Lifelock- The Truth Behind The New LifeLock Identity Theft Service

Lifelock is probably the only identity theft protection agency in the United States that is being covered by the media - mentioned in over 250 news stories featured in The Wall Street Journal, MSNBC, CNN, CNBC, Wired, CBS Early Show and ABC News Now, among others.

It's not just because CEO Todd Davis broadcasts his social security number in advertisements vis a vis the fact that CEOs of similar companies have refused to do the same when requested by the media. It's also because LifeLock has been very successful in providing protection to its clients, and reducing pre-approved credit cards in their mail.

Businesses too have experienced similar success with LifeLock in terms of protecting the identities of its employees.

When Davis decided to broadcast his social security number, he was very confident that no identity thief could ever steal from him because of LifeLock.

THE SYSTEM REVEALED

Here's how it works:

Upon enrollment, a client will be asked to set off the fraud alerts in his credit reports with the Credit Bureau Agencies - Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

With the fraud alerts in place, credit card companies and the like will be required to call a client before approving a credit card application, sending out pre-approved cards in the mail, or increasing a client's credit limit. The fraud alerts actually warn the credit card companies that a thief might be using the identity of the client, and thus, they must verify the identity of the client.

LifeLock affirms that when the fraud alerts are in place, LifeLock will then review the credit reports of the client every 90 days. If there is an entry that the client does not know, LifeLock will then contest a fraudulent entry on the client's behalf.

Part of the company's services, LifeLock will mitigate problematic credit situations on the client's behalf by talking to creditors, filing the necessary paperwork with the credit bureaus, and filing police reports.

Although this process of reviewing and contesting credit reports can be done by the client himself for free, the process is tedious and time-consuming, and it will take time for someone to catch up with changes in the procedures of the credit bureau agencies.

Here's why other service providers are a little taken back by LifeLock...

If a client loses money to identity thieves while being a client of LifeLock, then the company will guarantee to pay the losses for up to $1 million. LifeLock review reiterates that the cost for Lifelock's service which is $110 annually for adults and $25 annually for children under 16 with an adult enrolment is meager compared to the benefits the clients derive from membership with them.

As great as this sounds to the consumer, it has some identity theft service providers up in arms, scrambling to come up with a comparable offer in some way.

LifeLock is the only company in the identity theft protection industry to be ISO 27001 certified for data and operational security.

The company regularly conducts background checks on all its employees. Random drug testing is part of this drill. All of Lifelock's facilities are built with the latest biometric security access, complete with state-of-the-art surveillance and alarm systems. Lifelock also affirms the fact that the firm does not store client data onsite, only secure data centers has them.

THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT

It will take about 120 hours (spent within a two year period) before any one recovers from a damaged reputation. For a company that has been victimized, it will take around 170 hours (over the same period) to repair the credit reputation of each employee.

As a consumer, the sheer waste of time caused by identity theft is enough to take a closer look at various services. Just be sure to look for rock-solid guarantees and clear explanations of value for whatever you decide to use.