Once a debt collector has the account they will hound you with phone calls until you prove it isn't your account or you pay it. Many consumers unfamiliar with fair debt collection laws become so frustrated they end up paying for an account that they never opened. Can you imagine paying for something because you just cannot take the abuse from a debt collection agency?

And if you are able to prove the account isn't yours many times debt collection agencies will just sell the account to another agency to recoup some of their funds. Unscrupulous and unfair? Very much so but this is the world you enter because identity theft recovery isn't reasonable.

So what's the easy way out? Taking out an insurance plan for your name isn't so farfetched today as it may have sounded a decade ago. Ten years ago we may have scoffed at the idea of protecting a name but today thieves can do a lot of damage if they access your personal information.

Companies like Lifelock and ProtectMyID offer insurance policies or more widely known as monitoring services to watch your name, social security number and other personal information and alert you if it pops up on any public records.

Many people focus on only a credit report however all thieves are not interested in opening up a new credit card or buying a vehicle in your name. Today you must worry about the crook that wants prescription drugs and needs a new identity to purchase them or the illegal individuals who need to start a new identity in another state. This happens every day and only a handful of people get caught each year.

Identity fraud protection companies also help with identity theft recovery by investigating all routes that lead to the culprit. No longer can you rely on law enforcement to do this type of job because most times this category of crime is set on the back burner.

It's best to always be proactive instead of reactive because identity theft recovery can take you years to overcome.