As you begin preparations for tax season you might not be feeling a lot of government love. In fact, with the economy the way it is right now, you might be feeling downright hostile. And as you review your household budget yet again for one more way to cut back on expenses, you might be dripping tears onto your keyboard.

Here’s some (sort of) good news from the Identity Theft Resource Center that might help you lighten up a little: Government agencies were responsible for only 16.7% of all data breaches in 2008.

And now the bad news (because when the subject is data breaches, there’s always going to be some bad news): There were 656 data breaches last year, representing a 47% increase in the number of data breaches that occurred in 2007.

Local, state and federal governments were to blame for a total of 110 information leaks last year. The causes for those data losses break down as follows:

• 28 resulted from the improper protection of information while traveling over the government network.
• 22 were attributed to insider theft.
• 20 occurred when employees accidentally exposed citizens’ information.
• 15 have been chalked up to subcontractors with sloppy systems security.
• 5 were the product of hackers.

Which federal agency wins the prize for the biggest bungling of data protection? The U.S. Army wins this dubious distinction for their inadvertent Internet posting of promotion selection lists that contained the names and Social Security numbers of more than 50,000 officers.

So, what does all this tell us? While you’re trimming your budget leave an extra $9 a month for Life Lock protection services. Enroll using the LifeLock discount code Defense for the lowest available price.

While you’re doing your holiday shopping, make sure you’re not putting anything special under the tree for identity thieves. Whether you see them or not, they’re just waiting for an opportunity like kids lined up for Santa’s lap.

Here’s how it happens:

You’re waiting in line at the register with eight or nine other people. Everyone’s overheated, overburdened, overspending and maybe a wee bit grumpy and impatient. When it’s finally your turn to check out, all you’re thinking of getting it over with and getting out of the store. What you’re not thinking about is the guy behind you who’s reaching inside your open purse.

Or, you’re taking a break from shopping in the mall food court. It’s hot, it’s loud and it takes forever to find an available table. Once you find one, you set your tray down on the table, and set your purse in the empty chair. Then you stash your five bags with 27 pounds of gifts under the table where no one can steal them. While you’re doing that, someone has lifted your purse.

Or, you’re finally able to find the time to get together with friends at a favorite restaurant. You enjoy a long, leisurely dinner with lots of laughter and a little wine. The food was delicious and the waiter was attentive. When you get the check, you hand over your credit card and do a silent calculation of the generous tip you’re going to give him. What you don’t know is that he’s doing a little calculating too. He’s got a matchbox-sized card skimmer in his pocket, and has just discreetly recorded all of your credit card information.

Identity theft is a terrible thing to go through at any time of the year. But becoming an identity theft victim during the holiday is disastrous. Now, more than ever, you need LifeLock identity theft protection.

Consumers want to prevent becoming identity theft victims. They want comprehensive protection of their finances, their personal information and their good names, but they don’t get that with credit monitoring.

Here’s how credit monitoring works: The service provider watches action on the customer’s credit cards and credit report. If they see unusual activity–a sudden rash of new credit cards or new credit card charges in New Jersey for a customer in New Mexico—they contact the customer to let them know someone is New Jersey has stolen their identity.

Credit monitoring services sound the alarm after the thief has obtained and used the customer’s credit information.

At LifeLock, they know all about how identity thieves work, and they employ a comprehensive variety of tools to stop them.

• Fraud alerts: Once the fraud alert is in place, the consumer is notified anytime their information is used to obtain new credit.
• Cutting off the types of mail thieves look for: LifeLock will work with marketing associations to take the customer’s name off their lists. No more junk mail, and no more pre-approved credit offers for thieves to steal.
• WalletLock™: Lost and stolen wallets are still the most common source of information for thieves. When it happens to LifeLock customers, Wallet Lock™ helps them cancel and replace all official documents, credit cards and checks before thieves can use them.
• TrueAddress™: A common ploy used by thieves is the diversion of mail to a new address. If an address change is ever submitted for a customer’s address, the customer will be notified immediately.
• eRecon™: Identity thieves buy, sell and trade their victims’ information on the Internet. eRecon monitors all known websites used for those transactions. If a customer’s name, birth date, address, SSN, driver’s license or account numbers are detected, the customer is immediately notified, and a customer service representative helps them cancel and replace documents and works with law enforcement to catch the criminals and close down the website.

LifeLock protection is comprehensive, complete and reliable. Credit monitoring is incomplete, ineffective and unreliable.

Visit LifeLock.com to learn more about their many innovative and exclusive identity theft protection tools. If you decide you’re ready for complete protection of your credit and your good name, enroll using the LifeLock promotional code Defense and get the lowest price available.