Identity Theft Protection (LifeLock)

[OB3]

Hello

Has anyone used LifeLock.com as a means to secure your identity on and offline ?
I recently had 2 accounts opened with my ss# with an address that I have not lived at since 1994.
I want to do whatever I can now in order to stop this from happening again.
I was this company awhile ago and its one of the first that is listed when google searching (I relaize that doesnt mean its the best, its just the only one I have heard of)

http://www.lifelock.com/


Any opinions/reccos are appreciated

thanks

[colorider]

Hmmmm, for $10/month, might be the best investment a person can make!

[OB3]

yes, i agree
I was just wondering if this is one of the better companies out there ?
$10 a month for peice of mind is WELL worth it, just as the 35 a month for our ADT home security system is for our house.

thanks all

[ramirami]

I recently sent some papers with my/wife's SSN ...got misplaced in the mail.

I signed up for identity guard... good thing IMO there is that you have multiple levels you can select from.

BTW the papers made it to the recipient a few weeks later.. I plan to downgrade my service from level3 to level1

[N_Jay]

Most people are way tooo woried about all the identity theft hype.

Credit cards are 100% safe.

Debit cards are only a little riskier if you keep your pin safe.

SSN is just about worthless, because about the only thing someone could do is open a new account. If it is a credit card you are protected, if it is a FDIC bank account you are protected.

When they publish the big numbers of people with identity theft problems, pay close attention to what they lump in to make the number so big.

For most people $10 a month is not worth it.

[tim.s]

Originally posted by OB3
yes, i agree
I was just wondering if this is one of the better companies out there ?
$10 a month for peice of mind is WELL worth it, just as the 35 a month for our ADT home security system is for our house.

thanks all

Don't know if there are any better companies doing this business, but Lifelock seems to be the most advertised company. They've got that add on TV where the guy drives around the city in a panel truck with his SS and name on the side.

Glancing at the Lifelock website, most of the stuff they do for you is stuff you can do yourself for free.

I suppose you could apply the same mentallity as the Hondacare extended warranty: $1000 for four years of vehicle coverage you'll probably never use (but feel better having) approx= $120 x 2 x4 = $960 of Lifelock coverage for you and your spouse for 4 years (that you will feel better having).

I'm wondering if we are more likely to need identity protection than need extended service...

[Samuel2003]

Identity theft happens "all the time". If it's not happening to you, it's happening to someone else. While the victim(s) may be eventually exonerated from all culpability, there is still the hassle of "running around" and checking off all the steps to clear his/her record/name.

[jay]

Through my Costco American Express card I have CreditSecure for $11.99 a month. It flags any changes in my credit report, and I can pull a 3-bureau report with FICO scores any time I want.

I also have an Identity theft rider on my Homeowners policy for $20 a year, that pays a few thousand if something happens.

[OB3]

More for peace of mind than anything, I signed up yesterday evening. I got a rate of 99 a year since i found a promotional code online so for a little more than 8 dollars a month, i feel a little bit better about having some waste fo life use and abuse my ss#.
I know nothing is fool proof, but since i had a 3500 laptop and a 1800 bose system charged to ME without me being aware, i feel that much better that it will not happen again.

And yes, i probably could do what they do (set up fraud alerts with the 3 major credit beureaus out there) myself, but since i can't remember that wednesday and saturday are garbage pick up days here athome, the 8 bucks a month is well worth it.

thanks all

be safe

[krygny]

The media hype about identity theft, like most media hype, is ridiculous. Some members of the media think it's part of their job description to scare you. First, they focus on a few extremely rare, anecdotal, nightmare scenarios where bank and credit card accounts were opened, loans and mortgages were taken out and the individual was left with thousands in debts, wrecked credit and it takes months to straighten out. Then, they cite the statistics of people who are victims of "some level" of identity theft, and the stats can be alarming. This gives a false perception that all those stats relate to people who have had their lives ruined by identity theft. In reality, most incidents are extremely minor, even just misunderstandings and are cleared up quickly and easily with the bank or CC company.

I don't mean to imply that there's little or no risk but remember if a bank, mortgage company, CC company, etc., is defrauded by someone other than you, that's their problem, not yours.

A little common sense goes a long way. Identity thieves, like all predators, pick the low-hanging fruit. Don't be the low-hanging fruit.

[N_Jay]

If people are pushing some type of insurance then they are making good profits on it.
Good profits on insurance come when policy premiums are significantly above the real risk.

Hard pushed insurance = Bad deal

If you have a bad change on your credit card the entire hustle is flipping the card over and making a call.

[N_Jay]

Originally posted by Samuel2003
Identity theft happens "all the time". If it's not happening to you, it's happening to someone else. While the victim(s) may be eventually exonerated from all culpability, there is still the hassle of "running around" and checking off all the steps to clear his/her record/name.

Good Boy! Keep listening to the media hype.

Look at it this way. For way less than $10 a month you could get $0 deductible comprehensive insurance on your cars.

In a 5 year period, which is more likely, non-collision damage to your car or identity theft???

If neither has happened to you, take a survey among your friends.

People REALLY need to understand relative risk and relative cost!

[krygny]

You're basically paying them for the convenience of doing many things you could easily do yourself for nothing. But you are not then absolved of all responsibility. If you're completely negligent and irresponsible, they'll punt (like any insurance company). I'm suspicious of their response to a claim in a nightmare scenario. Even if you're not irresponsible, I suspect they'll direct YOU in clearing up the matter. They won't just "handle it" and make it go away. They can't. There are some things only you (and no one else) can do in these matters. It's not like you're giving them a PoA. (Edit: That's Power of Attorney, not Piece of A$$.)

Bottom line, it's your money, your @$$ and your choice.

[N_Jay]

Originally posted by krygny
Bottom line, it's your money, your @$$ and your choice.

You forgot one thing.

And its a relatively LOW risk.

[tim.s]

Originally posted by OB3
...but since i can't remember that wednesday and saturday are garbage pick up days here athome, the 8 bucks a month is well worth it...

Yeah, I know what you mean.