Our Mission Began with a Phone Call
At Guard ID Systems, our mission is to protect consumers from identity theft and online crime when they are at their most vulnerable: when they conduct financial transactions on the Internet. With more than 40 million American households now banking online, sophisticated cybercriminals have turned their attention to stealing consumers' identities as they bank, shop and invest online. The beginnings of Guard ID Systems can be traced back to a single phone call Bill Loesch, Guard ID's founder, received from his mom.
In the fall of 2004, Bill Loesch's mother, Marina, called him to ask his advice about an email she received from her bank. The email stated that the bank had experienced "system security problems" and provided a link that led to a Web page where she was to confirm her account information for "security purposes."
"It looks real," she told Bill, but the wording of the message seemed a bit odd, so she thought she'd check with Bill before providing her account information. Bill told his mom that she'd just been "phished".
Ever the problem-solver, Bill began looking for a reliable way to avoid identity theft and online crime that his parents could use to protect their online finances. He quickly realized that there are lots of hardened security solutions available to enterprises for advanced identity theft protection, but none for consumers. Options for proactive pharming and phishing protection were also poor. Bill was convinced that it was time to bring the enterprise-proven security of hardware tokens to a consumer audience in an easy, convenient USB format.
Bill contacted a former colleague, Jerry Thompson, who immediately shared Bill's passion about tackling the problem, and Guard ID Systems was born. They assembled a team of talented engineers and began work on an easy-to-use, convenient, smart card-based hardware solution to safeguard consumers against identity theft and online crime when they bank, shop and invest online.
In July of 2006, ID Vault became available at retail stores nationwide, and the next generation of consumer Internet security had arrived.
Today, ID Vault is used by tens of thousands of customers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. It is currently the only hardware solution available to consumers today that provides such advanced protection against identity theft and online crime. ID Vault is available at top retailers including Amazon.com, Best Buy, Buy.com, Fry's Electronics, Office Max, QVC, TigerDirect, and more.
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"I think it's great. Helps me stay secure on the internet."
- J. T.,
Manassas, VA
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