Who Is Lifelock?
LifeLock is based in Tempe, Arizona.
It is now serving tens of thousands of customers in different states of the union, the US Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. LIfeLock is backed up by Bessemer Venture Partners and is in partnership with Better Business Bureau and TrustE. Their services include helping customers putting fraud alerts at credit bureaus and claiming damages in the incident of identity theft. Fred Thompson, former US Senator and a 2008 Presidential candidate taped a radio spot for LifeLock as a part of his ABC contract. In these commercials, he describes a story of military heroism in Iraq. Howard Stern, Rush Limbaugh and Paul Harvey have all been celebrity spokesperson for Lifelock LifeLock’s current CEO, Todd Davis has gained popularity when he prominently displays his Social Security Number in an advertisement as a proof that the system works in protecting him from Identity Theft. Identity Theft and Identity Fraud Explained. The threats pose by identity theft and identity fraud is what gave birth to LifeLock. But what is identity theft and identity fraud? These are terms used in referring to all types of criminal activities wherein someone wrongfully get hold and uses somebody else’s personal data for fraud and deception usually done for economic gains. Unlike you fingerprints that are exclusive to you and cannot be given to someone else for use, personal information such as you Social Security Number, credit card and bank account details, or even your telephone number can be used by another person to personally profit at your cost.
The fraud or deception can range from acquiring a credit card, renting an apartment, or setting up a telephone account in your name. A victim’s losses can range from financial out-of-the-pocket losses to criminal charges in worst cases. Regrettably these crimes can be committed unnoticed. The victim will just be shocked when they review their credit reports stating unauthorized charges often involving big amounts of money. There are many different ways on how personal data lands in the hands of criminals. Some of them are: (1) Trash. Bills, pre-approved credit card and bank statements are all full of necessary information to steal a person’s identity. (2) Skimming. This uses a special storage device use to steal numbers of credit and debit cards while doing a transaction. (3) Phishing. This is an internet base stealing usually in the form of pop ups often asking for personal and financial information. (4) Stealing. Thieves can obtain your personal data even prior to you dumping them in your trash cans, they steal them right out of your mailboxes. Stealing purses and wallets are like gold mining for identity thieves. (5) Pretexting. In this, somebody poses as someone representing a telephone company or other organizations coaxing for information out of unsuspecting subjects. Fraud Alerts. The goal of fraud alert is to confirm that the person doing the transaction or is even using your name is really you. With fraud alerts in place, they must verify identities before they can process requests like issuing new credit, arranging loans, increasing credit lines and creating new accounts for utilities.
