Rating: 
Price: Basic 10 dollars & Ultimate 25 Dollars
More and more people are turning to credit theft protection companies to help them prevent identity from occurring. Lifelock is the leader in the field of consumer credit fraud protection, but are they really worth paying for, here is our review.
I and many others first heard of Lifelock after their CEO Todd Davis started to give out his own social security number of tv shows, the radio and advertisements. He wanted to show the world that he was confident his identity or credit card information could never be stolen even if he publicized it. Why? To show that he had complete faith in Life Lock protection which he was promoting. It was also a pretty smart way to get some free publicity.
But promotions aside, is this service actually worth paying for?
How It Helps Protects You
Fraud Alerts on credit reports- LifeLock puts fraud alerts on their credit reports. These alerts terminate after 90 days, but the service keeps on renewing them. In recent times, a judge ruled that LifeLock is not permitted to send requests of fraud alerts to Experian, one of the major credit bureaus. This took place after Experian complained the automatic requests were an expense to the company. LifeLock still indirectly places fraud alerts on Experian credit reports because the law necessitates that any of the three credit bureaus must alert the other two about a consumer fraud alert.
Free Credit Report Orders- Although you can order your own credit reports from AnnualCreditReport.com, LifeLock will do it for you automatically. I often forget to do this and many people don’t even bother or know about it. Some people complain that something like this can be done for free and there is no need for any paid services, but for many people who don’t have the time or just don’t know how, it can be really handy.
Helps protect against dumpster divers and mail thieves- By using automatic opt-outs they will help you defend against these types of crime. There is also the added benefit that you get less garbage mail. They will also help protect you from mail identification theft, by alerting you if your mail address changes.
Various online safeguards- Nowadays the biggest danger from online fraudsters and thieves comes on the internet. LifeLock gives you online access to a personalized dashboard showing current threats.
The 1 million guarantee-If you become a victim of identity theft while a member of LifeLock because of a failure in their service, they will help you fix it, up to $1 million. (Restrictions apply. See LifeLock.com for details).
There are also additional benefits including: assistance in retrieving contents of a stolen or lost wallet and more.
What About the Disadvantages?
More of a hassle applying online for various credit services- You may not be able to use some online credit card services because of the extra verifications needed when a lifelock member. This is great when it comes to overall protection, but it can be a hassle when you really want to use a specific service.
Can make bank application processes longer- If you are trying to get credit approval at a bank it will probably take longer because of the stronger verficiation process. Again this is great because it is less likely anyone will ever be able to successful steal from you, but it can make these applications more of a hassle.
You cannot monitor credit year round- Lifelock credit reports are placed once a year and for the rest of the year you won’t know you credit score/rating.
Some things can be done for free- With a little leg work yourself you can do some of the things Lifelock does free. For example ordering your annual credit report or opting out of pre-approved credit card offers.
Rate, Contract, and Termination
There are two basic packages you can choose from:
1) Standard (Price $10/month or $110 year)- Includes basic protection as descriped above (under “How it helps protects you”) and the 1 million dollar guarantee.
2) Ultimate (Price $25/month or $275 years)- Adds 24/7 online access to your monthly TransUnion credit score; Surveillance of unregulated global networks and file-sharing sites; Daily monitoring of all three Credit bureau reports; Checking and Savings account application alerts.
It is pretty easy to sign up to, just go to Lifelock.com and submit your name, address, social security number and payment information. However, to terminate the contract you have to call up and cancel.
Our Conclusion
If you can afford an extra 110-275 dollars a year for then Lifelock can definitely help you sleep better at night. All in all it is a pretty good service which will help defend you against certain types of identity theft and we would recommend it to anyone who can afford it.