In a perfect world we would not have to worry about the threat of someone stealing our identity and ruining our credit. Unfortunately, we live in an imperfect world. Fortunately, there are services available, such as LifeLock's Identity Theft Protection Services, which work to protect your identity. Although there are pro's and con's to using such services, LifeLock's pros greatly outweigh their cons.



Pro number One: When comparing LifeLock with other identity theft protection services, LifeLock immediately stands out from the crowd by offering child identity protection services. No other identity theft protection service offers credit checks and monitoring services for children under the age of 15. With the increase in the number of child identity thefts occurring, LifeLock has hit the mark when it comes to this number one pro.

Another pro to using LifeLock is that LifeLock works to prevent identity theft instead of merely protecting members from the possibility of becoming a victim of such theft. While most companies provide identity theft monitoring services, LifeLock's services are "pro"active in preventing identity theft from occurring in the first place. LifeLock's identity prevention services include detecting when a member's address has been illegally changed in national databases through their TrueAddress services; placing fraud alerts on your credit files; and monitoring the internet for black market activity regarding the illegal use of credit card numbers and social security numbers through their eRecon services.

A further pro of using LifeLock services is that LifeLock reduces the amount of access thieves have to your personal information by stopping pre-approved credit card offers that come in the mail and curtailing the number of telemarketing calls received. Stealing identifying information from your mail box or trash is a popular way for identity thieves to steal your personal information, not to mention using Pretexting scams to gather your credit card information by phone. LifeLock not only prevents identity theft by reducing the amount of access thieves have to your personal information; they also reduce the amount of junk mail you receive. Who wouldn't count that as a pro!

Con number One and Only: Although LifeLock pulls credit reports annually, which is a great safeguard against unauthorized issuing of credit or loans, they do not perform daily scans of a member's credit report and only send credit reports annually. Other theft identity services send member's their credit reports on a quarterly basis. In addition, LifeLock does not provide members with their FICA scores which give the member an idea of how they measure-up when it comes to their credit report. However, LifeLock does have plans to add this to their list of services in the near future.

Finally, one of the best pros of using LifeLock is their $1,000,000 total service guarantee. Because thieves will inevitably find "a way around the system," there is really no way to ensure that one's identity will not be stolen. However, LifeLock does ensure that, if an individual's identity is stolen while they are a member of LifeLock, LifeLock will provide attorneys, investigators, accountants, case managers, etc. to restore the individual's good name and credit. In addition, if the individual loses money as a result of the theft, LifeLock will reimburse the amount lost.

When deciding which identity theft protection company is the right one for you and your family, it is important to weigh the pros and cons of each services provider. With several pros and hardly a con, LifeLock's identity theft protection services will certainly meet your identity theft prevention needs, and then some. Unfortunately, identity theft is always going to occur. Fortunately, there's LifeLock.