Lifelock or TrustedID:Which Service Is Right For You?

Updated July 19, 2010

• Read our detailed Lifelock review
• Read our detailed TrustedID review

We live in a world of uncertainty, and more and more people are becoming concerned about the safety of their identities. We also have more choices than ever before and it can be confusing trying to determine what you need to protect yourself and which product will offer you the greatest security.

If you’ve done any research at all then you’ve come across some experts recommending Lifelock and others TrustedID. Both identity theft services have recently introduced upgraded and improved versions of their flagship protection plans. Lifelock launched Command Center™ last December and TrustedID introduced IDEssentials™ in July of this year.

As the identity fraud protection industry has evolved, many popular services have moved toward a monitoring detection type service. This is an admission in the industry that complete identity protection is virtually impossible. Tech savvy identity thieves can hack into databases and steal millions of records without anybody realizing it.

Both Lifelock and TrustedID understand this and have taken a very similar approach to identity theft protection. We’ll expose some of the similarities as well as differences between these two popular services.

	Command Center	IDEssentials
Price	$13.50/month	$10.42/month
Promotion	30 Days Free & 10% Off	15 Days Free Trial
Coverage	$1 Million Total Service Guarantee	$1,000,000 Service Warranty
Protection Type	Fraud Alerts/Scanning	Fraud Alerts/Credit Monitoring
Credit Monitoring	No	Instant 3 Bureau Report
Credit Reports	Annually Major Bureaus
Credit Score	No
Family Plan	No
Credit Freezes	No
Anit-Virus/ Spyware	No
Sex offender Reports		No
PayDay Loans	No

How are Lifelock and Trusted ID Similar?

• Opt-out of pre-approved credit offers
• Have a $1,000,000 warranty
• Fraud Alerts (Called ‘Lender DoubleCheck’ by TrustedID)
• Order yearly credit reports
• Wallet protection
• Scan internet black markets looking for misuse of your information
• 24/7 on call helpline

Both LifeLock and Trusted ID will remove you from junk mail lists and place fraud alerts on your behalf. They will also scan the internet for your information on the web. They look for your date of birth, address and social security number and notify you immediately if any activity is found with your information attached to it. With Trusted ID you can even ask them to watch for your bank account and credit card number.

Both services also offer wallet protection which can give you some small sense of security when your wallet is gone. Having someone to call and help you take the necessary steps to replace your license, insurance cards, and other forms of ID as well as helping you with canceling and replacing your credit and debit cards can be a great comfort.As you can see, both LifeLock and Trusted ID offer very similar coverage and have very similar basic features.

How Do Lifelock and Trusted ID Differ?

• Read our detailed Lifelock review
• Read our detailed Trusted ID review

Credit Report Monitoring

With the introduction of IDEssentials, TrustedID added credit monitoring of your report and score with all three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. TrustedID will scan your reports daily and alert you if they detect any fraudulent or suspicious activity. Lifelock does not offer credit monitoring.

Credit Freezes

Like Lifelock, Trusted ID sets and renews fraud alerts every ninety days. What sets TrustedID apart is the option to place credit freezes on your credit file, a far more secure measure of protection. (Read our article on Fraud Alerts vs Credit Freezes for more information) While you can do this yourself, having a service perform this for you can come in handy when you can’t remember your PIN number.

Personal Information Scanning

Lifelock recently launched their Command Center which actively monitors unregulated internet and file sharing networks for your personal information. In addition they scan payday loans, sex offender registries, and other public records to find your information. If they find it, they’ll alert you by email and help protect you against accidental information disclosures.

Anti Virus Protection

Trusted ID also keeps an eye on your computer, giving you an anti-spyware program that can be installed on as many as three computers. An unsecured computer is at high risk for hackers, spyware and viruses, and a good protection program can cost you as much as $100 a year. With trusted ID, not only does this software automatically update every day, it is given to you at no charge so long as you have an account with Trusted ID. This benefit almost pays for the cost of protection itself.

Lost Wage Coverage

Probably the greatest difference between LifeLock and Trusted ID is in the fine print of their identity theft insurance guarantees. While both claim to have $1,000,000 policies, they cover very different things. According to the non profit Identity Theft Resource Center, the primary financial loss of identity theft victims are the lost wages involved when they need to spend 30-60 hours contacting their financial institutions and clearing up their credit.

