MetLife Bank, NA, today announced that it will provide full-service identity-theft resolution assistance to all its depositors at no charge, becoming the first direct bank to provide such services. MetLife Bank’s identity-theft services differ from those of many financial-services institutions in that the Bank does not charge its customers for the service, customers do not have to be victims of a full-fledged identity takeover in order to qualify for the service, and customers may utilize the service whether or not the suspected identity fraud involves their MetLife Bank account.
"Nearly everyone in America is concerned about ID fraud and ID theft," said Donnalee DeMaio, president of MetLife Bank. "ID fraud victims are known to spend dozens, often hundreds, of hours getting their financial houses back in order and restoring their good names. With one call, our service provides them with an expert advocate to walk them through the steps – not just giving them checklists to fill out, but real assistance with the many issues involved.”
Personal advocates will assist affected customers with filing police reports, placing fraud alerts with the three major credit bureaus, creating fraud victim affidavits, notifying governmental agencies, preparing all documents and phone calls needed to notify creditors, closing accounts that have been compromised, adding passwords to accounts, and even provide personal assistance in dealing with debt collectors, if necessary. In addition, identity theft victims receive a full year of credit and fraud monitoring. MetLife Bank’s restoration service is provided in conjunction with Identity Theft911™, experts in identity theft victim resolution and education, serving more than seven million households.
MetLife Bank makes the service available whether the suspected identity fraud involves mysterious credit-card charges, a call from a collection agency for an unknown debt, or just the loss or theft of a wallet or government-issued ID. For assistance, the customer merely calls MetLife Bank’s usual toll-free service number, 1-866-BankMet (1-866-226-5638).
“Consumers need this service, and we believe they should have it. We are proud to be able to offer them a robust ID restoration service at no charge. Our intent is to give our customers the peace of mind that, should they be victimized, someone will be there for them," added DeMaio. This addition to MetLife Bank’s suite of products and services builds on the leadership of MetLife® in the identity-theft prevention and resolution arena. MetLife’s auto and home insurance subsidiary was the first national property-casualty insurer to offer ID-theft resolution services at no additional cost to its customers in all states where approved.
For more information about preventing identity theft, including tips to avoid being victimized, visit: www.MetLifebank.com (click on “security center”). Consumers can also call 1-866-Bank-Met (1-866-226-5638) for additional information.
Headquartered in Bridgewater, NJ, MetLife Bank, NA, (Member FDIC), is a federally chartered bank, and a subsidiary of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET). MetLife, Inc. is a leading provider of insurance and other financial services to millions of individual and institutional customers throughout the United States. Through its subsidiaries and affiliates, MetLife, Inc. offers life insurance, annuities, automobile and homeowner’s insurance and retail banking services to individuals, as well as group insurance, reinsurance and retirement and savings products and services to corporations and other institutions. Outside the U.S., the MetLife companies have direct insurance operations in Asia Pacific, Latin America and Europe. For more information, please visit www.metlife.com.
MetLife Bank, N.A. Member FDICEqual Housing LenderMetLife is the trade name of Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
