Credit issuer says data lost for 650,000 customers

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LifeLock does nothing for you...

... that you can't do for yourself.
Everything they do for you can be done by you. You don't need them at all.

Check it:
http://tinyurl.com/2xe5uw or
http://www.lifelock.com/lifelock-for-people/what-we-do/how-does-lifelock-protect-my-identity

They outline eight things:
1) service guarantee -- worthless. Have they ever paid out? Has any of their clients ever had an identity stolen? Interesting that they won't tell us.
2) credit bureaus contacted -- you can do this yourself, either by phone, fax, web, or mail. You can also order free credit reports.
3) "locks are set" -- meaningless. LifeLock doesn't do this, the credit bureaus do, and that was covered in step 2.
4) Junk mail restricted -- also meaningless. You can OptOut yourself.
5) block pre-approved credit offers -- again, repeating what was already covered in a previous step (step 4 in this case).
6) "Results" -- whatever. This is just natural cause-and-effect of steps 2 and 4.
7) Rinse and Repeat -- since they did you no favors before, how hard can it be to do again?
8) "Support" -- If your wallet goes missing, you should already have an up-to-date inventory, and you can call the credit issuers yourself.

Sure, it's more work to do this yourself, but I'm one of those, "If you want a job done right, do it yourself" kind of guys, and I'm cheap. If I can do it myself for free, how can I justify paying someone US$10/month to do it for me? (And it's only three actions anyway: steps 2, 4 and 7.) Especially considering they don't even do credit monitoring, you have to get that separately. (Interesting that they downplay Credit Monitoring, but it's the only service you can't do for yourself.)

Credit Reporting Agencies
Equifax: 1-877-576-5734; www.equifax.com
Experian: 1-888-397-3742; www.experian.com/fraud
TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; www.transunion.com

Free Credit Report
https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp

Opt Out
http://www.optoutprescreen.com

I'm using Identity Force ( http://www.identityforce.com/ ) through my employer (they managed to lose a hard drive a few months ago). In their "IF Complete" package, they'll place a fraud alert (step 2, above), and do credit monitoring. They're more expensive than LifeLock, but they're also much more complete.

Each of the Credit Reporting Agencies also offer credit monitoring. There are other monitoring services, some better than others, but most will offer Identity Theft protection (if you really think it's necessary). When researching a monitoring service, look for one that will contact your credit card issuers if your wallet goes missing (step 8, above).

There, now you're better protected than what LifeLock can offer, and the money you would have spent on them is more wisely invested.

Posted by: burkhartmic   Posted on: 01/22/08 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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