In hopes of influencing change in the consumer protection and fraud space, I am sharing my story of the struggles I experienced when trying to cancel an account with identity protection services (IDPS) provider Safe Shepherd.
As a Senior Analyst on Javelin Strategy & Research’s fraud and security team, I am often tasked with conducting consumer research, recording my findings, and making consumer and business recommendations. Occasionally, this means signing up for services or accounts using my own information to evaluate companies from the consumer’s point of view.
For a particular project, I was tasked with signing up for several identity protection service providers—one of which was Safe Shepherd, a company claiming to offer identity protection by “searching the internet for personal information and removing the information.” When I signed up for an account, it was not initially apparent that they did not provide comprehensive identity protection service.
Ten days after signing up, my customer portal reported zero alerts and noted that none of my information was found on or removed from the internet. Not only is this unbelievable, given the frequent occurrences of data breaches and leaks, but it also sharply contrasts with the results produced by my other assigned IDPS providers. Within a few days, they had identified several dozen pieces of my personal information online.
By this point, I began to realize that I was not receiving the services I wanted or the services for which I was paying. It was time to cancel.
Although Safe Shepherd’s homepage noted that “it’s really easy to cancel your subscription…which you do by simply clicking a button,” cancelling turned out to be more difficult. According to the FAQ page within the customer portal, the only real way to cancel their service is to email their support team, which I did several times and received no response. Meanwhile, they continued to charge my credit card.
I researched the company, looking for complaints and customer reviews—something I should have done prior to signing up with their service. Sure enough, there were several complaints on several different sites, all complaining about the same thing: “Safe Shepherd is billing me for services not rendered, and I can’t cancel my account.”
Then it hit me, did I just get taken by a scam business? Me? A fraud professional? I dismissed all the red flags and my own advice. Hopefully those reading this will not.
The Red Flags Consumers Should be Paying Attention To
- Fraudulent companies/scammers will capitalize on emotions.
- urgency, trust, convenience, compassion, hope, fear
- Research the company before signing up with them.
- Look for prior complaints/service reviews.
- Contact the company if you are unsure of the services they do/do not provide.
- If there is no way to speak with someone from the company directly, do not sign up.
I later contacted my credit card company to dispute the charges. To my surprise, I was told that they would try to contact Safe Shepherd, but if they were unable to reach them, the charges on my account would stand. I then filed reports with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and two state attorneys general (Safe Shepherd’s jurisdiction and mine)—yet received no resolution. Each agency stated my complaint was not within their purview to investigate and redirected me to one of the other agencies I had already contacted.
At this point, I had two main concerns: cancelling my account and preventing Safe Shepherd from doing this to anyone else.
During this ordeal, I found myself repeating “I should have known better. As someone in the fraud industry, I should have known better.” This process has been extremely frustrating and exhausting and has felt like an endless merry-go-round ride. I have been a fraud professional for over a decade, and even I have struggled to remedy this situation. Now I truly understand the frustration consumers feel. I feel helpless. I feel angry. I feel ignored. I feel dismissed. I feel violated. I feel duped. I feel embarrassed that this happened to me.
Clearly, there are gaps in consumer protection and fraud reporting that need addressing. We need to close these gaps, so consumers have recourse when wronged by a fraudulent company.
Consumers require a centralized platform to report all types of company complaints, regardless of company type or complaint volume. They need a resource that will investigate their complaints and provide a resolution. Businesses must be held accountable. Additionally, a more efficient reporting system is essential—a system where consumers and victims only need to report their incident to one agency, which can then distribute that report, with consumer consent, to all appropriate agencies—including the local Attorney General’s Office.
Finally, I want to provide some additional advice for customer service representatives (including fraud professionals) and businesses (including IDPS providers), to help build consumer trust:
Advice for Businesses//IDPS Providers
Exhibit transparency. Be honest about the services you do or do not provide. Divulge prices and plans before the sign-up process. If it is evident (based on prior complaints or feedback) that consumers are not understanding what service or products you do or do not provide, change how you promote or advertise your service.
Offer a one-click easy cancel and data deletion option. No one likes to be hassled about cancelling a service. Some services might not be a good fit for that particular customer.
Provide a working customer service phone number or chat function, so consumers can talk and interact with someone regarding their issues.
Advice To Customer Service Representatives
Prioritize the consumer/customer/victim you are speaking with. Be present in the conversation. To that person, what they are sharing with you might be one of the most important or devastating matters in their life. Actively listen. Give the person the necessary time to explain their situation.
Show empathy and compassion. Do not blame them for failing to detect red flags. They are victims.
Offer consumers and victims next steps and possible solutions. Consumers need to know where to turn. They need to know they are not alone. They need to know that there is a solution, and someone is working on their problem.
Final Thoughts
At the end of this tiring “merry-go-round ride” of trying to cancel my Safe Shepherd service, my concerns still have not been resolved. I have still not received any responses from the company and my account remains open—though I am no longer being charged. Safe Shepherd remains operating just the same as they were, giving other consumers the opportunity to become their next victim.
My experience conducting the seemingly simple assignment of reviewing IDPS providers from the consumer’s point of view has been frustrating, eye opening, and truly humbling. By sharing this experience, I am hoping to incite change for consumer protection and fraud processes.
See Javelin’s 2024 IDPS Scorecard for more information.
