You may have seen the TV commercials or newspaper ads yourself, and that got us wondering. If they stole Todd Davis' identity, how well does LifeLock really work?
The commercial has CEO Todd Davis saying, "I'm Todd Davis and I'm here to prove just how safe your identity can be with LifeLock."
There it was, for everyone to see --Todd Davis' social security number. His company promises to protect your identity and even backs it up with a $1 million dollar guarantee.
A senior editor at Consumer Reports called the ads irresponsible.
"It's kind of like an insurance company saying we'll protect your car from theft and you can leave your keys in the ignition," says Consumer Reports senior editor Jeff Blyskal.
But Davis says everyone gives out their social security numbers anyway, to people employers, dentists, accountants and others.
"The list goes on an on. I just happen to give it out publicly as well. But those identity thieves know where to go. They know where we have to give our personal information," says Davis.
Identity thieves were able to get a $500 dollar payday loan in Davis' name because he says the company didn't use one of the major credit bureaus.
"Now, the reality was we were able to go resolve that issue. We not only identified who he was and what he is, but we actually went down on video tape admitting he had committed the crime and apologized for doing that," says Davis.
For ten dollars a month, it puts a fraud alert on your credit. And that makes it difficult for someone to get credit in your name. It also gets your name removed from pre-approved credit card and junk mail lists. All of this, you can do yourself, and for free.
Susan Lehman says she knows that, but the Oakland woman says the monthly charge is worth her investment.
"I think that's ten dollars a month well spent for peace of mind."
LlifeLock also offers that $1 million dollar guarantee.
"What that million dollars is a lot of money, a big number, that's going to cover not a lot," says Blyskal.
That's because federal law limits your liability to just $50 dollars whenever your credit is stolen. Susan didn't sign up for LifeLock until after she became a victim of identity theft. Thieves made a fake driver's license and opened up credit cards using her name.
"Having gone through all of this and knowing it's not over yet, it's not living on edge every time I open the mail. That's worth it to me, that pice of mind"
Here's the bottom line. -- everything LifeLock does, you can do for yourself and for free. However, if you want to have the convenience of paying someone to do it for you, LifeLock is an option.