Unfortunately, Lifelock’s policy does not cover lost wages while Trusted ID offers an industry best $5,000 /4weeks. Most of Lifelock’s coverage is for hiring attorneys and investigators to “clear your good name”, something most cases of identity theft probably don’t require. Most victims of identity theft do need to spend countless hours calling their credit card companies and filling out fraud affidavits. Trusted ID will reimburse you for this time while Lifelock will not. You can read more about Identity Theft Insurance here.

Family Coverage

Another large difference is family coverage. Lifelock doesn’t offer any discounts to cover your spouse, elderly grand parents and charges $25/year to cover minor children. Trusted ID covers the entire household living under one roof for less than the cost another policy.

To illustrate the wide disparity in cost; for a family of 2 adults and two minor children, the cost of protection for Lifelock would be $347/year ($148.50 for each adult and $25 for each child). Trusted ID’s coverage would only be $240.00 These are advertised prices and if you use any of our links, you’ll receive significant discounts.

Large families need family pricing

For a larger family, the price differences are more dramatic. For the same family living with two grandparents, the Lifelock plan would cost $643/year and TrustedID would be unchanged at $240.00/year (provided all the adults are part of the same household). Anyway you look at it, these are significant savings.

If you’re known to the public as “octomom” or your last name is “Duggar”, then it’s really a no-brainer. If the Octomom were covered by Lifelock, she would need to pay $348.50 while the near identical coverage from TrustedID would be $240.00.

The Duggar family from Discover Channel fame would pay $747 for their 18 children with Lifelock and with TrustedID, you guessed it, $240.00. I sense a sponsorship deal here somewhere.

These may be extreme examples but a large majority of victims come from families and it certainly makes sense to protect the identities of those you care about.

Our Opinion

LifeLock and Trusted ID both have reputations of stability and trustworthiness, and in the end both of them are good choices to help protect you from identity theft. We feel that TrustedID edges out Lifelock as a service that offers more for less.

In addition to almost everything Lifelock offers, with Trusted ID, you have the option to place credit freezes, free virus /spyware protection for your computers, credit monitoring, your credit score, medical benefits review, and when looking to add a child, spouse, or grandparent to your coverage, TrustedID has the best pricing available.

Lifelock did pioneer the entire identity protection industry and was the first to offer a million dollar warranty but the value in TrustedID’s offerings is just to strong to ignore. It’s almost like TrustedID was designed to imitate Lifelock, offer more, and then charge less.

Before making a final decision take the time to ask what services are important to you. How much coverage do you need, and how many people in your house do you need to protect? Both LifeLock and Trusted ID are companies with good reputations who will help protect you from identity theft and, should the worst happen, help you regain your identity and your credit.

• Visit Lifelock 10% Discount and 30 Days Free
• Visit Trusted ID 15 Days Free Trial

For information on Lifelock Command Center, read our review here.

Lifelock’s Basic Service May Leave Some Consumers Feeling Exposed…

In December 2003, Lifelock made waves in the credit industry after the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, or FACTA forced credit bureaus to allow consumers to place fraud alerts on their credit reports. This in turn forced lenders to verify your identity before extending credit or loans in your name. Fraud alerts are temporary and expire after 90 days. Considering that credit bureaus derive a considerable portion of their income from selling your information, they probably weren’t too keen on consumers restricting access to their credit files. They didn’t mind this too much since the percentage of consumers that were even aware such options existed-much less use them-was minuscule.

Enter Todd Davis and Lifelock.

In its early days, Lifelock built their business around the ability to place fraud alerts and renew them on your behalf, effectively making them permanent.

The credit bureaus sued and argued that Lifelock was trying to “game the system” of fraud alerts to make a profit. In May of 2009, a federal judge ruled that Lifelock can no longer place fraud alerts on its customer’s credit profiles. Since then, Lifelock has moved away from fraud alerts and evolved into a sophisticated identity monitoring service centered around detecting early signs of identity fraud. In January 2010, Lifelock launched an upgraded protection service called Command Center that offers scanning of public databases such as court records and sex offender registry reports.

Is Lifelock A Scam?

With all the recent press about Lifelock, it’s no surprise many people may be a little weary about being sold a bill of goods. Lifelock has been sued, fined 12 million by the Federal Trade Commission for deceptive business practices, and their CEO, Todd Davis had his identity stolen at least 13 times. If you think this means identity theft services are one big scam, think again. Read more.

How Does Lifelock Work?

• Lifelock Identity Alert System™

Lifelock continually scans the internet and public databases and will alert you by e-mail, postal mail, and/or phone whenever they detect your personal information being used to apply for many forms of credit cards, wireless services, retail credit, utilities, check orders/reorders, mortgage loans, auto loans and non-credit related payday loans. If the application is fraudulent, Lifelock’s remediation team will take action to help protect your good name.

