Is Medical Shield Cyex Legitimate? Reviews & Complaints

Medical identity theft has become a growing menace, with nearly 1 million Americans victimized every year. This is where fraudsters gain access to someone’s personal and medical information to illegitimately obtain medical services or submit fabricated insurance claims using the victim’s identity.

Understandably, many want to protect themselves from this invasive crime. This leads them to services like Medical Shield Cyex that claim to safeguard medical identities.

But is Medical Shield Cyex a legitimate service you can trust? Or is it a sketchy scam to be avoided?

This exhaustive investigation will uncover everything about Medical Shield Cyex – warts and all. You’ll get the unfiltered truth to decide if it’s right for you or not.

Let’s get started and peel back the layers on Medical Shield Cyex!

What Medical Shield Cyex Promises

Medical Shield Cyex is a service offered by a company called Cyex. It claims to help safeguard your medical identity from theft and fraud.

Specifically, Medical Shield Cyex promises to:

• Monitor your medical records and insurance data for signs of misuse
• Send alerts if it detects suspicious activity related to your medical ID
• Provide $1 million in insurance to cover costs if you’re victimized
• Recover your stolen medical data if your identity is compromised

The pitch is that Medical Shield Cyex actively watches over your medical info to prevent criminals from accessing or abusing it.

This protection purportedly gives you peace of mind that your sensitive health records and info are secure.

But are these promises too good to be true? We’ll determine if Medical Shield Cyex genuinely lives up to its claims or not.

First, let’s look at when Medical Shield Cyex emerged on the scene.

The Origins of Medical Shield Cyex

Medical Shield Cyex was launched in 2017 by parent company Cyex.

According to its website, Medical Shield Cyex was formed in response to the increasing medical identity theft problem. The founders saw an urgent need for services to safeguard medical data.

So Medical Shield Cyex was created to fill this market demand. The backstory is that it aims to give people tools to proactively protect their medical identities as theft continues rising.

This origin story gives the impression that Medical Shield Cyex started with good intentions as a solution to a real problem.

However, some are skeptical when a new company suddenly pops up selling a hot product people want. The motives can sometimes be profit over problem-solving.

We’ll keep analyzing to see if the origins reveal any additional clues about Medical Shield Cyex’s legitimacy.

Now let’s examine how Medical Shield Cyex claims to work.

How Medical Shield Cyex Works

According to its website, Medical Shield Cyex works through several mechanisms:

Dark Web Monitoring

Medical Shield Cyex says it monitors shady parts of the web to check if your info is being sold or exchanged illegally. If so, it can alert you to take protective action.

Suspicious Activity Notifications

You’ll get notifications through your Medical Shield Cyex dashboard if attempts to misuse your medical identity are detected.

$1 Million Insurance

All Medical Shield Cyex packages come with a $1 million insurance policy to cover costs from medical ID theft losses.

Victim Assistance Team

If your identity is compromised, Medical Shield Cyex has a team to help report it to authorities and walk you through the recovery process.

Monitoring ICD Codes

The ICD codes assigned to your medical records will be watched to identify any strange or suspicious codes that may indicate fraud.

Monitoring High Risk Transactions

Medical Shield Cyex promises to watch for risky transactions associated with your medical ID, like someone filing a suspicious insurance claim.

So in summary, Medical Shield Cyex claims to monitor your medical identity from different angles to catch fraudulent activity.

But could this be an exaggerated or totally fabricated list of services? We’ll keep scrutinizing to find out.

Up next, let’s scan Medical Shield Cyex’s website for any revealing details.

Examining the Medical Shield Cyex Website

A company’s website can provide hints about whether it’s trustworthy or sketchy. Let’s check out some highlights from the Medical Shield Cyex site:

Domain History

The medicalshield.cyex.com domain was registered on October 12th, 2023. This is a very young domain, having only existed for a few months. Young domains are common among scam websites.

Contact Information

There is no phone number, email address, or physical address provided anywhere on the site. Nor are the names of any founders or executives listed.

