Lifelock Encourages False Sense Of Security
One of the problems of the Lifelock service is the false sense of security it brings to its customers due mostly to their advertising campaigns. Broadcasting statements such as: “you’ll find out how to lock down your identity, making it virtually impossible for identity thieves to wreak havoc on your good name” imply ’sign up and you’re worries are over’ but are simply not true.
The fraud alert they place against your name can help bring attention to someone trying to open a new line of credit in your name but it does nothing what so ever to protect any credit cards, bank accounts etc. that you currently have and it certainly does not stop a criminal ‘wreaking havoc with your good name’ by using it to obtain employment and then stealing from the company.
Another problem though that Lifelock could be causing with the masses of fraud alerts they are continually placing on their customers credit files is a real danger that fraud alerts become the ‘norm’ and as such their use gets very much watered down.
The law states that when a credit firm sees a fraud alert on a credit file it should use “reasonable policies and procedures” to verify the identity before they open a new line of credit. With more and more credit files having the fraud alert though, credit bureau Experian say there is a real danger the loan and credit industry will become immune to the fraud alert and simply start ignoring them.
They are so worried this could happen they are asking the courts to stop Lifelock from placing them on their customers behalf which if successful would see an end to Lifelock as its entire business is based around placing these free fraud alerts on their customers behalf.
You can place your own fraud alert and get your credit report without paying Lifelock for the privilege simply by using the links in the right hand column. Be aware though that identity theft prevention requires much more than these few simple steps.
Purchase a lockable mail box, get a good shredder, don’t carry your social security number with you. These and other common sense precautions will do far more to prevent identity theft.