• $1 Million Total Service Guarantee

Lifelock members have access to a recovery specialist who will spend up to $1 million to hire lawyers, investigators, consultants and whatever else is needed to restore your name. It will not cover lost wages or business profits, direct out of business costs and lost opportunities.

• eRecon™

Lifelock’s eRecon™ service will scan thousands of known criminal Web sites for the illegal selling or trading of your personal information such as your name, address, Social Security number, bank account numbers and credit card numbers. If they find a piece of your identity on one of these black market sites, they will alert you and help you take steps to resolve the problem.

• TrueAddress™

A common way identity thieves operate is by redirecting your mail with a change of address request. Identity thieves can divert your mail to steal your personal and financial information. Lifelock will scan address databases nationwide to detect unauthorized change of address requests. If detected, they will notify you and work with you to help avoid further damage and restore accurate address information.

• WalletLock™

If your wallet or purse goes missing, a WalletLock™ specialist will help cancel and replace the lost contents of your wallet, including your credit/debit cards, driver’s license, social security card, insurance cards, checkbook – even travelers checks.

• Reduce Junk Mail

Lifelock will request your name be removed from marking and pre-approved mailing lists, another potential source of identity theft.

• 24-Hour Support

Lifelock maintains 24 hour direct access to account representatives.

Analysis

At $9.00/month, Lifelock is reasonably priced and if you use any of our links, we’ve negotiated 30 days free and a $21.00 discount off the regular price. Unfortunately there are no price discounts for spouses but coverage for minors is offered at $22.50 per year.

The Lifelock Identity Alert™ system uses multiple technologies and data sources to scan credit applications for member’s personal and private information. Since the introduction of the system in September 2009, Lifelock has reported on and blocked more than 6,200 fraudulent applications for both credit and non-credit services before any damage could be done.

The basic Lifelock service includes eRecon™, TrueAddress™, and annual copies of your credit report. These services will scan over 10,000 underground sites for the illegal selling of your information and detect if your address has been changed in nationwide address databases but the lack of more frequent credit monitoring is a concern.

Lifelock offers the $1 Million Total Service Guarantee, 24-Hour member Service and the WalletLock™ service to help you if you become a victim of identity theft. The only issue with this is the $1 Million Guarantee doesn’t cover wage losses.

Lifelock Opinion

This is the service that started it all. Many of you may remember CEO Tod Davis boldly displaying his social security number all over the airwaves daring identity thieves to steal it. They did. According to the Phoenix New Times, Todd Davis has been the victim of identity theft over 13 times. Apparently it’s still a good idea to keep your social security number to yourself but the fact that after such a brazen display of his personal information, he’s only been victimized 13 times.

Is Lifelock Worth It?

But does that mean identity theft protection is a just a one big scam? Hardly. Consumers just have to understand that there’s no way to 100% guarantee you’ll never become a victim of identity theft. The proliferation of data breaches, online shopping, and internet banking means there are just too many ways for tech savvy thieves to get a hold of your identity. You simply can’t control who see’s your mortgage or auto loan application once you hand it over.

How Does Lifelock Compare?

Lifelock’s basic service falls short when compared to other comparably priced services such as TrustedID and Guard Dog ID; all of whom have matching $1 Million Dollar service guarantees.

In addition to everything Lifelock offers, TrustedID offers generous family plan pricing, antivirus protection, and medical benefits protection. Lifelock may have been the service that started it all but like so many other industries, the trailblazers may have the most market share but are usually not the ones who offer consumers the best value. The competitors who have to offer “more for less” to grab market share usually do.

THE GOOD: LifeLock is a decent identity theft protection service at a reasonable price. They basically single-handedly created the identity protection industry with their bold advertising and are the market leaders in the consumer identity protection industry.

THE BAD: If you are looking to provide protection for your entire household, TrustedID’s family plan offers near identical protection at a significant discount. While Lifelock charges per member, TrustedID charges one price per household. The savings can really add up if you have three or more members in your household. No credit monitoring.

Lifelock Promotion

For more information about Lifelock and its services, visit Lifelock.com. We’ve negotiated exclusive discounts for our readers, simply use any of our links to receive $21 off the regular price and 30 days free. No promotion code is necessary.

Welcome To Lifelock 2.0

• Read our original Lifelock review

With the introduction of Lifelock Command Center™ Lifelock is moving away from its original business model of placing and renewing fraud alerts to an early warning detection service. Lifelock’s original offerings are still available and currently Command Center is being offered as an additional add-on to their existing service.

