Wed 06/04/2008 7:39 PM

lifelock tells their side of the story

The last time I wrote about LifeLock, there was a comment left on the post regarding a lawsuit against the company for illegally placing fraud alerts and failing to honor their million dollar guarantee. I asked the commenter if he had any links with more information, and he never came and backed up his comments. Well, I've finally gotten some more information on the lawsuit, and it seems it is not consumers making these claims, but rather Experian, one of the credit bureaus who make their money by selling our personal information. I won't pretend to know who's wrong or right in all this, but knowing who is blowing the whistle certainly puts a new perspective on it, doesn't it?

There is a video over at CNN which explains LifeLock's side of the story. It also gives new information which could convince me that it just might really be the CEO's real social security number that is given out in the commercials after all. He says that there have been eighty-eight attempts to steal his identity, only one of which was successful not because of a failure of LifeLock's system, but because of US law's failure to require providers of payday loans to go through the credit bureaus. He says that LifeLock was successful in cleaning up the problem and restoring his credit. I'm still a tiny bit skeptical though, only because there are so many other types of identity theft which LifeLock doesn't protect against. Medical identity theft, social security and tax fraud... what is protecting him from these?

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16 comments/trackbacks

comment: from JeremyDuffy

There is no "their side" to this story. They offer no value for $10 a month and that, to me, is a scam. I don't care if he had ID theft or not, that's not the point.

The point is that other than insurance, they offer nothing that you can't do yourself and most of those "features" are something you only have to do once so don't justify a monthly fee.

Get a credit freeze instead. It actually protects your credit (which Lifelock DOESN'T)

http://www.jeremyduffy.com/lifelock-sucks

Thu 06/05/2008 7:55 AM

comment: from HelloKit

Many of the things they do for you do expire, actually, and it's hard to remember to renew them all at the right time. Many people will argue it's well worth the $10 a month just to have someone doing that for them. A credit freeze isn't practical for people who want to actually use their identities without jumping through hoops. And LifeLock does do all the work to clean up and restore your credit when an incident does happen, which can be hundreds of hours of work, at no extra charge. $10 a month for the peace of mind of knowing someone will be there to do that for you? Not a bad deal.

Amazing how Experian has so many people hiding out just waiting to come out of the woodwork the minute LifeLock is mentioned anywhere on the web.

Thu 06/05/2008 8:29 AM

comment: from HelloKit

Sorry Jeremy/Experian, just a few more points: 1) Every story has two sides; 2) Links in comments here are nofollow, so your anti-LifeLock propaganda sites are not helped by your drive-by commenting; 3) Unless you're a customer of LifeLock who has had an identity theft that they failed to repair, you're really in no position to say that they are worthless.

Thu 06/05/2008 8:44 AM

comment: from Jeremy Duffy

"Amazing how Experian has so many people hiding out just waiting to come out of the woodwork the minute LifeLock is mentioned anywhere on the web."

Funny, I was going to say the same thing about you in regards to working for Lifelock. Sometimes it's hard to believe that someone can know what Lifelock offers and still support it. But since you threw down the gauntlet (and appear unwilling to read the article I pointed you to that explains all this)

1) They offer fraud alerts. Yes these expire, but who cares? They only protect you as far as retailers are willing to bother following them. Fraud alerts are only warnings, they don't mandate any kind of action to credit grantors.
2) They send your data to optoutprescreen to get you off credit card offer lists. This is permenant as long as you send the request by mail.
3) They use up all your free credit report coupons that you're mandated by law. So this is something you'd do every year IF you bother. With my credit frozen, I don't worry about checking my credit as much.
4) They keep a list of your credit cards and the phone numbers to call if you lose your wallet. Woo.
5) This one is actually kind of a real service and it's new. They monitor your data online to see if there's any activity on your name, address etc. Of course, by setting Google alerts, you can do something similar yourself.
6) Insurance.

The main point here is that if you have a credit freeze, you don't need any of this. Save your money.

