LifeLock, et al

[David Ragan]

Anyone have any experience with this kinda thing?

We haven't been ripped off like this yet. I got the $30/mo for wife and myself, and the $10/mo for mother in law.

The more you pay, the better?

wife says this AM that Nationwide Insurance has this on their policy with us-homeowners, etc. I'm calling them this week and see what the deal is.

We don't own a business, or other high profile stuff; just regular folks who want to keep whats ours.

[George Bokros]

I also have identity theft coverage on my homeowners insurance also. Mine only helps you with the process of getting all the bad stuff cleared up but does nothing for actually alerting you of any suspicious activity.

Let us know what type of protection your homeowners insurance provides. I have thought about LifeLock and other such protection but cost is always the concern.

[Brian Tymchak]

I have read somewhere but not actually researched it yet that you can freeze your credit access with the big 3 credit bureaus, or at least set it up so that they have to have your approval for any new requests. I think that is pretty much the same as what Lifelock gives you and I believe its free.

If anyone knows or does that research I'd like to know myself.

[Wade Lippman]

I have read somewhere but not actually researched it yet that you can freeze your credit access with the big 3 credit bureaus, or at least set it up so that they have to have your approval for any new requests. I think that is pretty much the same as what Lifelock gives you and I believe its free.

If anyone knows or does that research I'd like to know myself.

I found this on line
1. If you wanted to sleep a little bit better at night, you could put a freeze on your credit files with the three major credit bureaus, Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. This would prevent any new accounts from being opened without your expressed permission, indicated by providing your 10-digit PIN that you're given when you freeze the files. Remember that if a company needs to access your credit file for a new account, insurance or employment, it could take up to three business days to unfreeze it and allow access.
Yes, this costs $5 per file per person.
A credit freeze does provide you with additional protection in a case such as this, when you know your name, Social Security number, birthdate and other personal information have been stolen.
2. If you go the freeze route, you have to contact each of the bureaus individually.
Equifax: http://www.equifax.com/help/credit-freeze/en_cp or call 1-800-685-1111.

TransUnion: https://freeze.transunion.com (https://freeze.transunion.com)or call 1-888-909-8872
Experian: https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html or call 1-888-397-3742.
3. If you opt for the credit freeze, you should do one for your wife too. You do have separate Social Security numbers and credit files, after all.

I have AllClear ID for $15/month. It notifies me if my credits reports are accessed, so I have a chance to do something about it if it is fraudulent. I got a years subscription after the HomeDepot hack last year. I am not sure if I will renew it.

[Charles Wiggins]

As you can see from my signature I am a big Dave Ramsey fan, so I have what he endorses which is ID Experts through Zander Insurance (http://www.zanderins.com/idtheft/idtheft.aspx). It's different that credit monitoring services like Lifelock.

As others pointed out, you can (and should) freeze your credit yourself fairly easily and cheaply, and if you don't have a bazillion accounts you can (and should) log in and check for unauthorized charges a couple times a week, but that kind of stuff is not going to stop all forms of ID theft. How's credit monitoring going to keep someone from using your name and driver's license number or SSN? What if someone goes to the hospital using your insurance info? Not only do you start getting bills but your medical records are all pooched up.

The ID Experts coverage is to clean up the mess after you've been a victim - that's where people get stung, because by law, you're not responsible for fraudulent purchases, debts, etc. Where victims really lose out is all the TIME and EFFORT and MONEY it takes to convince the various parties that it wasn't you and make sure they restore your funds, fix your credit report, etc., etc., etc. If you're a victim you get a caseworker that does all that crap for you so you can get back to living your life.

[George Bokros]

Sounds to me that ID Experts does is the same as what my homeowners with Westfield Insurance does.

[John Meyer]

What I read is the credit monitoring software companies don't stop much of anything. I have one that is free through another source. I just receive an update if someone accessed my credit report, which is probably too late if it is malicious. Maybe they will help you clean things up, but I am not too sure. I try to check my reports regularly, use passwords that would be difficult to figure out, keep them stored in a password program like keepass, and rarely type any password in anything I use online. Maybe I have been lucky, but I would not rely too much on those paid programs. They only seem to monitor rather than prevent. I f someone has something better, I would be interested.
John

[Wade Lippman]

What I read is the credit monitoring software companies don't stop much of anything. I have one that is free through another source. I just receive an update if someone accessed my credit report, which is probably too late if it is malicious. Maybe they will help you clean things up, but I am not too sure. I try to check my reports regularly, use passwords that would be difficult to figure out, keep them stored in a password program like keepass, and rarely type any password in anything I use online. Maybe I have been lucky, but I would not rely too much on those paid programs. They only seem to monitor rather than prevent. I f someone has something better, I would be interested.
John
You are missing the concept. If you find out that someone has drawn a credit report you can intervene before the card is actually issued or the loan is approved. You save a lot of aggravation. The small chance that it will ever happen might not be worth $200 a year, but the concept is sound.