So What Is Command Center?

Lifelock Command Center™ - Is It Worth It?

In the past, Lifelock’s critics (justifiably in my opinion) claimed much of Lifelock’s services could be done for free by the consumer themselves. In addition, since it’s universally accepted that no protection service is completely fool proof, many critics also pointed out fraud alerts may create a false sense of security. What consumers really needed, many industry experts argued, was an early warning system designed to alert individuals at the first sign of identity theft. Lifelock’s answer to those critics and countless competitors is the Lifelock Command Center™ Protection Suite. Here is an explanation of the new features:

• Court Records Alerts and Reports

Lists court records that match your name and date of birth from county courts, Departments of Corrections (DOC), offices of Administration of Courts (AOC) and other legal agencies to help you verify that criminals aren’t using your name to commit crimes.

• Lifelock Personal Breach Detection™ Services

Actively monitors unregulated internet and file-sharing networks for your identity information. If Lifelock finds you are at risk, they’ll alert you by e-mail and take emasures to protect you against accidental personal information disclosures.

• Sex Offender Registry Alerts and Reports

Lists registered sex offender records for your zip code. It will also alert you if a sex offender is fraudulently using your address.

• Payday Loan Alerts and Reports

Notifies you of any payday loan activity with your name, date of birth and Social Security number.

• Public Records Alerts and Reports

Lists postal addresses associated with your identity found in public records.

• Alias Records Alerts and Reports

Lists alternate names associated with other pieces of your identity (Social Security number, driver’s license, etc.) found in public records.

Opinion

There are a lot of things I think Lifelock is doing right here. I enthusiastically agree with paying attention to non-credit related sources for changes in your personal information. Too many companies focus on just monitoring your credit report which is important but leaves out all the other potential types of identity theft that can occur like criminal identity theft.

Lifelock has definately improved upon it’s original service and I do think it’s worth the increase in premium for the added protection but would it be my pick for “best identity protection“? Except for one thing it would be.

The lack of credit monitoring concerns me. Lifelock does provide annual credit reports but you can get that for free. Compared to services like Identity Guard and ProtectMyID, who both provide near real-time monitoring of your credit report, it still falls a little short. While it’s true other forms of identity theft exist outside your credit report and affect thousands if not millions of Americans every year, the majority of identity theft cases still revolve around your credit report. Actively monitoring your credit file is still your best shot at detecting identity theft early and offering you the greatest chance to “nip it in the bud”.

Still, Command Center™ is impressive and for some consumers it might be exactly what they’re looking for.

THE GOOD: Increased scanning of a wide assortment of public databases and services unique in the identity protection industry.

THE BAD: The lack of credit report monitoring may concern some consumers.

Visit Lifelock Command Center and get 30 days free and 15% off.

Visit ProtectMyID and get 30 days for $1. ]]> http://www.idprotectionguide.net/lifelock-command-center-review/feed/ 2 http://www.idprotectionguide.net/identityguard-vs-lifelock/ http://www.idprotectionguide.net/identityguard-vs-lifelock/#comments Sun, 29 Nov 2009 19:55:13 +0000 Brandon Qureshi http://www.idprotectionguide.net/?p=251

Will The Best Identity Theft Service Please Stand Up?

This is a comparison between the flagship services of Lifelock and Identity Guard: Lifelock’s Command Center and Identity Guard’s Total Protection.

One reason we won the cold war was we simply outspent the Soviet Union. There was no way centralized planning could keep up with a capitalist economy. Things like tanks, ships, and fighter jets are notoriously expensive to buy and maintain and the Soviet Union literally bankrupt themselves trying to keep up.

Identity Guard and especially Lifelock have taken the United States playbook and must be outspending their competition at some obscene ratio. Their advertisements are everywhere: on the web, television, print media, and on the radio. One of the likely reasons you’ve found this page is you’re considering an identity theft service and have heard about Lifelock or Identity Guard. That’s the power of branding.

Lifelock introduced Command Center in December 2009 amid much fanfare and it’s a much needed upgrade from their original service. Lifelock will now scan public databases, court records, and even sex offender registry reports for your information. With this new service Lifelock is essentially admitting that’s it’s near impossible to prevent identity theft and instead focuses on an early warning system to prevent the theft from getting beyond your control to resolve it.

Identity Guard of course has been singing this tune all along. While Lifelock probably has more brand recognition, Identity Guard from Intersections Inc. has been successfully fighting identity theft for more than 14 years for some of the biggest names in financial services. So how do these two detection services compare?

