You may know LifeLock as the company whose CEO advertises his social security number and dares you to steal his identity. One of the ways the company promises to prevent identity theft is by placing fraud alerts on your three credit reports. Fraud alerts are intended to force businesses to double check your identity before approving credit card and loan applications. LifeLock's services may not be as effective in the coming months. A judge recently told LifeLock it could no longer place fraud alerts with Experian, one of the three major credit bureaus.
According to the Red Tape Chronicles, Experian sued LifeLock back in February (2009) saying the company was illegally placing fraud alerts on credit reports - that only consumers could place fraud alerts on credit reports. Experian also contended that LifeLock was profiting from a service that is free to consumers and misleading consumers into thinking fraud alerts would protect them from all types of identity theft. (Interestingly, this was around the time Experian ended its agreement to provide FICO scores to consumers.)
LifeLock may be able to place Experian fraud alerts indirectly through the other two bureaus. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), any credit bureau who receives a consumer fraud alert is required to forward the fraud alert to the other two credit bureaus. LifeLock is still allowed to send fraud alerts to Equifax and TransUnion and Equifax would continue to be required to add fraud alerts received by those two companies. Of course, Equifax and TransUnion could sue LifeLock at anytime and receive the same judgment against the company. That would eliminate much of the company's benefit.
If you're thinking about signing up for LifeLock, which is currently $10 a month, take into account the fact that fraud alerts may only appear on two of your three credit reports. Also consider that you can place fraud alerts on your credit report automatically by contacting the credit bureaus.
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Maybe if Lifelock had have been prepared to share some of that $15 Million per month they were making with the companies who were actually doing the work, things would have been different.
LaToya, you’re absolutely right. . .consumers do need to think twice about signing up for LifeLock; especially since Equifax has stopped accepting LifeLock-generated fraud alerts. Of course, consumers can still place a fraud alert on their file for FREE by contacting Equifax directly. Accordingly, we will continue to comply with the FCRA guidelines and share those direct-from-consumer fraud alert requests with the other two agencies. Consumers who are depending on LifeLock to set fraud alerts for them should question the quality of the “protection” they’re paying for.
Yea things would probably would have worked our differently if lifelock had shared some of that sweet coin with Experian. Didnt LifeLock announce a new type of fraud alert that is even more comprehensive last friday? It seems lifelock customers just got a big upgrade. The credit bureaus make money by selling yours and my credit information to junk mail and credit card companies. They dont share their profits with me for selling my information. Seems like LifeLock was just giving them a taste of their own medicine. LaToya needs to do a little bit research than just reading credit bureau press releases…
“Macguyver,” I got an email from LifeLock stating they would be introducing a new product LifeLock Identity Alerts in a few weeks. The product is supposed to let people know when someone applies for anything in their name – loan, credit card, utility services, etc. I’ll have more information for readers when it’s available.
BTW, if you want credit bureaus to stop giving out your information try http://www.optoutprescreen.com.
Lifelock has so many holes in it’s service. Here’s an example
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/OptOutDetectives/blog/2009/07/24/Todd-Davis-from-Lifelock-Not-So-Protected-To-much-info-on-public-data-bases-Opting-out-would-ha
This is a very vast information on the same branch but different topics.
All the type companies selling that crap are making a lot of money. Is it just a scam about another scam?
Latoya, you’re invited to visit my blog too!
John DeFlumeri Clearwater, Fla.
Bottom line…Lifelock was on the side of consumers trying to keep our information safe. Most of these posts obviously want to support the big credit companies who give out our information like candy and offer minimal help when there’s a problem. I have zero sympathy for Experian who profits regularly selling our personal information.
Lifelock is a fast growing business with a product that doesn’t compare with Prepaid Legal Services Inc. and the ID Theft protection plan (Protection provided by Kroll Inc.) that we offer. What will you do if you have your ID stolen? Repair your credit on your own? You need Legal advice for many of the areas that will affect you if your ID is stolen. Additionally, the ID Theft Protection offered by Prepaid Legal Services Associates has “licensed investigators” at Kroll. You;ll need licensed investigators to be allowed to access personal and private information. A normal person is not allowed to ask for the same information that investigators can.
Finally, our ID Theft product offered by Prepaid Legal Inc., will “RESTORE” your identity back to “pre-theft” status. Key word is “RESTORATION”. Ask LifeLock if they provide any of these services. You’d be surprised! You will have peace of mind with a legal services plan and the best ID Theft product in the industry. “YOU NEED BOTH” to be truly successful to repair your good name if your personal information is stolen. – Hope this helps for you to make a good decision on what product you should utilize.
Identity theft has become a major, major problem! And living without protection is like living in a crime infested neighborhood and not having protection on your home. You would probably at least have a really good guard dog and a fence right? Well, not protecting your identity today is the equivalent of living in that neighborhood and refusing to even lock your door. It’s so sad that it’s come to this, but there are always tradeoffs in life. Because we want better medical coverage and a nicer car we pay more to protect and insure them.
Likewise, with something as amazing as the World Wide Web there come tradeoffs also. One tradeoff for us having access to almost everything is that others have access to almost everything about us, our information. And that includes our personal information like social security numbers, banking information and even your medical and criminal history.
Luckily there is a lot of information out to help us understand and protect ourselves from these heartless criminals. Here is an informational website put together to help you and your family. We hope you find it helpful. Identity theft