What Identity Theft Protection Services Can and Cannot Do
Despite the name, identity protection services like LifeLock do not protect your identity as much as they detect and alert you to potential threats to your identity and provide you with the tools you need to respond. They notify you of instances where your identity may have been compromised and provide means to help repair the damage. Yes, these applications can help safeguard your credentials, employment history, and more. However, it is completely impossible to prevent identity theft. And LifeLock does not claim that it can.
How Much Does a LifeLock Subscription Cost?
LifeLock subscriptions come in three premium tiers: Standard, Plus, and Ultimate Plus. At the Standard level, LifeLock costs $124.99 per year. The Plus level is priced at $239.99 per year, adding features not available at the Standard level. To access all possible identity monitoring and repair features from LifeLock, you’ll need the Ultimate Plus level costing $339.99 per year.
Getting Started with LifeLock
Purchasing a LifeLock subscription is a bit more complex than buying antivirus software or a security suite. You must provide your credit card details to pay, of course, but it also asks for your address, Social Security number, date of birth, and mobile phone number. Get accustomed to providing all your personal details to LifeLock, as it needs this information to protect you. There is an option to expand LifeLock’s protection to your partner, children, or other seniors (for an additional cost, of course). Choose monthly or annual billing, decide whether you want to receive alerts via phone call or text message, and you’ve completed the initial setup steps.
Identity Monitoring for Everyone
Even at the Standard level, LifeLock monitors the dark web for your personal information. It also alerts you when your personal data appears in a known data breach. You can track: 5 addresses, 10 bank accounts, one date of birth, 10 credit cards, one driver’s license, 5 email addresses, 10 player tags, 5 insurance documents, one mother’s maiden name, 5 phone numbers, and one Social Security number. You should definitely take the time to fill out all your personal information. Norton cannot find your data circulating on the dark web if it doesn’t know what to look for.
Advanced Identity Monitoring
One of the worst consequences of identity theft occurs when criminals gain access to your financial accounts. At the Plus level, LifeLock monitors (through partner Yodlee) your checking, savings, and credit accounts for unusual transactions and large purchases. To set up monitoring, you provide the username and login for each of your banks. You can review all transactions through the service. LifeLock uses read-only access to view your recent transactions, just like Mint.com works.
Identity Restoration Service
Even with all the alerts, and even with freezing all possible data, there’s always a chance that identity thieves or crooks can outsmart you and take control of your identity. If LifeLock warns of a potential issue, or if you notice something unusual, LifeLock’s identity restoration experts are available to help you track down exactly what happened and reclaim your personal life from identity thieves. I have seen mentions of 24/7 repair, but in reality, experts are available during business hours.
Protecting Your Children’s Identity
If you choose a family subscription (covering you and your adult partner), you can extend protection to your children (up to five children) for between $100 and $120 per year, depending on your subscription level. Of course, your children don’t have bank accounts filled with money that can be stolen, but scammers can use elements of their identity like their Social Security number. The consequences may not surface for years, leading to an unpleasant surprise when your child applies for a credit card or job.
App
LifeLock Mobile
The LifeLock mobile app for Android and iOS closely resembles the online dashboard for LifeLock, neatly arranged for viewing on mobile devices. There is a banner at the top reporting unread alerts and links to details. Four panels arranged below cover credit monitoring, identity lock, financial transactions, and personal information. Of course, you can tap on a panel for more details.
Should You Lock Your Identity with LifeLock?
The list of LifeLock features is continuously growing. Some of its capabilities are unique in the industry, and it presents them neatly on a cleverly designed website. Its pricing is slightly higher than most competitors, but it also offers more. While recovery assistance services are valuable, the compensation plans that help you financially recover from identity theft are sure to provide peace of mind for many customers. If the service seems right for you, we strongly recommend that you consider Norton 360 with LifeLock, which adds comprehensive cross-platform security to the mix for a not overly large amount, making it worth our editors’ award for best security bundles.
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