If you’ve ever had your identity stolen or lost track of your bills, you know how difficult it can be to get your financial life back in order. BillGuard is an Israeli startup that touts itself as “Antivirus for our bills.”
Just register your credit or debit card on the site, and it will monitor your charges and flag bills that it thinks are questionable. BillGuard scans for things like hidden charges, billing errors, and even fraud. They also scan social media for complaints about companies doing things like “accidentally” double-billing you. Every transaction you make is subject to what they claim are 100 automated tests. If a charge looks a bit off, you’ll get an email from BillGuard saying that it requires your attention.
You can also go through your bills yourself and flag anything that looks suspect. Don’t remember ordering that pizza that’s shown up in your statement? Did someone fill up the tank with $4-plus/gallon of gasoline, while you telecommute most of the time or don’t even have a car? Just mark it as a bad bill. It also aggregates data from other BillGuard users.
This looks like a great service for anyone who likes to stay on top of things financially. No matter how vigilantly we watch our bank accounts, it seems that it’s always possible to miss something. And if you know how easy it is to stick a card skimmer in an ATM, it’s scary to think about how easily your identity can be stolen. An app like this, however, makes it possible to have a little bit of peace of mind, letting you know that the power of the crowd is helping to protect your finances.
For another way to “EXTERMINATE!” your debt, check out our post on a Doctor Who Dalek Money Bank. On a more serious note, you might be interested in our post on Credit Sesame, a startup that offers free financial advice.