	Command Center	Total Protection
Price	$15/month	$17.99month
Promotion	30 Days Free & 15% Off	30 Days Free
3 Bureau Credit Score	No
Monitors Equifax Report	No
Monitors Experian Report	No
Monitors TransUnion Report	No
Anit-Virus Spyware	No
Protects Address
Scans For SSN
Scans For Credit Cards
Scans For Bank Account Information
Scans For Payday Loan Activity
Sex Offender Registry Reports
Public Records
Court Records
Guarantee	$1 Million Total Service Guarantee	$1 Million Loss Reimbursement

So Why Doesn’t Lifelock Offer Credit Monitoring?

While it’s true that identity theft occurs beyond your credit report, experts agree the best way to detect identity theft is through monitoring your credit report. So why does Lifelock leave this important feature out? Only Lifelock knows but I’d hazard a guess it has something to with the costs involved. Identity Guard pays the three major credit reporting agencies (TransUnion, Equifax, Experian) for access to the credit reports. Somebody in Lifelock’s management decided to pursue detection technology outside your credit report.

It’s not hard to understand the strategic thinking behind this decision. This way Lifelock isn’t beholden to the credit reporting agencies it has a somewhat fractious relationship with and can offer consumers services unique to Lifelock.

But by not offering credit monitoring services is Lifelock shortchanging their customers? I think so. Do you think an identity thief will be better detected by monitoring court records and sex offender registry reports or by the daily monitoring of all three credit reports? Seems like a no-brainer to me.

Lifelock

• Read our detailed Lifelock review

Lifelock initiates fraud alerts on your behalf with all 3 major credit bureaus. Fraud alerts require creditors to confirm your identity by phoning to verify the request for credit. The weakness in this type of plan is threefold.

• First, even if fraud alerts were a surefire way to protect against identity fraud, it only protects you against the opening of new accounts. What about your existing accounts? If you lose your wallet, the identity thief will have access to your identification card, home address, and other information.
• Second, fraud alerts are not fool proof. Creditors have and will continue to extend credit without checking your credit file. According to the advocacy group Consumer Action, fraud alerts are only effective in about 75 percent of the cases. The only way to restrict access to your credit file is with a credit freeze, something LifeLock does not do.
• Third and most importantly, your information is already out there. You can take every precaution in the book but what happens to your auto loan application after you fill it out? How about your mortgage application or that new credit card? The truth is, you actually have very little control over the access to your own private identifying information. Fraud alerts won’t protect you.

Identity Guard

• Read our detailed Identity Guard review

Identity Guard doesn’t offer fraud alerts. Maybe it’s because they believe they’re not effective or its incredible easy to set up yourself – for whatever reason Identity Guard focuses entirely on monitoring your credit report in near real time. You have UNLIMITED access to not only your credit report but your credit score as well. In addition to all this, Identity Guard offers a host of products that depending on your tech level, may offer incredible value. To somebody like myself who’s always online, I find the additional features like ID Vault®, Mobile Lockbox®, and ZoneAlarm® incredibly useful but to someone who’s not technically inclined – these features would be of limited value.

Opinion

Lifelock built its entire protection service around placing and renewing fraud alerts. Lifelock was doing this when nobody else was and if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Lifelock should be flattered. There are numerous companies that imitate what Lifelock does. They were also the first to offer a million dollar guarantee which everybody also copied. Throw in a CEO who publicly announces his social security number in the press and dares identity thieves to steal it, and it’s no wonder Lifelock is the market leader. Lifelock has brilliant marketing and it resonates with consumers. But while all this may sound lovely at a shareholder meeting, is it truly effective? Is it better than credit monitoring?

If it’s Lifelock or nothing, by all means choose Lifelock. Get some measure of protection for your identity. But if its a choice between fraud alerts and credit monitoring? I choose credit monitoring. There is simply no way to guarantee the security of your personal information. Monitoring your credit file daily for any changes is the best way to protect your identity, your property, and your life.

Visit Lifelock for more information.

Visit IdentityGuard for more information

LifeLock, a leading provider in identity theft protection services recently recruited Harris Interactive to conduct a study on the effectiveness of using an identity theft protection service. The purpose of the study was to examine consumer awareness of protecting their identity without mentioning the name of LifeLock who sponsored the study.

Details of Identity Theft Protection Study

The study conducted by Harris Interactive found that consumers who fell victim to identity theft indicated that they spent less time and money recovering their identity by subscribing to an identity theft protection service than consumers who did not subscribe to an ID protection service and had their identities stolen.

