I appreciate the pertinant information on IDT in regards to Lifelock's service. I am using the Identity Theft Shield backed by Kroll Background of America which offers true restoration in all 5 areas of Identity Theft (i.e. DMV, Medical, SS#, Financial, and Personal).

Could you do a comparison of this service to Lifelock's which you reviewed? In the research I have done, there are no other services I have seen which offer the Restoration benefits that the Identity Theft Shield does with Kroll. I'd like to know a little more if possible.
Thank you,
Juliann French
CITRMS

Hi Juliann!

I used to have just such a comparison review on this and another web site. Not just a review of Lifelock, but to five major companies. I was asked, by the company you mentioned in your comment, to remove the comparison. I'm not sure if this was for promotional reasons or otherwise, but thought I would let you know.

If you would like to see the comparison please respond here again, and I would be happy to email it to you privately.

As an aside, I have both Lifelock's service and the service you mention above. I think they are both great, and I have both of them personally for different reasons.

I think there are things which Lifelock's service simply does not cover (getting help if you're pulled over at 3 AM for a crime you didn't commit), and there are things, preventatively, which the above-mentioned service doesn't do, such as freezing credit reports. I actually view them as complimentary, rather than competing, services.

hey wazp uncle mike how you been

Please send me the comparison review you mentioned below, thank you in advance.

Mr. Talley
Jesusdied4ursins@yahoo.com

Hi Juliann!

I used to have just such a comparison review on this and another web site. Not just a review of Lifelock, but to five major companies. I was asked, by the company you mentioned in your comment, to remove the comparison. I'm not sure if this was for promotional reasons or otherwise, but thought I would let you know.

If you would like to see the comparison please respond here again, and I would be happy to email it to you privately.

Ive been viewing multiple articles and reports on ID theft protection and prevention companies and wanted to chime in on this interview and the LifeLock service.

As a security specialist myself...I have a VERY low level of respect of companies like LifeLock. Without sounding too generic, my honest opinion is "SCAM".

The fact is...only YOU can protect your ID. LifeLock offers an empty million dollar guarantee by relying primarily on their fraud alerts with the 3 major credit bureaus and chex systems. The problem...lenders are not REQUIRED to verify your ID when there is a fraud alert...it simply throws up a flag.

The truth...everything LifeLock does d=can be done by a consumer with very low effort without putting their information at further risk. FTC.gov clearly outlines the steps.

LifeLock tries to downplay monitoring because they claim their services render your ID useless. That is a flat out lie. ID theft CAN NOT be prvented...due to the reasons I mentioned earlier. Each person needs to take steps to protect themselves, minimize their chances, and monitor with all 3 bureaus.

The majority occurs through the selling or theft of your information by a company employee working for an organization that houses your data.

Joining LifeLock actually puts you at additional risk by providing not ONLY your information to low paid call center employees...but also providing a limited power of attorney to act in your behalf.

Consumers need to educate themselves through the FTC, stay away from companies like LifeLock, and follow the simple steps to protect themselves.

Shred your docs, place your own fraud alerts and keep them current, use your credit cards more and write less checks, limit who you provide your info to, get 24 hour credit monitoring with alerts, take your name off pre-approved credit offers, etc.

I am also aware that LifeLock runs an affiliate marketing program. Interestingly enough...it seems that most the articles on LifeLock also include a promo code. My educated guess is that this is tied to their affiliate marketing program...meaning that the company who gave the positive review actually makes money when their readers subscribe. I read SCAM all over the place here!

Hi Dave,

Thank-you for making the time to share your thoughts about Lifelock!

Do you really think that joining Lifelock puts you at additional risk of Identity theft any more than buying a car or signing up for life insurance?

yes...if you are looking at it from a technical sense it is certainly putting you at more risk. Not only are you providing all of your information...but you are also granting permission for them to handle your affairs on your behalf.

Although...I dont really understand the comparison with buying a car or signing up for life insurance.

LifeLock is a service that claims to PREVENT identity theft. The fact is...the services they provide CAN NOT prevent it, they can only help defend.

The point... you can do everything they do all by yourself for FREE without compromising your identity further.

In addition, they are misleading the public by saying that they render your information useless. The strategy of flaunting their CEO's SS# is an absolute joke. As I have mentioned...your identity is in the hands of the lenders and companies that hold your information. They are NOT required to verify your ID when there is a fraud alert.

LifeLock makes false claims and misinforms the public.

Another article on this service - of note are the quotes from industry experts, including one from Equifax.