Thu 06/05/2008 8:45 AM

comment: from Jeremy Duffy

Sorry HelloKit/Lifelock (you started it), but I have every right to review and recommend on services that I know from my technical experience are taking advantage of people with less experience.

I posted the link so people could get the information. I know what nofollow is and posted it anyway. Now why would I do that?

Oh, right. Because it just so happens that my page is the best resource available currently. There aren't enough people out there right now telling it like it is when it comes to Lifelock, but that's changing (class action suits, news and blogs, etc)

Thu 06/05/2008 8:52 AM

comment: from Jeremy Duffy

By the way, I hope you're getting that I say this with tounge-in-cheek. I'm not really concerned if you think I work for Experian (as offensive as that would be). I am, however, very concerned that people have the correct information. Instead of assuming so many things about me, why don't you read about credit freezes and see for yourself why they make insurance, monitoring, fraud alerts, and any other "ID theft protection plan" unnecessary:

http://www.jeremyduffy.com/credit-security-freezes

Thu 06/05/2008 8:55 AM

comment: from HelloKit

I did read your article and I remain unconvinced. Since you seem to be unable to read, I'll repeat myself. I, and many other people, do not want my credit frozen. I actually need it to get by. If that works for you, and you don't need LifeLock's services, hooray for you. That's no reason to try to take it away from the people who do want it.

I don't work for LifeLock, and had you read my previous post, you'd see that I am not even a customer. I can't afford the $10 per month right now. I do all of those things myself, and you know what? It's a pain in the ass. When I am in more of a position to spare that kind of money, I am one of those lazy people you speak of who would be more than willing to do so to take that little bit of work off my hands so that I can concentrate more on my full time job at Sheridan Electric, raising my dogs, and trying to have a life in between it all.

You keep saying "insurance" like it's a dirty word. Yes, insurance is probably the biggest thing you get for your $10 a month. So what? What exactly is wrong with buying insurance? Chris and I have insurance on our home, our vehicle, even our dogs. Do you think I should put my dogs in a freezer and save my money on my pet insurance as well? Oh and by the way, all of those other insurance policies cost a hell of a lot more than $10 a month.

Thu 06/05/2008 9:04 AM

comment: from HelloKit

Jeremy, let me just add that when I say I'd be willing to pay for this kind of a service when I am in a position to afford it, in no way is my mind made up that it will be LifeLock I go with. LifeLock caught my attention because of those commercials. It made me genuinely curious about just what it is that they do that made the CEO so confident to put his alleged social security number on national television. When "Dwayne" did his comment-and-run about the lawsuit, I invited him to support his claims. He did not. I subsequently heard a little bit about the suit, but like I said before, there are two sides to every story, and I am not one to just believe one side (your side) without hearing the other. Which is why, when I heard the other side, I posted it. And yes, I have to say, knowing who is making these claims hurts the credibility of the complaints in my book. And I stand by what I said earlier: claims of LifeLock's "worthlessness" from someone who does not have the personal experience to make those claims... well, such claims are worthless to me.

Thu 06/05/2008 9:29 AM

comment: from Carolyn

Mr. Duffy sounds like he's on a personal vendetta against LifeLock. I can't imagine why it is so offensive to him. We'd be better served if he spent his energy on a cause that would actually help people - like anti-smoking for instance.

Thanks for the update on the lawsuit w/ Experian. It puts a whole new light on it. After all, Experian is the company that sings about 'free-credit-report-dot-com' and when you go there, you're automatically put into their recurring monthly payment for credit monitoring. There's nothing free about that!

I've read lots of stories about identity theft and how you'll probably need an attorney to help you out if your identity is stolen. I have LifeLock for that reason - I don't want to have to face it on my own. That's the whole purpose of any kind of insurance or warranty.

There are lots of cases of identity theft that can't be prevented with a credit freeze (which isn't free either). Illegal aliens or thieves can pretend to be you and use your ssn - now you'll get arrested and have to hire an attorney. I saw a video about that happening to a lady whose wallet was stolen.

