Life Lock

Though most everyone knows that identity theft is a big problem, not everyone agrees that the best way to deal with it is to enroll in an identity theft protection program like the one offered by Life Lock.

Providing a service
Among the criticisms that some people have of identity theft protection services like Life Lock is that they charge people to do things they could do themselves for free—and they’re right. Life Lock offers to do those things for you, so you know they get done. It’s not enough to know how to protect yourself and your family from identity theft; a lot of people know how to wash a car or change their oil, but it’s a lot easier to pay someone else for the service. And in the long run, it’s a lot less expensive to pay someone else, that to leave it undone because it never gets checked off your to-do list.

These are the services Life Lock provides:

• Contacting the credit-reporting companies to place fraud alerts on your credit report. (Fraud alerts are for anybody who has been, or thinks they may become a victim of identity theft.)
• Renewing the fraud alerts every 90 days when they expire.
• Ordering a free annual copy of your credit report.
• Adding your name to the opt-out registries to eliminate or reduce the number of pre-approved credit card offers and phone solicitation calls you receive.
• Placing calls, filling out paperwork, and assisting in all ways possible to replace the documents from a lost or stolen wallet. This includes, canceling and replacing credit cards and bank cards, replacing your driver’s license, Social Security card, insurance cards, checkbook, passport, visas and traveler’s checks.

Statistics versus scare tactics
Another criticism is that the providers of identity theft protection use scare tactics to frighten people into enrolling in their services. Anyone who watches the news or surfs the internet doesn’t need a scare campaign. The facts speak for themselves, without any hyperbole or exaggeration.

The US Department of Justice refers to identity theft as the number one crime concern. They also report that identity theft has become a major focus of organized crime activity. The following statistics come from The Identity Theft Resource Center and the Federal Trade Commission:

• Total number of victims: In 2006, 15 million Americans were victims of identity theft.
• Total number of data breach exposures: Since January 2005, nearly 225,000,000 records containing sensitive personal information have been lost or exposed because of data breaches.
• Per person financial impact: Most victims had very little or no direct financial loss; others had as much as $5,000.
• Per person resolution time for new account identity theft: Median time spent was 10 hours; others spent as much 1,200 hours.
• Psychological impact: Victims commonly describe emotional impact of identity theft as being similar to a violent physical battering or rape. They also express a loss of trust, security, and fear for their personal safety.

Not everybody needs Life Lock; some people actually enjoy changing their car’s oil.

To learn about LifeLock the nations leader in Identity Theft Protection services and receive
30 days free and pay only $9 a month click on the enroll now button below. Use promo code DEFENSE to receive your discount on service.