Regarding the comment by Vlad...who I assume works for LifeLock in some way or another...

I never made the statement that LifeLock was a scam for that reason. I was simply making the point for people that werent aware of it.

The reasons I call LifeLock a scam are the following:

1. They claim to have a million dollar guarantee that GUARANTEE's prevention of ID theft by using their services. As previously mentioned...their main premise of protection is the fraud alert they place with the 3 major credit bureaus. Lenders are NOT required to verify identity when there is an alert, therefor...there is NO guarantee. LifeLock claims to render your information useless with their services and even flaunts it with their CEO giving out his social... This is completely misleading and could result in disaster for many innocent consumers. Especially when they find out that LifeLock's guarantee isnt REALLY a guarantee.

2.You put yourself at addition risk by signing up for LifeLock by not only providing all of your personal information...but also granting a limited power of attorney for them to act on your behalf. This is an ABSOLUTE security NO-NO. The majority of identity theft occurs when a low paid employee steals and/or sells your personal information.

I'm not sure about the service, but the fact that the program is founded by an ex-convict is troubling....

I just signed up for Lifelock but not because I have any illusions about what it is they do. I am paying for a service that I could technically do myself if I had the patience and stamina but I don't. And I like the fact that if my identity ever does get stolen I'm covered for $1K. It's like car insurance but for my credit. Works for me.

Sorry, a million dollars.

I would like to add that when I completed this interview, I was unaware that there were serious questions about the story of our co-founder (Robert Maynard). As a result of those questions and others reported over the past few months, he resigned from the company in early June. While I have told that story many times, I always believed it to be true, including on the day of this interview. To this day, I have not been shown solid evidence either way that has convinced me one way or another. However, until I can be 100% certain of the story, I will not share it.

Mike Prusinski
VP, Communications
LifeLock

Hi Mike!

Thank-you for coming to the site here and commenting. I appreciate your candor and open communication regarding Lifelock, as well as for sharing your personal experience as the VP of communications for a company which has experienced some negative press (as most large companies have.

Obviously, anyone who has a moral backing and is involved in the promotional efforts of any product would want to uphold a code of ethics regarding the way in which that product or service is promoted. I appreciate you taking the time to come to the site here and let visitors know your take on the situation, as someone actively involved in the management and promotion of Lifelock's service.

Warm Regards,

Jonathan Kraft
IdentityTheftSecrets

Is Lifelock a public traded co?

Could I also get a copy of the comparison you mentioned? I am trying to determine the positives and negatives of the various plans.

I would apreiciate a copy of the ID protction comparison you mentioned above. thank you

Hello. I would also like to receive a copy of the ID protection comparison that you mentioned. Thanks!

All this information is great, but tends to get a bit overwhelming. Could I also get a copy of the comparison you mentioned? I too am trying to determine the positives and negatives of the various plans, and I think an objective comparison might be the best bet.

I too would like to receive a copy of the ID protection comparison that you mentioned. Thanks in advance for your assistance.

Hello. I would also like to receive a copy of the ID protection comparison that you mentioned. Thanks!

I would like to receive a copy of the ID protection comparison that you mentioned. Thank you

would love a copy of the ID comparision - thanks

I would like a copy of the ID Comparison that you mentioned. Thank you.

I would like a copy of the comparison you mentioned too.
Thanks

Please send me a copy of the aforementioned identity theft prevention service comparison, too.

Please also send me a copy of the
aforementioned idenity theft prevention service comparison.

Please send me a copy of the comparison too. I'm still undecided on getting which "protection" plan...

Thanks!

I find your site very helpfull and informative. I conduct identity theft seminars around Chicago and would find it very helpful to see your comparison of plans as I am asked all the time about which plan is the best out there and if it is really necessary to have one. The answer I believe is yes as it can't hurt to have someone on your side looking over your shoulder so you can live life not in fear but to its fullest. I would appreciate seeing this comparision. Thank you for fighting the fight.

Thank-you for your nice compliments. We are definitely aggressively "fighting the fight" here at Identity Theft Secrets, and appreciate everyone who's taken their time to comment on our interview with Lifelock, and it's comparison to other Identity Theft companies.

Lifelock has done some good business in the past year. We're looking into having them back again for another interview.

If anyone has any questions you'd like us to ask Lifelock when we interview them next, please feel free to post your questions using the comments section here.

Thanks!

IdentityTheftSecrets.com

You have a very useful web site and I appreciate the work you do.