The consumer survey was conducted online during December of 2010 with participants located in the United States. The consumers that were surveyed were adults over the age of 21 with 1,366 of respondents subscribed to some type of identity theft protection service. The total number of consumers surveyed was 3,047.

The consumers who were currently subscribed to an identity theft protection service expressed satisfaction with their service and indicated that it provided them with piece of mind and convenience. When presented with the option of expressing their satisfaction with identity theft protection services consumers could indicate on a scale of 1 to 10 how satisfied they were with their current ID theft protection service. 72 percent of the respondents indicated anywhere from 8 to 10 with 10 equal to “extremely satisfied.”

Comparison Study

In the comparison part of the study consumers with a subscription to an identity theft protection service were compared with those who have no protection. The comparison showed that a high percentage of consumers with protection demonstrated a higher level of confidence in protection from issues associated with identity theft than consumers with no protection. The consumers with protection also believed that the service they were using provided them with piece of mind and provided them with the type of protection that they could not accomplish on their own.

The comparison study also showed that the consumers that were currently using an identity theft protection service experienced less downtime in terms of getting their identity fully recovered as opposed to consumers without protection. The consumers with protection also indicated that they spent less money recovering their identity while saving time during the recovery process. They also revealed that they were satisfied with the notification they received from the identity theft protection service of potentially fraudulent use of personal information.

Methodology Used to Conduct the Survey

The study was conducted online with consumers in the United States with the figures for age, sex, race, education, geographic location and household income weighted in necessary categories to bring the survey results into proportion with the overall population in the US.

The survey respondents were those who agreed to participate in a Harris Interactive survey without being informed of the sponsor of the survey, LifeLock, Inc. identity theft protection services.

For more information on how Lifelock protects you, read our in-depth Lifelock review.

LifeLock, Inc., a primary company offering identity theft protection services, recently established a partnership with the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association to provide ID Theft protection at a discount for members of AOPA. The service will help to protect aircraft pilots from theft of personal information.

How the Partnership Works

AOPA currently has nearly one half million members and is the largest aviation association around the globe. The membership base serves approximately two thirds of US pilots and provides comprehensive services including state and federal representation, legal services, and other services to members of its aviation community.

LifeLock is a leader in consumer identity theft protection services and the partnership with AOPA will help aircraft pilots to protect their PII which is Personally Identifiable Information. The identity theft protection program offered by LifeLock is customized to specifically meet the needs of aircraft pilots and their families. The protection will provide specialized protocols that assist pilots in safeguarding professional documentation that is related to their work in the event the information is lost or stolen. The partnership contributes to LifeLock’s mission of educating the consumer on identity theft and providing them with the tools necessary to protect crucial information.

LifeLock and AOPA

Membership in the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association is available in the form of a Voting Membership for individuals with pilot certificates and a Non-Voting Affiliate Membership is for members who take an interest in obtaining their pilot’s certificate. The association was established in 1939 and has grown to become the heart of the aviation industry.

LifeLock has an established track record for providing state-of-the-art identity theft protection services. The company offers the LifeLock Speakers Series program which provides presentations that educate the consumer on the dangers of identity theft and protecting personal information. LifeLock has also worked with law enforcement officials to raise awareness of how identity theft criminals operate and some of the methods they use to steal sensitive information.

LifeLock identity theft protection services work on a Five Point Protection Plan which includes monitoring your identity, scanning for identity theft, responding to identity theft, tracking your credit, and providing a one million dollar guarantee to back the recovery steps necessary if you fall victim to identity theft.

There are five steps to recovery which LifeLock can accomplish within 30 days. The five steps include a personally assigned resolution specialist to provide one-on-one services, case assessment with the assistance of a third-part recovery specialist, a summary of what to expect during the recovery process, filing of legal documents such as police reports, and follow up after the recovery process is complete.

LifeLock identity theft protection plans are designed for both individuals and businesses. The individual plans provide a different range of services depending upon your needs and the business plans protect crucial business data and provide benefits to employees. Both types of solutions are very affordable and provide comprehensive identity theft protection services.

The business protection plan also offers a LifeLock Partner Program which allows for revenue sharing and flexible types of investments to partners with expertise in the area of identity theft protection.

For more information on how Lifelock protects your identity, read our detailed Lifelock review.

LifeLock, a leading provider in identity theft protection services recently partnered with the Federal Bureau of Investigation Law Enforcement Executive Development Association to organize and sponsor an all-day summit focusing on identity theft education for law enforcement officials in Southeastern Texas. The summit is an award-winning presentation by LifeLock and FBI-LEEDA.

