Weighing the Pros and Cons of LifeLock
In a perfect world we would not have to worry about the threat of someone stealing our identity and ruining our credit. Unfortunately, we live in an imperfect world. Fortunately, there are services available, such as LifeLock’s Identity Theft Protection Services, which work to protect your identity. Although there are pro’s and con’s to using such services, LifeLock’s pros greatly outweigh their cons.
For example, one pro of using LifeLock for the entire family’s protection is that LifeLock offers child identity theft protection services. LifeLock is, at this time, the only company to offer credit checks and monitoring services for a member’s child who is under the age of 15. LifeLock recognizes the growing number of child identity thefts and is leading the market in providing this needed service.
Another pro to using LifeLock is that LifeLock works to prevent identity theft instead of merely protecting members from the possibility of becoming a victim of such theft. While most companies provide identity theft monitoring services, LifeLock’s services are “pro”active in preventing identity theft from occurring in the first place. LifeLock’s identity prevention services include detecting when a member’s address has been illegally changed in national databases through their TrueAddress services; placing fraud alerts on your credit files; and monitoring the internet for black market activity regarding the illegal use of credit card numbers and social security numbers through their eRecon services.
Pro number Three: LifeLock reduces the amount of pre-approved credit card offers that come in the mail and the number of telemarketing calls received, which are prime ways for identity thieves to steal your personal identification information. This service makes it extremely difficult for a thief to steal identifying information from via a mail box or trash can. The reduction in the amount of junk mail you will receive is certainly, in and of itself, a Pro! However, the fact that you will not get tricked into revealing your identity is actually the Pro we are excited about.
The only con that could possibly be counted against LifeLock is that they do not perform daily scans of a member’s credit report as do some identity theft companies. However, LifeLock does pull credit reports annually and mail them to their members for review. In addition, LifeLock’s fraud alerts can immediately discover any unauthorized request for credit or loans and prevent fraud from ever making it to their credit report.
Finally, one of the best pros of using LifeLock is their $1,000,000 total service guarantee. Because thieves will inevitably find “a way around the system,” there is really no way to ensure that one’s identity will not be stolen. However, LifeLock does ensure that, if an individual’s identity is stolen while they are a member of LifeLock, LifeLock will provide attorneys, investigators, accountants, case managers, etc. to restore the individual’s good name and credit. In addition, if the individual loses money as a result of the theft, LifeLock will reimburse the amount lost.
When deciding which identity theft protection company is the right one for you and your family, it is important to weigh the pros and cons of each services provider. With several pros and hardly a con, LifeLock’s identity theft protection services will certainly meet your identity theft prevention needs, and then some. Unfortunately, identity theft is always going to occur. Fortunately, there’s LifeLock.