As a retired member of the military and a former Command Senior Enlisted Leader, I have studied many different protection programs. Some involved legal protection services while others were for personal safety protection systems. As you are probably aware, a few years ago, military members had some highly personal information lost by the Veterans Administration. The lost data included full names, rank, SSI numbers, medical histories, and branch of service. As a result, retired and active military service members were given free credit reporting subscriptions to the three credit reporting agencies for one year. This also allowed us to place fraud warnings with those three agencies.

Even so, with the problems of illegal immigration and with identity thieves continuing to escalate their illegal activities, I find that keeping continuous watch over my family's identity and credit is problematic. Therefore, I am searching for a company that will provide that service for a reasonable cost.

From all surface appearances, Lifelock seems to offer a good solution, however, I am also concerned about the integrity of the individuals that run the company, and whether the company can actually deliver on the services they provide. Due to my former position, I am asked by many people which identity protection service I would use. Before I answer them, I would like to see the comparison you have completed.

Would you please send me the comparison? If you like, I would be willing to share my review of your comparison with others, giving full credit to you and your web site. I would also be happy to share with you my research -once I have completed it.

Thanks and regards,

SCPO(Ret) Ed

Hi, I would also appreciate a copy of the service comparison via email. Thanks a lot!

I too would like to receive a copy of the ID protection comparison that you mentioned. Thanks in advance for your assistance and a great site.

Hi, I would also like a copy of the service comparison via email. Thanks.

thanks so much for having a site with reviews.
i would love a copy of your comparisons as i am trying to decide if it is a good idea to have any of these companies working with protecting my identity or if i can just do it myself with not too much involvement.
thanks so much

I would like a copy of your service comparison sent to me via e-mail as well! Thank You!

Please send me the comparison as well. Thanks.

Thank you Identitytheftsecrets.com for offering to ask Mike Prusinski of Lifelock a question on our behalf. Maybe you will have more luck getting an answer to my question than I have.

I sent two emails to Jeff Critchley, Director of Client Relations for Lifelock, regarding Lifelock's $1 Million Guarantee. The first email was sent 11/11/07. I have not received a reply to date.

Basically what I submitted to Jeff Critchley for clarification was as follows:

Lifelock makes the following statement in the "How Lifelock Works" section of their website:

"If your Identity is stolen while you are our client, we're going to do whatever it takes to recover your good name. If you need lawyers, we're going to hire the best we can find. If you need investigators, accountants, case managers, whatever, they're yours. If you lose money as a result of the theft, we're going to give it back to you.

We will do whatever it takes to help you recover your good name and we will spend up to $1,000,000 to do it."

Wow, I thought--they will "do whatever it takes to recover my good name". After reading this statement, I sure didn't expect that the most likely reason I would have credit fraudulently taken out in my name while a client of Lifelock, would not, in my opinion, be covered by Lifelock. Notice I said, "in my opinion". I say that because Lifelock has not responded with a clarification yet--and I suspect they haven't responded because I AM RIGHT! Follow my arguments below and you be the judge.

After reading their statement I included above, I then read their actual $1 Million Service Guarantee. In the guarantee, the first thing I noticed is that they nullified their entire statement that I included above by stating in their service guarantee,

"Other than our service guarantee, we make no representation or warranty about our service of any kind, and we disclaim any implied warranties outside of our service guarantee,........"

Hmmmmm, "we disclaim any implied warranties outside of our service guarantee". Well there goes out the window their "implied warranty" that they will "do whatever it takes to recover my good name" as stated on their website.

So, since I can only rely on statements within their service guarantee, I dug further into their service guarantee to look for any limitations that they probably wouldn't want me to find.

Oh, hmmm, well lookie here--check out this statement in their service guarantee,

"If you are our client when someone accesses your personal identifying information and subsequently uses it without your authorization to commit a fraud, due to a failure or defect in our Service,......."

Isn't that little qualifier interesting--"due to a failure or defect in our Service".

So let me put a perspective on that qualifier. What is the most likely reason that someone would have an account opened fraudulently in their name while a customer of Lifelock? The answer: Because the creditor who was supposed to call you to let you know that someone was trying to open an account in your name failed to call you and opened the account anyway. So would Lifelock pay money up to $1 Million to help straighten out that mess? In my opinion they would say that Lifelock is not responsible for the acts of creditors and the fact that the creditor failed to do his job is not considered a "defect or failure in our service".