Thu 06/05/2008 10:09 AM

comment: from Jeremy Duffy

Ok, let's try to clear things up a bit since it's getting a little hot in here:

1) I do have a personal vendetta against Lifelock. They promise to PREVENT id theft, but they can't. They make it seem like they offer a lot, but they don't. They take people's money and don't give them what they promised (the basis of the OTHER lawsuit against them filed by residents of Maryland, New Jersey, and West Virginia).
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080522/ap_on_hi_te/identity_fraud_flap

It's not wrong to try and spread the truth about a company that's actively scamming others.

2) I don't have a problem with people who like insurance. If lifelock makes you feel more secure, go for it, but know what you're actually getting for the money. The class action suit claims that due to the terms of the insurance, you'll likely not be able to get any money anyway. Hell, as I said in my open challenge to Todd Davis, if he made one change to his plan, even >I

3) I don't need to try cow pie flavored Cheerios to know they taste like crap. I don't have to buy from a seller on eBay with 80% negative ratings to understand that it would probably be a bad idea to deal with them. And I don't have to use Lifelock's services to know that they are far, far less than they claim to be. If a bank offers half the percentage rate for savings as the one you have now, would you transfer your money anyway just to see if it's true?

Thu 06/05/2008 11:12 AM

comment: from HelloKit

Jeremy, you'll notice in my previous post that I specifically pointed out that LifeLock's services don't prevent identity theft. They only ensure that action can be taken swiftly should it occur. Is their advertising misleading? Yes it is, and I have never denied that. It doesn't mean that what they do actually provide isn't worth the money to some people. If you don't find it worth the money to you, don't sign up. If everyone in the world went on a crusade to shut down all businesses they don't personally find worth the money, there wouldn't be any businesses left.

You'll also notice that I have never said "everybody needs to go sign up for LifeLock right now." I'm only providing the information I find for others who, like me, might find such a service useful. Again, if you don't, then move along.

And in regards to the complaints about the million dollar guarantee, according to the CNN interview with Todd Davis, that suit is only a bunch of people saying the guarantee could be interpreted a certain way. They don't have anyone who's actually been denied coverage under the guarantee. Again, I'm not saying who's wrong or right, just pointing out once again that there are two sides to every story.

Thu 06/05/2008 12:11 PM

comment: from Jeremy Duffy

"I specifically pointed out that LifeLock's services don't prevent identity theft" - I never said you didn't.
"everybody needs to go sign up for LifeLock right now" - I never said you said that.
"I'm only providing the information I find for others who, like me, might find such [information] useful" - Me too. It looks like we've both succeeded in our purpose :)

Thanks for the debate and sorry if I got you worked up over it. It's never my intention to offend strangers on their own blogs :D

Well... sometimes... but not this time.

Thu 06/05/2008 1:18 PM

comment: from Mike

Jeremy,

"I'm only providing the information I find for others who, like me, might find such [information] useful" - Me too. It looks like we've both succeeded in our purpose :)

I looked through your site and if you think for a second you are only providing information you are wrong. You are providing opinions. Strong pig-headed opinions. I don't subscribe to Lifelock but I know people who do. What makes you so self rightious to have a negative opinion of their educated decision to sign up. People pay for services all the time. Most people don't want their credit frozen. I certainly don't. What gives you the right to judge me, to know what is best for my life, to make disparaging remarks about my decision. I suggest you wake up and get a life because clearly you are wasting it. Seriously.

If you truly wanted to help people you would educate people about the risk of identity theft instead of trying to rationalize your apparent grudge against LifeLock. Don't see you cutting up the other fraud alert players nor the credit bureaus regarding credit monitoring, or the other companies who only search the internet or provide credit monitoring. Wouldn't this be worse than a fraud alert. Correct me if I am wrong but you are not posting in forums about them. Your hate for LifeLock is unjustified, you are solely picking on them, aren't you. If I am wrong point me to your other forum comments talking negatively about credit monitoring or their competitors. I challenge you to respond, knowing you won't.