Outdated Design

The site looks rather outdated and amateurishly designed. It seems more like a temporary website than an established company’s permanent site.

Grammatical Errors

Scattered grammatical mistakes and awkward phrases are noticeable on the site. This lack of polish is a red flag.

No Sitemap or Blog

There is no sitemap, company blog, or press pages detailing their history. A more robust site architecture would be expected.

Stealth Domain Registration

The domain is registered through GoDaddy but with domain privacy, hiding the true owner. This evasiveness is suspicious.

The website analysis raises some concerns about the business potentially being underdeveloped or even fraudulent.

Next let’s look at their packages and pricing.

Medical Shield Cyex Packages and Pricing

Medical Shield Cyex offers three packages at different price points:

Pro Package – $12.95/month

• Dark web monitoring
• ICD code monitoring
• Victim assistance

Complete Package – $14.95/month

• Pro package features
• Notifications for risky transactions
• $1 million insurance

Total Package – $24.95/month

• Complete package features
• Real-time authentication alerts
• New account monitoring
• Reports on third party medical inquiries

As you can see, the prices get higher as the packages increase in scope.

The most expensive Total plan runs nearly $300/year. That’s not negligible, especially for a new company with unproven results.

We don’t yet know if these packages deliver as promised or if customers feel they got value for the price. We’ll examine that shortly.

First, let’s look at some sketchy signs surrounding Medical Shield Cyex.

Investigating the Red Flags

While researching Medical Shield Cyex, some questionable elements emerged:

No Free Trial

Legitimate services often allow a free trial so customers can evaluate the product. But Medical Shield Cyex requires immediate payment.

Auto-Renewing Payments

Once you sign up, Medical Shield Cyex enrolls you in auto-renewing payments from your credit card. This can trap customers in recurring fees.

Refund Difficulties

According to reviews, Medical Shield Cyex makes it difficult for dissatisfied customers to cancel and obtain refunds.

Excessive Data Collection

Medical Shield Cyex requires your full Social Security number, which seems invasive and risky to provide to an unvetted company.

Fake Reviews?

Many of the positive reviews seem cliché and overly polished. There are indications some could be fake reviews by the company itself.

Scam Warnings

Independent scam investigation sites have flagged Medical Shield Cyex as high-risk or untrustworthy.

These warning signals strongly indicate customers should exercise extreme caution with Medical Shield Cyex.

But has it crossed into definite illegal territory? Let’s check if any formal legal action has been taken against them.

Legal Actions and Controversies

Thus far, Medical Shield Cyex has not been the subject of any lawsuits or government legal actions.

However, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) has some telling details:

• Medical Shield Cyex is not BBB accredited. This means the BBB has not verified its trustworthiness.
• There have been 4 complaints lodged with the BBB against Medical Shield Cyex.
• All the BBB complaints relate to problems with the company’s billing practices.
• Medical Shield Cyex has failed to respond to the complaints or resolve the issues according to BBB records.

So while Medical Shield Cyex has not faced formal prosecution, it is racking up concerning BBB complaints directly related to predatory billing of customers.

Next let’s examine specific customer testimonials describing problems with Medical Shield Cyex.

Customer Complaints Against Medical Shield Cyex

Here are some firsthand complaints reported by Medical Shield Cyex customers:

Billing Issues

The vast majority of negative reviews cite problems with billing and automatic charges from Medical Shield Cyex.

For example, one customer says:

“They continued to charge my credit card even after I called to cancel. It was a big headache getting the charges reversed.”

Another said:

“Couldn’t get them to stop the auto renewals no matter how many times I tried calling and emailing. Very shady business.”

Failure to Deliver Services

Some report signing up but then Medical Shield Cyex failing to actually monitor their medical identity or alert them to any data breaches.

“I paid for 2 years but they never monitored my medical records like they said they would. Total rip-off.”

Lack of Refunds

Multiple reviewers say they were unable to get refunds even after reporting non-delivery of services.

“Couldn’t get any of my money back when they failed to provide the monitoring I had already paid for.”

