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Why Protecting Your Identity is Not Necessarily Free

Author: JedJenson
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Word Count: 914
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Although the federal government has made it possible for each citizen to protect their identity by accessing free credit reports, initiating free fraud alerts and, placing their name and contact information on "do not call" or mail lists, many individuals do not realize that they must continuously request these "free" services in order to continue to protect their identity. When you consider the amount of time it takes to repeatedly request these "free" services and calculate the risks involved in forgetting to put these protective measures in place, "free" can turn into thousands of hours spent trying to restore one's good name and credit and thousands of dollars of financial ruin. When it comes down to it, if time equals money, then free is not "free" when it comes to protecting your identity. There is however, an economic way to protect your identity and prevent identity theft through a company called LifeLock. LifeLock's Identity Theft Prevention services can help you protect your identity and prevent identity theft in six valuable ways.

1. Fraud Alerts - A Fraud alert is a "flag" placed on your credit report that notifies a lender that they must, among other things, verify that you are who you say you are before credit is issued in your name. Fraud alerts are free; however, after 90 days, you must contact the credit bureau and request that another fraud alert be placed on your credit report. LifeLock takes care of requesting Fraud Alerts for you by making sure that alerts are continuously requested every 90 days. Through this service, LifeLock ensures that there are no lapses in Fraud Alerts on your credit report.

2. Do Not Call or Mail Lists - One of the easiest ways for thieves to steal your identity and affect your credit status is by stealing pre-approved credit card offers from your mailbox or calling under the guise of a telemarketer telling you that you have won a free trip and asking for your personal information, as well as a credit card, to pay for the expenses not covered by the award, i.e. room taxes. The best way to prevent this type of identity theft is to remove your name from calling or mail lists; however, this must be done on an annual basis. LifeLock makes it easy for you to continuously remove your name from solicitation lists by doing these steps for you on an annual basis.

3. Credit Reports - Being sure to check your credit report is a good way to help protect your identity. By checking your credit report, you can see if you have had any unauthorized loans or credit cards opened in your name. Although the federal government has made it a law for you to receive a free credit report from each of the 3 credit agencies yearly, the only way to ensure that your credit is checked all year long is to request a credit report from one of the credit agencies every 4 months. This can be very time consuming and cumbersome. LifeLock takes the time and effort out of remembering to pull your credit report by sending you a copy of your credit report four times a year.

4. WalletLock - If you really want to protect your identity, don't lose your wallet. Of course, that is easier said than done. If you have ever lost your wallet, chances are you have experienced a sense of fear and panic and thought, "What was in my wallet and how do I stop someone from using my credit cards?" With LifeLock's WalletLock system, there is no need to feel fear or panic if you lose your wallet. Through WalletLock you will be able to identify what was in your wallet and will be assigned a WalletLock specialist who will help you contact each credit card company, banking institution, and any state and federal agencies who issue driver's licenses, etc. to cancel the accounts and to begin the process of reinstating missing documents.

5. Identity Monitoring - One sure way to protect your identity is to know when someone has sold or changed your personal information on-line or on databases. With LifeLock's eRecon and TrueAddress systems, potential identity theft threats are detected and eliminated through searching criminal websites and nationwide databases for trading and selling of your personal information or by making changes to your address. LifeLock also ensures that thieves do not open new bank accounts in a subscriber's name by monitoring check systems.

6. Recovering Your Identity - LifeLock understands that there is no way to prevent all forms of identity theft from occurring. Therefore, LifeLock offers a $1,000,000 total service guarantee if someone happens to discover a weakness in their system and uses it to steal your identity. If necessary, LifeLock will provide attorneys, investigators, accountants, case managers, etc. to restore your good name and, if you lose money as a result of the theft, LifeLock will reimburse you the amount of money lost.

There are ways to protect your identity which will only cost you in terms of time and effort; however, there is no guarantee that you will recover your money and good name if your identity is stolen. LifeLock's Identity Protection services offer six ways to save you time and effort in protecting your identity, preventing identity theft, and guaranteeing to recover your money and restore your good name if your identity is stolen.