Thursday, March 6, 2008

LifeLock...the security system for your wallet...


I subscribed to Lifelock last week. I've been meaning to post about it but I forgot. Today I got notices from all three credit bureaus that a fraud alert has been placed on both my husband and my accounts, which triggered me to remember to blog about it.

Here's what LifeLock does: (Exact text from their site)

1. First, we ask the credit bureaus to set free fraud alerts on your behalf. Usually, this is done through our automated systems and the alerts are set within an hour. From time to time there may be a hitch and we have to do the first one manually, usually because they have a different address on file for you. If this happens, we'll tell you right away and do what needs to be done to get the alerts set. (In case you're wondering, we don't charge anything more for this and our Total Service Guarantee is still in effect from day one.) This was done within the first couple of days of signing up.

2. Second, unless your circumstances change and you tell us not to, every 90 days or so we ask the credit bureaus to do it again. You can do this for free if you'd prefer, but we make sure it gets done and that it gets done right. That's where the oil change analogy we were talking about kicks in. This is awesome, because I wouldn't remember to do this!

3. Third, we request that your name be removed from pre-approved credit card and junk mail lists and we keep making the requests as they expire. Statistics show that this is one of the many ways that thieves hijack identities. Plus, all that mail is just so irritating. Many of our members tell us that this alone is worth the price. If you are a do-it-yourselfer, you can do this for free, but why not let us do it for you? Boy do I love this one. Now if they would only do it with the telemarketers!

4. Fourth, we order your free credit reports on your behalf from the major credit bureaus and they are sent directly to you. We do this every year. You can also do this yourself for free (Pennzoil anyone?). Once again, this is a nice feature.

5. Fifth, hassling with lost or stolen wallets is no longer a problem with WalletLock™. If ever your wallet goes missing, just give us a call - anytime, anywhere - and a WalletLock specialist will help you 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 travelers checks - at no additional cost. I added to the safeguarding of this by copying all the cards that are in my wallet. So if this should happen, I know exactly what was in my wallet. They don't recover cash or pictures, but I don't carry enough cash for it to be life threatening.

6. Last, but certainly not least: If your Identity is stolen while you are a member of LifeLock, 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. I hope I never need this, but I'm glad it's there.

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. 1,000,000.00 is plenty. :)


This service cost us $198 for both my husband and myself. We feel this was money well-spent. In an age when there is so many opportunities for identity theft, we will sleep a bit better knowing we have this protection.

6 comments:

Canadian Saver said...

Sharon, is that just a one-time fee? I should see if they are available in Canada or if we have something similar...

Glad you found something you're comfortable with!

Anonymous said...

Hi Sharon,
No I'm not in RCIA this year as I've only "officially" begun this journey into the Catholic church about a month ago. I say officially because I thought about it for a long time but never stepped foot into Mass until 3 weeks ago. Since then though I've been doing a lot of reading and can't wait to sign up for RCIA next year!
Sorry this is a bit off topic of the post I am responding on!
However that Lifelock service seems pretty snazzy. I temporarily lost my wallet at school two weeks ago and it was the scariest experience of my life. Luckily I got it back the next day and everything was there but just the thought of all that information being vulnerable was enough to leave me literally crying on a bathroom floor in my school library! That was not a good day at all!
I will have to look into this service!
I'm adding you to my list of blogs to read!

Noel Larson said...

Sharon the only thing there that can't be done by working with the credit bureaus is the insurance.

Not saying that LifeLock is a scam or anything, but if you can spend the time to do it, the insurance is the real benefit. $198 is a bit steep for $1,000,000 credit insurance, but you have to weigh that vs the value in your mind.

Just an fyi

Sharon said...

racerx,
What do you mean insurance? I'm thinking that the fraud alert on the credit agencies would handle that. They do more than offer insurance on theft. They are also doing all the lay work to keeping scams away. We'll see how it goes this year, if we can do all that work ourselves (after I figure it all out) I will not renew next year.

Sharon said...

Hot pink giraffe (love the name!),
you will probably end up knowing more than me once you go through the RCIA! :)

Thanks for adding me to your list, I will enjoy your blog as well!

Sharon said...

CS,
It is for the year. It renews every year. We will have to see if it is worth it this year!