Posted on 06/26/2008 1:34:34 AM PDT by AlmaKing
I'm really thinking about using some sort of identity theft service, especially since I got married and my credit card usage went up.
Questions to anyone using these services:
Can Lifelock be trusted and does it work? How does it work?
Anything these services provide for a fee you can do yourself with some earnest searching for free. Why pay $10 a month? Heck, that’s what I pay for my broadband.
http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/007008.html
Todd Davis, the CEO of the identity-theft protection service LifeLock is still defending his company, despite becoming a victim of identity theft himself.
Davis is most well-known for plastering his own social-security number on the side of trucks advertising the LifeLock service and in commercials. The shtick is that Davis is so confident in his service that he will publicly list his social-security number.
Even after becoming a victim to identity theft, Davis is still very confident in his service as he told the Today Show’s Matt Lauer. Davis said that for the one instance that his identity has been stolen, there’s been 87 other attempts to steal his identity that LifeLock protected.
Lifelock has been under a lot of scrutiny about its services and elaborate advertising. There’s a handful of lawsuits still pending with accusations of false and misleading advertising.
Speaking to Lauer, Davis broke down what his service actually does beyond what the average individual is capable of.
“Beyond the fraud alerts and opting out of pre-approved credit cards, we are out there scanning over 10,000 Web sites where people buy and sell people’s personal information. We’re going to authenticate when someone puts in a change-of-address form for you, which is a great indication you’ve been victimized,” Davis told Lauer.
Davis does make sure to include the point that LifeLock doesn’t guarantee that a customer’s identity won’t be stolen, and with services like this, that is one of the most important factors to remember.
Davis was never a victim of identity theft. Someone in Texas cashed a check for $500 in his name, because check cashing stores don’t verify identity.
His own company fixed the problem (he’s a customer) and his credit has not taken a hit.
There’s a reason no one reads PC World.
Which is more dangerous to me and my credit? I assume identity theft.
I use Citi and BOA for my business, Wachovia for personal. Sounds like Citi would still apply by checking my credit report. There are separate reputable credit monitoring services?
I wonder if there is a negative hit whenever they check your credit?
Talk to your bank. As I mentioned before, I use Privacy Guard through Citi, though they have a separate Identity Monitor service that was more recently launched. Chase has its own service, and I'm guessing that BoA and Wachovia also have their own.
I wonder if there is a negative hit whenever they check your credit?
Pulling my credit report for personal use through Privacy Guard constitutes a soft inquiry and does not hurt my score at all. Only hard inquiries affect the credit score.
Info much appreciated. Thanks.
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/05/lifelock-sued-a.html
LifeLock Sued Again
By Kim Zetter EmailMay 27, 2008
LifeLock, the ID theft protection service whose CEO regularly provides his Social Security number in advertisements (at right), is being sued by customers who claim the service doesn’t work as promoted.
The proof, they say, lies in the fact that the CEO’s own identity has been stolen numerous times.
One thing to note is that Lifelock has changed the terms of their famous and much advertised $1,000,000 guarantee. Until recently, they guaranteed to compensate the subscriber for any lossed from identity theft up to $1,000,000. This made the program cheap insurance in addition to whatever service it might provide. As insurance, it might have been a pretty good buy.
But if you listen to the commercials now, they guarantee you provide you their own services, or the services of others, up to $1,000,000, in order to correct the identity theft. In other words, they will expend effort to eliminate the fraudulent credit, up to $1,000,000 worth of service. That is why they now bill it as the “$1,000,000 Total Service Guarantee”. But they pointedly do not, any longer, guarantee to reimburse the subscriber for his losses. The subscriber must cover his own losses. This removes the insurance aspect of the policy, which makes it much less of a bargain.
Lifelock has been nowhere near clear enough about this change, for my tastes. If you ask the typical person who hears their commercials over the years, most would think they still offer the reimbursement up to $1,000,000. Not being explicit about this change in terms in their advertising makes them seem somewhat slick and sleazy, IMHO.
BTW, if you live in New Jersey, you can get your credit locked by the state for $3.00, for as long as you want. The program just locks your personal information so companies are unable to write credit. It can also be unlocked, on a case by case basis, for $3.00.
If you don’t apply for new credit often (and happen to live in New Jersey), this might be a good solution for you.
Read the tiny white print when Lifelock is on TV. It says something about not protecting the people of North Carolina if they have a breach.
If they won't help North Carolina, then why the heck should I give Lifelock my money?
I would recommend an ID Theft Protection Policy from Zander Insurance. You can purchase it online for $72 per year. The advantage that they have is if your ID is stolen, their counselors will do all of the legwork involved in resolving all of the issues associated with the ID theft.
You can learn more at www.zanderinsurance.com
Right, theft is more dangerous, because then they can open lines of credit in your name.
Still, Lifelock does a pretty good service if you don’t mind paying them to do something you could do yourself.
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