Well, it could also be a must have for anyone really. Have you seen those commercials where this guy puts his social security number on the side of a truck and it drives through a major city? It is his real social security number and he is not crazy. The guy is Todd Davis and his social security number is 457-55-5462. That is his real social security number.
Go ahead try and open an account using that number. You won’t be able to because Todd Davis is the Director and CEO and Co-Founder of LifeLock, Inc. And yes, he is also a member who uses the service. LifeLock is a service that keeps your identity protected. With identity theft so easy to do and such a hassle to fix a service like lifelock is a must have.
I admit it, I watched the commercials and though, “yeah, yeah big deal.” I then went to the website and did some research. Here are some of the things that you get with LifeLock.
For a service fee of $10 a month or $110 a year (for an adult) and your kids under age 16 are only $2.50 a month. And kids are the most vulnerable, especially college kids, to identity theft.
LifeLock has a total service guarantee of up to $1,000,000. Here is how it works, if you are a member of LifeLock you will be reimbursed direct expenses that you incur if your identity is stolen and they will pay professionals to help resolve your problems.
When you enroll in LifeLock they will contact all credit bureaus and set a fraud alerts on your behalf. You can do this yourself manually but will you remember to do this every 90 days. That is another service of lifelock, every 90 days that fraud alert is updated. When you apply for credit the creditor looks to the credit bureau to see if you qualify, if there is a fraud alert on your account then that creditor is obligated to contact you and determine proof if identity. If you are not the person applying for credit you can put a stop to the fraudulent activity.
LifeLock’s best feature, I think, is that they can get you removed from all those pre-approved mailing lists. This is a major way that identity thieves try and steal your identity. I take care of the mail in our house and I have to shred a bunch of credit card offers on a near daily basis. What a waste. The cost of enrollment pretty much takes care of itself in the removal of that daily aggravation.
You also get free credit reports sent to you each year from the credit bureaus. This is automatically taken care of by LifeLock so you don’t have to remember to request them. And of course there is the total service guarantee. If your identity is stolen then lifelock will help you up to $1,000,000 to fix the problems including getting you professionals to go to bat with you.
Why is this a great service for travelers. There is also a piece called WalletLockâ„¢ where if your wallet is stolen. I travel all over the country and beyond. There is a possibility that I could lose my wallet in any city in the world. If that happens I can call LifeLock and they will help me contact all the credit card companies as well as help with replacing credit/debit cards, driver’s license, social security card (really should not be in your wallet you know), insurance cards, checkbook – even travelers checks – at no additional cost. That is a headache relief if ever I heard of one.
