Anyone know anything about LifeLock??

[Amanda]

My mother is worried about identity theft and wants to buy lifelock.

Does anyone know if it actually works and protects you from identity theft?

[ziero0]

It is insurance. Fire insurance does protect you from fire. You will still get burned. But the costs will be distributed among all those others worried about fire.

[Amanda]

It is insurance. Fire insurance does protect you from fire. You will still get burned. But the costs will be distributed among all those others worried about fire.

Thanks.

I'm trying to help my elderly mother with this (she's very worried about identity theft because it happened to her and my father before). But I don't really trust these LifeLock/Norton people because at first they automatically billed her for both, when she doesn't even have Norton on the computer. So she cancelled Norton. Then she tried to just get LifeLock, but now the price of LifeLock is almost the same as it was for LifeLock AND Norton. I just wish there was an alternative to LifeLock that protected you from identity theft.

[ziero0]

Form an LLC. Borrow 100k from it. They then file a UCC1 Finance form with the secretary of state and basically lien up everything. Anyone who wants to commit identity theft gets to stand in line behind the LLC. Houses, cars, in short anything that is an asset.

When ready to sell the asset just repay the loan, remove the lien.

This is about the best protection you can get. Just don't go squandering the loan.

[Ares]

Thanks.

I'm trying to help my elderly mother with this (she's very worried about identity theft because it happened to her and my father before). But I don't really trust these LifeLock/Norton people because at first they automatically billed her for both, when she doesn't even have Norton on the computer. So she cancelled Norton. Then she tried to just get LifeLock, but now the price of LifeLock is almost the same as it was for LifeLock AND Norton. I just wish there was an alternative to LifeLock that protected you from identity theft.

Have her put a lock on her credit file. That's essentially what Lifelock does, they contact the credit bureau's on behalf of their clients and put a lock on the credit file so that no new credit cards, or credit applications can be created. She will just have to unlock it (some can be done with a downloadable app for iOS / Android) if she wants to get a loan or receive credit.

I've been doing that since Equifax hack a number of years ago.

[Amanda]

Have her put a lock on her credit file. That's essentially what Lifelock does, they contact the credit bureau's on behalf of their clients and put a lock on the credit file so that no new credit cards, or credit applications can be created. She will just have to unlock it (some can be done with a downloadable app for iOS / Android) if she wants to get a loan or receive credit.

I've been doing that since Equifax hack a number of years ago.


Great!! Thanks!!

She and my father both had problems with identity theft years ago, so she was just super worried about it.

[Ares]

Great!! Thanks!!

She and my father both had problems with identity theft years ago, so she was just super worried about it.

Locking their credit report so that it can't be queried for opening new lines of credit should help with that. Thieves only want someone's identity that they can take out loans for in the persons name (most of the time from what I've been able to discern.).

[WillieTheKid]

I think we, that is my wife and I, got LifeLock for free at one point when our information was hacked someplace. I think it was part of a legal settlement--we might have got LifeLock Lite. I think we got it for a couple of years. It seemed O.K., but not something I would be willing to pay $7.95 a month for.

Every so often, I would get a notification about some "potentially suspicious activity" which invariably turned out to be some housecleaning activity for a credit card or other potential credit source. That was a lot more expensive time wise than the monthly charge would have been, so I eventually got to the point where I didn't even check out those "alerts".

[Amanda]

Have her put a lock on her credit file. That's essentially what Lifelock does, they contact the credit bureau's on behalf of their clients and put a lock on the credit file so that no new credit cards, or credit applications can be created. She will just have to unlock it (some can be done with a downloadable app for iOS / Android) if she wants to get a loan or receive credit.

I've been doing that since Equifax hack a number of years ago.


Looks like your strategy is the way to go. I was just on this woman's channel looking up info on money markets and just happened to see this (she has videos for all the credit agencies). And then I was listening to George Gammon, who just had his identity stolen and a woman who works for him and used to be a cop told him to freeze his credit with the different agencies.
Transunion: How To Freeze Your Credit & Protect Your Identity For Free | Don't Be A Fraud Victim

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRGW4PzCo2s

[Ares]

Looks like your strategy is the way to go. I was just on this woman's channel looking up info on money markets and just happened to see this (she has videos for all the credit agencies). And then I was listening to George Gammon, who just had his identity stolen and a woman who works for him and used to be a cop told him to freeze his credit with the different agencies.
Transunion: How To Freeze Your Credit & Protect Your Identity For Free | Don't Be A Fraud Victim

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRGW4PzCo2s

Yep, putting a freeze on your credit is what you can do without paying someone a monthly fee to do it for you. I researched what Lifelock actually does, and looked to see if it was something I could do. Sure enough anyone can. Lifelock just makes it easier, so people can pay them for the convenience.

Ever since the Equifax hack due to a diversity hire who had no business being a CTO of any company with only 14 years of experience (she had a music degree, not a degree an Information Technology), my credit file in all credit agencies have been frozen.