The LifeLock and FBI-LEEDA summit which is hosted by the Galveston County Sheriff’s office is open to local law enforcement workers as well as law enforcement officials across the state of Texas. According to recent statistics that reflect the complaints registered with the Federal Trade Commission regarding identity theft, Texas represented the highest percentage of complaints which was more than 28,000 last year. The identity theft claims include employment identity theft as number one, and then credit card fraud and utilities fraud. The employment related identity theft is tied to the nation’s borders in which US consumers are having their identity stolen by people working illegally in the US.

Free Identity Theft Training Sessions Nationwide

The identity theft summit will expand beyond the Texas region during the course of the next year to include a nationwide series of free interactive training sessions that are offered as the result of the partnership between LifeLock and FBI-LEEDA. The series of summits is an effort to increase awareness and improve the knowledge for law enforcement workers on the different tactics criminals use for identity theft and how to prevent it.

LifeLock and FBI-LEEDA have been successful with offering the identity theft training summit in 35 cities across the United States within the last two years. The trainings have reached more than 3000 law enforcement workers from over 900 different units. LifeLock and FBI-LEEDA make the summits available free of charge to law enforcement personnel including patrol officers, police chiefs, fraud unit investigators, sheriffs, investigators, and other law enforcement officials.

LifeLock’s Aims to Educate the Consumer

In addition to educating law enforcement on identity theft LifeLock has taken a proactive approach by providing education to the consumer. During the coming year LifeLock will be providing free trainings nationwide to educate consumers on the practices of identity theft to help them learn how to protect themselves against a rapidly growing crime. The trainings are known as the LifeLock Speakers Series and offer the consumer an in depth training on current trends in identity theft crimes, some of the risks that are related to identity theft, and the different methods that criminals use to steal your identity.

During 2010 LifeLock was successful in reaching more than 55,000 consumers to educate them on identity theft with presentations to more than 100 different organizations from the east to west coast of the United States.

For more information on how Lifelock can protect you, read our detailed Lifelock review.

LifeLock, the industry leading identity theft protection company, recently came to a settlement with their customers as a result of allegations that they made fictitious claims regarding their identity protection services. The settlement is the result of charges by the Federal Trade Commission that LifeLock exaggerated its claims for protection against identity theft.

The FTC claimed that LifeLock misrepresented its services in an advertising promotion where the owner of LifeLock revealed his Social Security number. This implied that criminals should try and steal his identity and suggested that LifeLock provides 100 percent fool-proof protection against identity theft. The advertisement promised to protect customer’s identities for only ten dollars per month. In the process the owner had his identity stolen 13 times.

Actions Taken by FTC

The Federal Trade Commission has started forwarding checks in the amount of $10.87 to LifeLock customers in which they will be granted up to 60 days to cash the checks. Also, as a result of the FTC settlement, LifeLock will be required to tighten security to better protect the personal information of LifeLock Customers. The 12 million dollar settlement forbids LifeLock from making any misrepresentations of their products and services in the future and is one of the largest FTC and state settlements to date.

LifeLock Policy Changes

As a result of the FTC settlement LifeLock has changed some of their policies:

Full Compliance: LifeLock is in full compliance with federal and state guidelines which are set for this type of industry.

New Products and Advertising: During the course of the investigation the Federal Trade Commission reviewed all new LifeLock products and advertising to ensure they are in compliance with FTC regulations.

Ongoing Education: LifeLock will continue to educate consumers and work with the government and law enforcement officials to help minimize identity theft.

LifeLock’s Future Plans

LifeLock has proceeded to implement the changes requested by the Federal Trade Commission well in advance of the settlement and the refund distribution to LifeLock customers. The company plans to move forward and continue to optimize its products and services for consumer protection against identity fraud.

During 2010 LifeLock was recognized for its identity theft protection services in ten different award programs. According to Business Wire, Inc. Magazine LifeLock was ranked 8th on the Inc. 500 List which is a distinguished ranking for the fastest growing private company. LifeLock was also ranked number one in the Security category for Inc. 500. LifeLock Identity Alert which is a security product was recognized as the Best New Product or Service of the Year at the 2010 American Business Awards.

LifeLock has also partnered with the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Association to develop a program designed to educate law enforcement across the US on identity fraud.

For more information on Lifelock’s services read our in-depth Lifelock review.

LifeLock recently partnered with Reader’s Digest Association to provide an identity theft protection package to Reader’s Digest customer base. The identity theft protection membership will be offered at a discount to Reader’s Digest customers.

