Why Protecting Your Identity is Not Necessarily Free
According to the FTC, an estimated 9 million Americans are affected each year by identity theft. Although the federal government has made it possible for each citizen to protect their identity by initiating free fraud alerts, placing their name and contact information on “do not call” or mail lists, and accessing free credit reports, many individuals do not realize that they must continuously request these “free” services. When taking into account the amount of time it takes to repeatedly request these “free” services and the risks involved in forgetting to put these protective measures in place, “free” can turn into thousands of dollars of financial ruin and thousands of hours spent trying to restore one’s good name and credit. When it comes down to it, if time equals money, then nothing is free when it comes to protecting your identity. Fortunately, though, there is an economic way to protect your identity and prevent identity theft through a company called LifeLock. LifeLock’s Identity Theft Prevention services can help you protect your identity and prevent identity theft in six valuable ways.
1. Fraud Alerts - Fraud Alerts are one way to protect your identity. Although placing a fraud alert on your credit file with each of the 3 major credit bureaus is free, in order to benefit from having a fraud alert on your credit file, you must request a new alert every 90 days. LifeLock takes the time and effort out of remembering to request fraud alerts by requesting these alerts for you every 90 days. Through this service, LifeLock ensures that there are no lapses in Fraud Alerts on your credit report.
2. Do Not Call or Mail Lists - Another way to protect your identity from being stolen is by removing your name from solicitation lists such as pre-approved credit card mailing lists and telemarketing lists. Although this can be done by anyone for free, this must be done on an annual basis. LifeLock takes the worry out of keeping up with the various numbers to call and places to write to have your name removed from solicitation lists each year by actively removing your name from such lists on an annual basis.
3. Credit Reports - Checking your credit report is a good way to check to see if you have had any unauthorized loans or credit cards opened in your name. Although the federal government has made it a law for you to receive a free credit report from each of the 3 credit agencies yearly, the only way to ensure that your credit is checked all year long is to request a credit report from one of the credit agencies every 4 months. LifeLock takes the time and effort out of remembering to pull your credit report by sending you a copy of your credit report four times a year.
4. WalletLock - If you really want to protect your identity, don’t lose your wallet. Of course, that is easier said than done. If you have ever lost your wallet, chances are you have experienced a sense of fear and panic and thought, “What was in my wallet and how do I stop someone from using my credit cards?” With LifeLock’s WalletLock system, there is no need to feel fear or panic if you lose your wallet. Through WalletLock you will be able to identify what was in your wallet and will be assigned a WalletLock specialist who will help you contact each credit card company, banking institution, and any state and federal agencies who issue driver’s licenses, etc. to cancel the accounts and to begin the process of reinstating missing documents.
5. Identity Monitoring - With LifeLock’s eRecon and TrueAddress systems, potential identity theft threats are detected and eliminated through searching criminal websites and nationwide databases. eRecon protects your identity through searching criminal websites for the selling or trading of your social security number, credit card numbers, driver’s license number, email address, etc. and notifies you if such use is discovered. TrueAddress works by detecting any change of address information in relation to your name that occurs on nationwide databases. You will be alerted if a criminal tries to steal your mail or obtain your financial information by attempting to change your address. LifeLock also ensures that thieves do not open new bank accounts in a subscriber’s name by monitoring check systems.
6. Recovering Your Identity - LifeLock understands that there is no way to prevent all forms of identity theft from occurring. Therefore, LifeLock offers a $1,000,000 total service guarantee if someone happens to discover a weakness in their system and uses it to steal your identity. If necessary, LifeLock will provide attorneys, investigators, accountants, case managers, etc. to restore your good name and, if you lose money as a result of the theft, LifeLock will reimburse you the amount of money lost.
The decision to protect your identity and the way in which you go about protecting your identity is completely up to you. There are ways to protect your identity which will only cost you in terms of time and effort; however, there is no guarantee that you will recover your money and good name if your identity is stolen. Then there’s LifeLock’s Identity Protection and Theft Prevention services that will save you time and effort in protecting your identity and preventing identity theft and LifeLock comes with up to a million dollar guarantee to recover your money and restore your good name if your identity is stolen.