So, is Lifelock's $1 Million Guarantee worth anything? In my opinion, NO!! To you, I highly suggest BUYER BEWARE!

I challenge Lifelock to relinquish their silence and respond to my allegations that they make implied warranties within statements on their website and then nullify the implied warranties in their service guarantee. Lifelock should make a concrete statement within their service guarantee that states whether they DO or DO NOT spend their guarantee money on clients who have had an account fraudulently opened due to the failure of a creditor to call the client. That way, potential clients could see the guarantee for what it actually is!

Here is my disclaimer in case you are wondering: I do not work for or have any financial interest in any of Lifelock's competitors. I have no personal grudges with anyone at Lifelock nor do I know anyone who works for Lifelock. I simply am a person who was intrigued by Lifelock, thought it was too good to be true, and suspect that I was right.

I would appreciate a copy of your comparison as well. Thank you in advance.

May i also get a copy of your comparison as well? Highly appreciate it.

Please send your comparison report. Thank
you.

i would greatly appreciate a copy of your comparison report, too. am considering getting some sort of id protection for my son, who will shortly be going to college.

I agree with Mark M. Their guarantee is worthless. Consumers would be much better signing up with ethical companies such as Loud Siren. Partnered with Debix they signed up the States of Ohio and Conneticut as well as the City of Nashville after they experienced personal data breaches. Oh, their insurance is 1 million dollars through AIG with no nullifying disclaimer.

Please send your comparison report. THANKS.

Please send me a copy of the comparison everyone is asking for... Thanks!

Wow, so much to read through. Could I please get a copy of the comparison as well?
Thanks!

please send me a copy of the comparison thanks

Could I please get a copy of the comparison between Lifelock, Prepaid Legal's Identity Theft Shield, and other Identity Theft Services available as well?
Thanks!

William,
You make some valid points above, and I would be interested in reading more about your "Lifeguard" service/book - just doesn't seem to me to be a good idea to be tearing down someone else's service one sentence after promoting your own...

In response to your comments, there are a lof of people, wealthy and not wealthy, (bankruptcy and non-bankruptcy filers,) who have other people managing some, if not all, of their personal information and finances.

So, for some people, monitoring their own information IS as mundane as cutting grass, changing oil, and taking care of the pool.

(I don't happen to be one of those people, but it's something to consider).

You also say that Lifelock "will have THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE, most specific, most accurate consumer list in the entire world!"

That's a pretty exaggerated statement. (I'm not coming to the defense of Lifelock, but playing devil's advocate here...)

Lifelock does have a list, and it is growing, and if you read their TOS/privacy policy carefully, they do not exclude themselves from partnering with other companies to bring offers that may be of interest to you.

But read the "privacy" policies from any of most credit card companies, and you'll see that your only option for keeping your information private is to pay off the card and cancel it.

And the average credit card company has equally as much information on you as Lifelock does.

Even worse, read the "privacy" policies of the companies that do real-world things in your life. Read the privacy policy from the company that manages your grocery store discount card. See what getting the discounts entitles them to do with the information they receive about you from your purchases in the checkout line. That's scarier to me.

Even worse than that, check out data aggregation companies, companies that most Americans don't even know exist, but that are gathering, buying, and selling information on all of us every day. Companies like Axciom and ChoicePoint... these are the much more ominous threats in my opinion.

Great information. Can I please have the comparision chart emailed to me as well?

May I also receive a copy of the comparison chart? Thank you!

Thank you for providing relevant information (both pros and cons)about lifelock.com it does help the consumer in making an informed decision on buying the product. I am planning to subscribe for similar service but would like to know more about companies which offer similar service. Can you please send me a copy of the comparison chart also, thanks.

Ajay

This is in response to Mark M.'s Posting on
January 5, 2008 03:45 PM regarding whether LifeLock covers you if the lender fails to call you after someone fraudently applying for credit. I received the following after enrolling with LifeLock:

"When applying for credit, you should receive a phone call from the lender asking you to confirm your identity.

LifeLock will not affect your credit score. When you apply for credit, the creditor is advised to contact you via telephone (usually using the phone number provided to us during your enrollment) or to take reasonable steps to verify your identity before making any decision with respect to your credit. This should ensure that you are personally notified before any credit or credit-related transaction is approved. If you do not receive a call, it does NOT mean that you are not covered by our $1million service guarantee. You ARE protected regardless of whether or not the lending agency chooses to call you."

Hope this satisfies your concern Mark M.