The partnership between LifeLock and Reader’s Digest Association will educate consumers on the importance of identity theft protection as well as provide them with a way to protect their personal information from cyber criminals and identity theft. Reader’s Digest Association views the partnership with LifeLock as a great service since their customer base is primarily interested in improving their lives.

The partnership between LifeLock and Reader’s Digest Association was also formulated as a result of the increase in the likelihood of identity theft and Reader’s Digest is concerned about their consumers becoming the next victim. Due to increased use of electronic technology identity theft criminals are discovering a lot of tech savvy ways to commit data breaches and steal personal information for sale on the black market.

Identity theft criminals are sophisticated criminals who know how to program and manipulate technology so their efforts to steal the identity of others leave no trace. Since no method is 100 percent foolproof consumers should be aware of the possibility of identity theft and data breach of personal information.

LifeLock is a leading provider of identity theft protection and they take an active role in protecting your personal information. You can read a detailed Lifelock review here. LifeLock partners with organizations who share the same interest in protecting their clients against identity theft and educating them on the importance of protecting personal information.

Many consumers look to LifeLock for personal identity theft protection. The company was formed in 2005 and offers such services as fraud detection, information database monitoring, black market scans of chat rooms and other places where criminals exchange and sell your personal information, credit card monitoring, and credit monitoring with the three major credit bureaus. LifeLock also offers impressive identity theft insurance coverage of up to one million dollars which is backed by XL Capital, full identity recovery services, public records monitoring, lost wallet protection, children’s identity theft protection services, and address verification and protection.

LifeLock is also highly involved with community outreach services which include non-profit efforts with the National Organization for Victim Assistance and the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Association. The company also has a LifeLock Speaker Series which educates communities on the importance of identity theft protection and the different methods criminals use to steal your personal and financial information. LifeLock offers proactive identity theft protection in two different plans which include the LifeLock Basic and the LifeLock Command Center both of which are offered at a very reasonable subscription rate.

Absolutely Not, Here’s Why…

To say it’s been a bad few months for the identity protection service Lifelock is like saying Tiger Woods is having relationship trouble. In March of this year, the Federal Trade Commission ruled against Lifelock in a suit brought by no less than 35 state attorneys. The commission announced that it levied a fine of $12 million against the company for deceptive business practices. Basically the government made the case that Lifelock was promising customers that if they signed up with their service, their personal information would become useless to thieves.

Lifelock of course denied these allegations and claimed they never misled customers into believing any service much less theirs could completely protect consumers 100%. Nonetheless the judge ruled and Lifelock was fined.

Then in May a few months later, the Phoenix New Times broke a story revealing Lifelock’s CEO, Todd Davis has been a victim of identity theft no less than 13 times. Todd Davis spearheaded Lifelock’s bold marketing by publicly challenging identity thieves to steal his social security number by plastering it over billboards, radio advertisements and the internet.

The rub is that Todd Davis claims he could be so daring because of Lifelock’s protection. This is like Jenny Craig selling her diet program as she continues to gain weight. I’m no marketing guru but I don’t think this is most effective method to sell something.

Having The $12 Million To Pay

Back in the 80s, there was a famous bond trader by the name of Michael Milken. In 1990, he pleaded guilty to multiple felony charges that he violated US securities laws. I’ll never forget as part of his plea, Milken agreed to pay $200 Million in fines. Back then, this was an unheard of amount but Mr. Milken paid it on the spot and served two years in prison. I kept asking myself at the time, “How much money did he make that he could pay a $200 million fine like it was paying a $20 parking ticket?”

Lifelock may have been fined $12 Million for their overly aggressive marketing but they basically created an industry where none existed and because of their bold marketing, they’ve become the market leaders in that industry by a wide margin. None of this would have been likely if they took a more conventional approach.

Sure Lifelock had to pay $12 million but their “deceptive business practices” earned them at least $12 million and places them as the market leader in a billion dollar industry.

But Does It Work?

Only 13 times. Todd Davis blasts his social security number all over print media, the radio, television, and the internet and he’s been victimized only 13 times? None of the amounts are over a thousand and Lifelock was able to resolve all the instances.

You don’t buy Identity theft protection to make yourself invisible to identity thieves, that’s just not possible in today’s world. But identity theft services like Lifelock can drastically reduce the likelihood you’ll become a victim and more importantly, they provide you resolution experts to help you recover should the unthinkable happen.

For more information on Lifelock and how they protect you read our detailed Lifelock review.