Hellokit you were certainly right to challenge him. Who is this guy anyway. Maybe its just me but I can't stand arrogant people.

By the way Jeremy you should probably educate yourself as well since you have a lot of incorrect facts, illogical conclusions and bad assumptions. Try reading the FACT Act, the Identity Theft Resource Center, and the FTC website for beginners. Your opinions on fraud alerts are dead wrong and unsupported.

Mike Stanfield
Ohio

P.s. I have no affiliation with anyone, I don't work in the industry, I dont know hellokit and I protect my identity myself with a fraud alert buddy and I know more about identity theft than you. So what do you think about them apples.

Fri 06/06/2008 1:14 AM

comment: from Jeremy Duffy

Good lord Mike. What on Earth did I do to offend you this badly?

I guess the best response is this:
“I suggest you wake up and get a life because clearly you are wasting it”
And
“What gives you the right to judge me, to know what is best for my life, to make disparaging remarks about [me]?”

Does hypocrisy hurt?

Then you do it some more:
“I challenge you to respond, knowing you won't.”
And
“I can't stand arrogant people”

But enough of that. On this:

“If I am wrong point me to your other forum comments talking negatively about credit monitoring or their competitors”

I have web alerts fire every time a blog or news site talks about credit freezes, fraud alerts, or lifelock (among others) and I post about them all. I spread as much good information as I can about ID theft, most importantly that credit freezes are a great tool that most people don’t know about. Here are some:

http://lifelessonsmilitarywife.blogspot.com/2008/04/why-im-not-going-to-freeze-my-credit.html
http://www.topix.com/forum/business/banking/TTNH3KBDQ7S8548LV

But I won’t waste space since a simple google search of my name and the terms “fraud alert” or “credit monitoring” will give you page after page of places where I’ve commented about all of these things.

Besides those, I talk on MY OWN site in several different articles and posts about why fraud alerts don’t work and why monitoring is a ripoff.

Sounds like it might be you that should educate yourself before making wild accusations about my experience and motivations.

To this:
“So what do you think about them apples.”
You might like conflict for the sake of conflict, but I don’t. There’s a very good chance that you really aren’t interested in any kind of answers and just wanted to attack me even though I already extended the olive branch for offending Hellokit (which wasn’t intentional). If that’s the case (which we will surely know the next time you post, if you do), then don’t be surprised if I don’t respond.

It’s a little hard to have a conversation with someone who has decided everything about you from reading a few comments and a single posting on their site. If you’re only interested in “showing me why I’m wrong about everything” because you know so much “more about identity theft” than I do, then clearly the only thing I’d be doing that would be “wasting my time” would be dealing with “arrogant” people who haven’t “educated” themselves before “judging me”.

Fri 06/06/2008 1:20 PM

comment: from Mike

Congress pro fraud alerts.
FTC pro fraud alerts
Identity Theft Resource Center pro fraud alerts
USPS pro fraud alerts

Jeremy "nobody" Duffy thinks they are worthless but shows no evidence whatsoever except he can't see some retail stores he previously worked with making the call as the young people that work there are too stupid.

Oh Reallllllly. Sounds like you got it all figured out.

Personally I am going to stick with the big names and all and not listen to you, who are you again, a consumer advocate? Are you telling me with all that is going on in our country that this is the best you can come up with. Are you really utilizing your time properly. Down with those evil fraud alerts and the stupid misinformed people who use them. Sorry but I am informed and I choose them. So do a whole lot of identity theft experts and other consumer advocates. Get off your high horse Jeremy, whats right for one is not right for all. We all have different circumstances and you should not proclaim to be the almighty when it comes to identity theft. Believe it or not there are a whole lot of people who know more then you in this area and I have yet to find one of them with your pigheaded stance.

Sat 06/07/2008 12:03 AM