Story Published: Dec 3, 2008 at 6:36 PM PST
Story Updated: Dec 3, 2008 at 7:08 PM PST
By Herb Weisbaum
How much would you pay to protect yourself from identity theft?
A company called LifeLock sells this peace of mind for just $110 a year, and it backs up its service with a $1 million guarantee.
But can the company deliver? I decided to find out.
The pitch is mighty convincing. It involves Todd Davis, the CEO of LifeLock, giving out his social security number. Consumer groups say these ads give potential consumers a false sense of security."
And I think it's misleading to imply to people that this service, the LifeLock service, is so good that you can be irresponsible, totally irresponsible and show your social security number all over the place," said Jeff Blyskal with Consumer Reports.
I met with Davis earlier this year. As expected, he had no problem sharing his social security number. I asked him to explain how he can prevent identity theft from happening.
"The primary front line of defense that we put in place is with fraud alerts that we place with the major credit bureaus - Equifax, Experian, TransUnion - and renew those for you every 90 days," he said.
Fraud alerts are designed to reduce the chances someone will steal your ID and open an account in your name. But they're not perfect. That's where LifeLock's $1 million guarantee comes in.
"If the service fails for any reason, we actually go use our expertise, hire whoever we need to hire, cover all loses, all expenses up to $1 million dollars so the victim is not out time or money because of this fast-growing crime of identity theft," Davis said.
Cover all losses? That's not what LifeLock says on its Web site. The terms and conditions clearly state the company is only responsible for failure of its service. It will not pay you "for any loss you incur."
And here's one more thing the ads don't tell you. Davis himself was a victim of identity theft even after using the LifeLock service."
A fraud alert does not make you bullet-proof to identity theft. So there was an individual who was able to go out in Fort Worth, Texas, get a $500 pay day loan because the issuing pay day loan company did not use one of the major credit bureaus," he said.
Keep in mind, LifeLock's guarantee wouldn't cover Davis in this case because he "unnecessarily" shared his social security number -- a violation of LifeLock policies.
One more thing I learned: at least eight lawsuits were filed against the company this year. The major claim is that LifeLock makes "false or misleading statements" about its services. Davis dismisses the legal action. He says he has 1.3 million happy customers and that anyone who has invoked the guarantee has been satisfied.
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Call me at 808-645-0243 for information on how to protect you and your family from identity theft. Our Identity Theft Shield is the only product that provides monitoring and restoration benefits to its members. Visit www.mplss.com for more information. Happy Holidays!!!
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7 comments:
What I find disturbing is the fact that competitors of LifeLock continue to perpetuate dirty politics and smear campaigns. I believe, as many others, that this type of marketing only serves to harm the integrity of a company. Take the lead from a successful company like LifeLock -and tell us why your product is better -not why you believe their product is not up to your standards! Please the problem is id theft -not big bad LifeLock!
This is a lot of bunk. LifeLock has never claimed that it can stop identity theft. The company's service is designed to make identity theft more difficult and help you restore your credit and deal with pissed off merchants if you do become a victim.
What I find most disturbing about this type of article is that I have yet to see one where a customer of LifeLock has complained about the company's services after becoming an ID theft victim. Could that be because none of them are complaining? I would presume so.
My family and I are protected through SOLUS Identity Theft Protection and we are very pleased. They offer the 24/7 credit monitoring, a restoration service that does everything on your behalf in the event you become a victim, a $25K expense reimbursement and legal and emotional care services. Another feature that I really like about their program is that as a Platinum member you get unlimited access to your credit report. Oh, and when you call SOLUS, you actually get to talk to a real human being! You can check their website out-tons of great info and tips!
First off you can be proactive against identity theft with credit monitoring. You should also keep an eye on banking accounts and credit card statements. Read what's in the envelopes you get in the mail sometimes they have information you want. Shred your information when you can don't have a shredder how about a pair of scissors or just tear up the paper.
It's really whether or not you need the security blanket or are you willing to keep up with your information yourself?
No need to get mad. ID theft is a major problem that won't go away. Monitoring is important but identity restoration is the key. It takes experts to properly restore the identity of a victim.
Hi,
As part of our research I read your article with interest.
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Check out our free trial at
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Thanks
Brian
Beware of Solus ID. They are a scam. I purchased their Platinum Protection 2 months ago and they have failed to provide me with service OR a refund despite numerous phone calls. All I ever got from them were excuses.
http://windworker.us/Scams/index.html
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