[Bert Kemp]

Hmmm Now I have all clear also because of the homedepot thing , are they suppose to notify you if someone looks at those. I just bought a new M/c and got credit because when I went to look at the bike and decided I wanted it they wanted a down payment, well of course I had no money with me and I had no credit cards with me so they said we'll check your credit, well of course they came back 20 mins later and said no problem bikes yours you'll get a statement in the mail. Well I went home and with drew the money and paid for the bike next day but mky point is I never heard from ALL CLEAR that someone had checked my credit history.

[Jerome Stanek]

Why are there so many complaints about lifeloc.

[Wade Lippman]

mky point is I never heard from ALL CLEAR that someone had checked my credit history.

I did hear from them twice when I should have. I didn't when my wife got a new CC the other day, but it turns out they only cover me.
Maybe your problem is something like that.

[Myk Rian]

We got a Lifelock mailing the other day. My name and address were all over it.
We shred our names and other info on every piece of mail we get. Others don't. They just toss that stuff in the trash or recycle bin, without tearing out names and other ID. So if people toss the Lifelock ad, that's a starting point for ID theft.

Our CC got jacked a few years ago. They put 14 thousand on it in 1.5 days, from 4 widespread areas of the state.
The CC company ate the loss. Didn't cost me a cent, and I didn't need Lifelock. My Wife keeps an eagle eye on our accounts.

[Bryan Rocker]

You might want to go see what Clark Howard has to say about them......

[Rich Riddle]

You can call Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion independently and have the service done for free, no cost, nada.

[Brian Elfert]

We got a Lifelock mailing the other day. My name and address were all over it.
We shred our names and other info on every piece of mail we get. Others don't. They just toss that stuff in the trash or recycle bin, without tearing out names and other ID. So if people toss the Lifelock ad, that's a starting point for ID theft.


If someone wants to find out your name and address there are a lot easier ways to find it than digging through your trash or recycling. There are dozens of public databases out there with your name and address easily available. If you have a land line and don't have an unpublished number I can easily find your name and address. Heck, if you own a house your county website probably has all of your property information available online to the public. Locally, they even list the initial amount of your mortgage online.

You can shred anything with your name and address on it if it makes you feel better, but it is unlikely to stop any ID theft. I only shred the checks from credit card companies and anything with my credit card or SS number on it.

[Rich Riddle]

If someone wants to find out your name and address there are a lot easier ways to find it than digging through your trash or recycling. There are dozens of public databases out there with your name and address easily available. If you have a land line and don't have an unpublished number I can easily find your name and address. Heck, if you own a house your county website probably has all of your property information available online to the public. Locally, they even list the initial amount of your mortgage online.

You can shred anything with your name and address on it if it makes you feel better, but it is unlikely to stop any ID theft. I only shred the checks from credit card companies and anything with my credit card or SS number on it.

Exactly correct. That's why you can get so many mortgage refinance offers. They know the initial amount of the mortgage on you house. If you paid it off earlier, that's different. But if you are like many and only pay the monthly payment, they just use a calculator to tell the remaining balance. Many people shred every piece of mail with an address and name on it though.

[William Payer]

You can call Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion independently and have the service done for free, no cost, nada.



About 20 years ago the company I was working for had a fire at the main office. During the clean up/restoration some personnel files went missing.We were all notified and freezes on our credit scores were made at all 3 credit bureaus. Fast forward about 6 months, I was buying a snow blower from a power equipment dealer and signed up for their 90 day same as cash offer. When the salesman checked my credit score he was told of the freeze and I had to return home and call the credit company from my home phone number to give permission.

For free, or a minimal cost, the credit freezes are a good tool.

[Greg R Bradley]

Freezing your credit reports is the best protection. Lifelock is pretty much a scam but then so are many services being sold this way.

I shred everything with my name on it but know it isn't really important, it just is one more thing that helps a bit.

[Myk Rian]

You can shred anything with your name and address on it if it makes you feel better, but it is unlikely to stop any ID theft.
I know that. We shred everything because we recycle. But when Lifelock puts your name and address all over their junk mailings, it pisses me off.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

This looks legit...
312591
A local gas station/convenience store. You cannot tell me they are doing things on the up and up with all these credit card machines.

[Pat Barry]

This looks legit...
312591
A local gas station/convenience store. You cannot tell me they are doing things on the up and up with all these credit card machines.
Wow! Whats up with that?

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I suspect she is skimming cards, and then each machine is hooked up to some offshore account. She can charge to multiple offshore accounts to make it harder to trace. I can think of no legit excuse for it.