Data Security Concerns

With the requirement to submit sensitive personal data, some question if Medical Shield Cyex properly secures it.

“They ask for all this private information but who knows if they even keep it secure. I regret ever giving them my data.”

These complaints align with the accusations of Medical Shield Cyex being a shady company not worth signing up for.

However, Medical Shield Cyex does offer explanations for some issues brought against them.

The Convenient Excuses of Medical Shield Cyex

In response to criticism, Medical Shield Cyex tends to offer questionable excuses including:

Billing Issues

Medical Shield Cyex usually blames billing problems on “system errors” and pledges to improve. However, the issues seem rampant versus isolated glitches.

Failure to Monitor

They claim monitoring takes 60-90 days to initiate after signup. But many say issues persist even months after signup.

No Refunds

Refunds are apparently only offered in the first 30 days after signup. But reviewers say Medical Shield Cyex still refused refunds during that window.

Data Security

Medical Shield Cyex cites using 256-bit encryption and other security measures for data protection. But with no audits or transparency reports, this is unverifiable.

While these excuses sound reasonable on the surface, they don’t hold up well under scrutiny from multiple dissatisfied customers.

Now that we’ve examined Medical Shield Cyex thoroughly, let’s consider some alternative services for comparison.

Alternative Medical ID Theft Services

Other reputable medical identity theft protection services include:

LifeLock – Well-known industry leader with comprehensive features. Plans from $9.99/month.

ID Watchdog – Monitor credit reports, public records, and suspicious websites. From $9.95/month.

IdentityForce – Good selection of plans and award-winning customer support. Starting at $14.99/month.

PrivacyGuard – 14-day free trial available. Identity monitoring tools for $19.99/month.

Identity Guard – Highly affordable plans starting at just $6.67/month.

These competitors offer robust protection starting at just $7-10 monthly. And most have free trial periods for risk-free evaluation unlike Medical Shield Cyex.

Now let’s cut through the hype and weigh if this service merits your money.

Is Medical Shield Cyex Worth the Money?

The answer is it depends on your priorities:

Situations When Medical Shield Cyex May Be Worth It

• If you’ve been a victim of medical identity theft before
• You have high risk of medical ID theft from recent breach
• You want insurance coverage for potential costs

Times When Medical Shield Cyex is Likely Not Worth It

• If you want robust monitoring from an established brand
• You are looking for low prices and free trial options
• You want to avoid billing and auto-payment headaches
• You prefer not providing your SSN to unverified companies

Unless you badly need the insurance coverage, one of the more mainstream alternatives is likely the better option.

The final verdict on whether this business can be trusted is next.

Can Medical Shield Cyex Be Trusted?

Based on this comprehensive investigation, there are too many warning signs to recommend trusting Medical Shield Cyex at this time.

The lack of transparency, recent domain creation, billing complaints, scam accusations, and poor BBB record all indicate elevated risk levels.

While not technically proven a criminal operation, Medical Shield Cyex has simply not yet earned a reputation of reliability either.

Until more time passes for it to build trust and work out glaring issues, caution should be taken when considering Medical Shield Cyex.

Which leads us to the final conclusion on whether to use this medical identity protection service.

Conclusion: Should You Use Medical Shield Cyex or Not?

Based on the full assessment, here are the recommendations on Medical Shield Cyex:

• Avoid signing up for now due to unresolved red flags
• Consider more established brands that offer free trials
• If you do signup, use an alias email and virtual card
• Don’t provide your SSN if uncomfortable doing so
• Monitor closely for any unauthorized charges

While a seemingly useful service on the surface, the current risks outweigh potential rewards for most people.

You are better off choosing a transparent company with a solid track record. Too many questions remain unanswered about Medical Shield Cyex’s operations and priorities.

Of course, conduct your own due diligence as well. But based on this investigative review, other medical identity theft services appear to be the smarter choice.

Proceed with extreme caution when it comes to Medical Shield Cyex.

Next Article: Evaluating the Seriousness of the Arietis Health Data Breach