Why LifeLock might not be the identity theft monitoring service for you

Do you trust LifeLock to help protect your identity? The answer to that question can be just as crucial as the measures you take to monitor your identity on your own.

With online theft as active as it is, many are trying to cash in by offering protection against hackers. But you’ve got to have a keen eye to pick the ones that are actually going to help you out. LifeLock is one of the most widely-seen internet security companies in the country – but then again, LifeLock has a record that makes its viability somewhat questionable.

Oakland news station KTVU recently reported the local story of a woman whose identity was stolen after signing up with LifeLock. An outside source managed to apply for a loan in her name without so much as an alert going to the woman in question. I’m sure that person is going to be more cautious with the identity theft monitoring service they choose next time.

But it’s not that surprising this happened, given that the company has what you may call “a checkered past.” Several years ago, LifeLock’s CEO Todd Davis infamously began a shocking ad campaign that made his Social Security number public. The idea was that LifeLock’s system was so secure that there was nothing anyone would be able to do with it and the information would be “useless to a criminal.” There was also a $1 million dollar “guarantee” that clients would be safe.

Want to guess what happened?

Davis was jabbed a reported total of 13 times by thieves who had a field day, opening new accounts left and right. On top of that, the company was fined by the Federal Trade Commission for $12 million dollars in 2010 for false advertising.

The lesson is pretty clear. Don’t trust big promises: look for real know-how instead. Visit my identity theft monitoring service review here.

John Sileo is an identity theft expert and keynote speaker on privacy, identity and reputation protection. His clients included the Department of Defense, Pfizer, and Homeland Security. See his recent media appearances on 60 Minutes, Anderson Cooper and Fox Business.

Posted by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo in Identity Theft Prevention and tagged "Identity Theft, data security, digital security, id theft services, Identity Theft Services.