Are you looking for a way to save money on your LifeLock membership? We offer a LifeLock coupon code that gives you 30 days free and then you pay only $9 per month. Use LifeLock coupon code DEFENSE to receive this discount. Why enroll in LifeLock at all? LifeLock has recently received an award for “Best Overall Read the rest of this entry »

There are literally hundreds of thousands of people who have been exposed to a data breach in recent months. Data breach protection is on the minds of many. Even though you may protect your own data, you might be concerned with protecting yourself in the event that your data was involved in a company data breach.

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As if having your financial life stolen right from under you wasn’t enough, now we need to introduce the concept of medical identity theft to our blog readers. An example of the way medical identity theft affects individuals is a New York Times feature story of Brandon Sharp. Brandon is a oil and gas company manager in his late 30s and is fairly healthy. He has never had to visit an emergency room and yet lately was made aware that he owes thousands of dollars in emergency-service bills! After getting a current copy of his credit report, Brandon found that he had collection notices from all over the US.
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According to their website, in March of this year, online retailer Batteries.com learned of a hacker that had access to their customer records. A customer reported to them that there was unauthorized activity regarding a credit account and the company launched an investigation. Records that were potentially accessible were names, addresses and credit card information. Read the rest of this entry »

Many people decide to choose a website password that is easy for them to remember and use the same password for access to all of the sites that they regularly visit. However, that is not a safe practice and can end up costing you, if you are not careful. Many experts recommend that you choose a strong password. What does that mean? First, don’t use the obvious in your password – like your first or last name, the names of your children or your pet. Second, don’t pick a year to include as the number. Although these are easier to remember, they are also a set up for trouble. Dates and names are out and using some sort of “system” is in. Some random set of letters, numbers or symbols works much better. Also, the longer, the better. Microsoft recommends having 14 or more characters! Read the rest of this entry »

LifeLock has worked long and hard to get where they are today. With a phenomenal identity theft protection service to offer, over 1.5 million customers, and a CEO who still proudly displays his own social security number with confidence, it was well worth the time and effort. Now, the company is being recognized again as a finalist at the 2009 American Business Awards. LifeLock won several awards in 2008 and this year they are finalists in 18 categories. What an accomplishment! “Stevie” Award winners will be announced at a formal ceremony on Monday, June 22, 2009 in New York City.

The nomination categories include: Read the rest of this entry »

A new deal has just been sealed between LifeLock and the Phoenix Mercury. For the first time ever, team players will be wearing a “branded” jersey during games. In this case, the jerseys will feature LifeLock. Also, WNBA season ticket holders will receive a complimentary LifeLock membership for one year, a $110 value.

“I’m extremely proud to have LifeLock associated with the Phoenix Mercury and the WNBA,” said Davis. “While this partnership allows us to be the first organization to support a team and league in a unique, pioneering way, it’s also a natural fit for LifeLock to align with WNBA to reach its loyal and passionate fan base.” Read the rest of this entry »

It is getting depressing to see all of the news stories about identity theft. When it comes to writing a story for the blog, there are just too many out there to choose from. This really emphasizes the fact that getting identity theft protection is almost a must. Why? Majority of those who become identity thieves did not have to become victims. By signing up for a service that would protect them if someone steals and uses their social security number to apply for credit, they could have been alerted of the problem long before the damage was done. This is not every case, but many could have been prevented.

This is where we urge you to consider signing up for a service that will protect you and your family, from becoming a victim of this fast growing crime. If you are a parent, you certainly don’t want your children to become victims, but they can, just because they have a social security number. You and your spouse can too.

Not all services will cover children, however, LifeLock does offer their services for children as well. Take a look at their website for detailed information and answers to frequently asked questions about buying such a service. Use our promotion code “DEFENSE” when enrolling and receive a 30-day free trial and a discount on your membership. Let others you care about know about the service and promotion as well. You would hate to hear that they became a victim and didn’t know these type services were available.

This story comes from MSNBC. It involves a Facebook user whose daughter notices that his Facebook status alerted all of his friends that he was in “urgent need of help.” Friends began calling to check on him and he then realized that his Facebook account had been hacked into. His Facebook friends received an email that he was robbed at gunpoint while traveling and needed money to get back home. One friend told him that he sent him $1,200 via Western Union. The only problem—this person never initiated the email or told his friends he was in trouble. Due to his face being associated with the account, friends thought that this was legit and wanted to help him out. He could not log in to his Facebook account to change the status or stop the emails, criminals locked him out of his own account! He could not even use his wife’s account to update his “wall” due to the criminals removing her from his friend list.

This is called the “Nigerian” or “419” scam or ploy. Criminals are using social networking websites, like Facebook, to hack into personal accounts and get countless friends to fall for it being the original account creator. Here is a quote the criminals used in the Facebook email: “Can you just get some money to us,” the imposter implored to one of ****’s friends. “I tried Amex and it’s not going through. … I’ll refund you as soon as am back home. Let me know please.” The victim’s picture was included with the email, so many thought this was legit. As mentioned earlier, a concerned friend/coworker sent $1,200 to the criminals, thinking they were the Facebook user.

The scary part for the victim was that he could not call Facebook to alert them of the scam and could not log in to stop it. Facebook admits that with millions of users, they do not have a phone number in place to contact them. They are reportedly making changes to increase security for the website.

The victim thinks that the criminals might have gotten his password by using a phishing email. These are emails that mimic those sent by the real website, but they are a “scam” copy made by those seeking your personal information.

All they can suggest at this time is that you be suspicious of anyone who asks you for money on Facebook. Call or contact them outside of Facebook before believing such a plea. Also, use different log in names and passwords for the various websites that you have to log into.

After reading his story on the CBSNews website, we had to relate this sad incident of identity theft. This is the story of John Harrision, a salesman from Connecticut. Harrison was victimized back in 2001 and when this story was released back in 2005, he still had a long way to go.  At that time, he had reportedly spent over 2,000 hours trying to clear his good name after having his identity stolen. “I had to come up with a filing system,” says Harrison of his efforts to clear his name. Read the rest of this entry »