Thank you for investigating this topic. Would you please email a copy of the comparison, too? Thank you!

Thanks for all of you that shared feedbacks & infos regarding life lock. Its a very helpful information. I would greatly appreciate a copy of your comparison report, too. I am considering getting some sort of id protection. Thank you!

I would appreciate it if you could email me a copy of your comparison. Thank you.

I am very interested in a copy of your comparison of Lifelock and Pre-Paid Legal/Kroll 's Identity theft Shield too. I've been spending quite a bit of time trying to identify the best and most comprehensive identity theft protection for weeks now.

Thanks, Donna

I would appreciate it if you could email me a copy of your comparison. Thank you.

I recently enrolled in the Lifelock Program and here is why. Even though I can do most, if not all the same thing by myself, I didn't. Oh I asked to be taken off a mailing list or two, but after several months I couldn't remember who I asked and who I didn't. Since it only costs about as much as two "Big Macs" or a "Value Meal" at one of the popular sandwich shops, I thought "what the heck", it's worth that much for some peace of mind. I signed up knowing all the stuff the founder did or what the ex founder did or didn't do. It also seemed that the attacks were a bit too well organized to be random complaints / criticism. It almost seemed like a well organised smear campaign. Oh well, decide for your self. I believe it's worth every penney for just the peace of mind. (No, I don't work for them or have any association with Lifelock.) Good luck with whatever you decide............Bob

I would appreciate it if you could email me a copy of your comparison. Thank you.

I would also like you to email me a copy of your comparison. I've had the Pre-Paid product for a couple of years, and not sure that I want to continue it. I would like to compare the two products.

Please email me a copy of the comparison discussed. Thanks.

Lifelock is being sued for fraud both in terms of protection and in terms of the owner's claims of being safe. In short: he's had his identity stolen 5 times and the company doesn't do what it claims to.

Please send me a copy of your comparison data, thanks for your help and for this site.

please email me a copy of the comparison too. thanks!

I signed with a company that seems to do things much better than LifeLock. They do show you how to place fraud alerts, but they don't do it for you. They also give you practical tips for protecting your identity as well as monitoring my credit, and various other databases like utilities, dmv, social security. This protects me in ways that won't ever show up on my credit reports. They really informed me of types of thefts that I never even thought of. I thought it was really just somebody using your credit card, and they said the main reason is for people to get jobs! The name of the company is Secure Identity Systems and I was able to get the coverage through my bank. I am really glad I was able to cover myself and my family, for about the same price as LifeLocks individual coverage.

Great information, a true help to all of us.
I would like a copy of your comparison of Lifelock and Pre-Paid Legal/Kroll 's Identity theft Shield. Thank you for your help.

Here is something you haven't mentioned, AnnualCreditReport.com is owned by Lifelock.

LifeLock also utilizes AnnualCreditReport.com, a free site, to obtain credit reports on behalf of consumers, and then effectively charges for these reports by including them as part of LifeLock's monthly subscription service.

LifeLock consumers, unaware of this, then try to get their own credit reports from AnnualCreditReport and are denied because LifeLock has already used their once-a-year benefit, Experian says.

I think many people confuse getting someone's credit card stolen as the same thing as identity theft. Fixing a stolen credit card is one thing, trying to get back your "electronic identity" is something completely different.

I've never had it happen to me, but I've known someone, that 10 years later, is still having occasional issues. No fun at all, and I'd like to think that LifeLock does it's job in trying to prevent these crimes from happening.

This is a great interview. You did a wonderful job. LifeLock is a great service that many people are taking advantage of. They will insure you personal information and even reimburse you for up to a million dollars. The reviews on LifeLock are simply amazing.

I checked out all the ID theft protection companies mentioned by posters on the Better Business website and found it quite interesting that LifeLock has an A+ rating even though they have had over 50 complaints logged. The site does show that the complaints were resolved.

I would like to hear from the individuals that complained and how their complaints were resolved.

Some of the other companies posters listed look ok but others listed here are questionable.

Of the ID Theft Protection companies whose websites I checked out, I could not find out anything about how they protect the information that they collect from customers.
Is the information encrypted in some way, is it shared with affiliates that store the info they get and is that information encrypted on their systems. How secure is their system from hackers, etc...? Maybe you can ask LifeLock these questions and if they will fully disclose the nature of the customer disputes they have had and how they resolved these complaints to retain their A+ rating with the BBB or is the BBB just a bogus, bought out organization any more that provides excellent ratings to anyone that pays for them?