Some financial companies require contact with postal addresses now

I’ve noticed a practice by some insurance companies and banks that does fit in to my proposal for preventing identity theft. That is, simply sending a password by mail to a previously known home address, which could have been confirmed by NCOA.  This practice may include requiring additional signatures from items mailed to a known home address.  The technique is common when there are multiple stakeholders on an account or when these could have changed (estates and trusts). 

It’s effective for services where customer access is probably infrequent and where payment is probably only occasional (once a month or even once a year, as with premiums). 

Wells Fargo offers identity theft protection, credit score monitoring, for a fee

I see when I log on to Wells Fargo that it now offers (to its account holders) identity theft protection for $12.99 a month, and adds credit score monitoring and simulation services for an extra $3, or a total of $15.99 a month.

My reaction is, why should we pay a bank to “protect us” when it should do its job anyway.

Here is the basic link.

Property insurance companies typically offer it as a rider or endorsement. 

It’s harder to steal the identity of someone with an unusual name like mine and some public prominence than many people.