LifeLock™ Identity Theft Protection Services

Based In:		Tempe, Arizona
Review Updated:		August, 2009
Contact:		(877) 543-3562
Website:		LifeLock.com
Price:		$10/month or $110/year

LifeLock, we're told, isn't a credit monitoring service. Rather, they're a credit lockdown service.

Credit-monitoring services like TrueCredit (review) are fantastic for folks who want to periodically check their credit scores and reports and keep tabs on them. But what if you don't want to "monitor" anything? What if you just want to be sure that your identity is safe from intruders?

Well, you take a look at LifeLock.

I first discovered LifeLock from a TV commercial (yeah, go figure). There was their CEO, Todd Davis, publishing his Social Security number on the screen for all the world to see.

"Yes, that really is my Social Security number," he was saying. "But I'm not worried. I'm a LifeLock user, and I know our system works."

I figured the guy was either really confident ... or a liar ... or an idiot.

But, in the end, he had me intrigued.

LifeLock Features: The Good

Here's a quick run-down of what LifeLock does for you:

• They direct all three credit bureaus to initiate fraud alerts on your behalf. Once these alerts are implemented, any bank or entity who attempts to "do something" with your report must take care to ascertain that the transaction is valid. (Typically they will call you at a phone number which LifeLock places on your reports.)
  
  Here's how their email reads when they first initiate the fraud alerts:

• As noted above, they renew your fraud alerts approximately every 90 days.
• They request that your name be removed from junk-mail and preapproved-card lists. They renew these requests as they expire.
• Each year, they order your free credit reports from the major credit bureaus; these reports will be sent directly to you.
• The $1 Million Guarantee. I'll just quote from their site:
  
  
  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.
• WalletLock™ Service: With WalletLock™ you have instant access — anytime, anywhere — to an identity-theft recovery specialist who will assist you if ever your wallet is misplaced or stolen. A WalletLock™ specialist will contact each credit card, bank, or document-issuing company, cancel your affected accounts and complete the paperwork and steps necessary to replace your lost documents, including your credit/debit cards, driver’s license, Social Security card, insurance cards, checkbook — even traveler's checks. (Note, though, that if your wallet carried cash, WalletLock™ can't recover that.)

LifeLock Features: The Bad

It's not all candy and sugar-sprinkles — that's for sure.

• Fraud alerts can be a significant pain in the butt. A pain, that is, if you're attempting to open (or modify) bank or other accounts yourself. Because the business you're dealing with must ascertain your identity (that's what the fraud alert does for you), there will be delays while they do this. Often these delays can stretch out over days. So you can pretty much forget about utilizing any in-store, instant-credit offers. (Which may be a godsend, though, for some consumers!)
• What am I paying for? You'll pay for the service each month (or year), and ... nothing. Very rare emails; no phone calls; no snail-mailed letters. LifeLock does their thing, keeping your identity protected in various ways, but they do it very quietly. You may wonder what the heck you're paying for ... or you can just go on with your life, knowing that the money you're paying LifeLock means you have a few less things to worry about.

So Why Bother?

LifeLock's website is very upfront about this: Everything they do, you could do for yourself for free.

But there's a bit of qualification for that term "free." It would, for instance, take a fair chunk of time for you to set up and renew the fraud alerts yourself. So unless your time is truly "free," then the $10 per month that LifeLock charges doesn't really seem so out-of-whack.

Heck — I took them up on it for my daughter. LifeLock seemed more appropriate for her (she won't be needing credit anytime soon) than for my wife and I, who do use credit and open accounts often (see also Credit Card Arbitrage) and who already have TrueCredit monitoring.

Credit Monitoring vs. LifeLock:
What's the Difference?

If you're someone who regularly opens new bank accounts (perhaps ING's Electric Orange checking suddenly appeals to you) or lines of credit (again, think credit-card arbitrage and other Fatwallet-type schemes), then LifeLock would almost certainly be more of a hindrance for you than an aid. Your credit report and info will be on absolute lockdown, and opening new accounts will become much more difficult for you.

In that case, what you want is a credit-monitoring service. Something like TrueCredit (review) would be more to your advantage.

In short, if you don't want new credit- or bank accounts opened in your name (or your child's), then LifeLock is for you. Otherwise, you'll probably be happier with one of the many credit-monitoring services out there.

LifeLock Signup is Stupid-Easy

Two short screens. Less than four minutes.

Jeez. Everything financial should be this painless.

Screenshots & Aesthetics

Typically, when I do a product or service review like this, I like to provide a lot of screenshots. With LifeLock, however, there really isn't much need. Heck — there simply isn't anything to show!

Why? Because once you've started it, LifeLock is very much a behind-the-scenes, set-it-and-forget-it service.

Pricing & Value

You'll pay roughly $10 per month for Lifelock's service. (Or slightly less if you pay a year at a time.) In my opinion, it's a fair price. I will say this, though: Once you sign up, you'll get a few "Welcome!" emails immediately ... and that's about it. After that, LifeLock does their thing, setting up the fraud alerts and all the rest. You won't hear from them much if at all.

All you know is that your identity — or your child's — is about as safe as it can be.

Summary

One thing that makes it tough to review a service like LifeLock is this: If LifeLock does its job as advertised, it's quite possible that I'll never know about it.

That's good for them, I guess. But it's good for me, too. "How's that?" you ask.

My daughter's identity is protected by LifeLock, so if someone were to attempt to use her information to, say, open a credit card, I'd prefer that the transaction simply be stopped dead in its tracks. Failing that, if the credit-card company were to call me to verify the account (or, rather, to verify that I or my daughter didn't initiate it), well, that'd be fine, too. I'd feel that my dollars were well-spent either way.

Still, I'm very much a guy who wants to see services like LifeLock stay behind the scenes. My time's valuable; I don't really want to be bothered with Straight to the Recycle Bin emails anyway. I'd much rather be doing other things. Like writing. And reading to my daughter —

— my daughter whose identity won't end up buying someone else a bunch of stereo equipment.

Or a truck.

Ready to see what LifeLock is all about?
Click here to begin LifeLock Identity Theft Prevention!

Ratings are on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the top ranking.
value: Is it worth the money?
adaptability: Could this work for me over time?
usage: Is its usage intuitive? Is it professional in appearance and function?