LifeLock Blog

TopTenReviews.com is a highly respected and revered website that provides reviews on just about everything from electronics to online services like LifeLock. For specific categories of products TopTenReviews.com will do a top ten in the category for that year. In 2010 even with all the bad press LifeLock has been getting they were still ranked number one by TopTenReviews.com. That is really saying something, even though the press wants to make LifeLock out to be the bad guy.  When you look at the facts and services offered by LifeLock, they still blows the other services out of the water.

TopTenReviews wrote “LifeLock is well-equipped with the right tools to help you prevent identity theft before it happens, detect thieves in their attempts and resolve any problems that may occur to defend your good name. Their service is well-rounded, providing all of the essentials in security, recovery and some unique additional features. Their distinctive WalletLock service is one example of innovation aimed to help make protecting your identity easier.”

I have to agree with TopTenReviews and will add that LifeLock has the advantage of coming to market first. They have had time to work out the kinks in the system and provide a very robust service that has features that other services wouldn’t dream of implementing.

It takes time to develop and get good at discovering and remediating identity theft situations, and LifeLock has done that. They provide service like no other and have been doing so for longer than anyone else. I am sure LifeLock will continue topping the identity theft protection charts for years to come. They continue to add and make their features better every year.

Governor Christine O. Gregoire has announced a proclamation that April 26 – 30, 2010 will be Identity Theft Awareness Week. The proclamation comes at a time when Washington is ranked 15th in identity theft nationwide. There were over 30,000 identity theft and fraud complains in Washington State in 2009.

During Washington’s Identity Theft Awareness Week and to increase identity theft awareness, the FBI-LEEDA, Law Enforcement Executive Development Association, and LifeLock are teaming up and holding the LifeLock and FBI-LEEDA Identity Theft Summit. These summits are an ongoing effort of the FBI-LEEDA and Lifelock to not only educate law enforcement agencies, but consumers as well about the newest identity theft trends, new scams, and investigative methods. Since the 2008 conception the summits have been held in 19 different cities and have educated more than 2,170 law enforcement officials from over 700 different agencies from all over the country.

The summits are going to be held in two different cities giving you two chances to participate in the summit, which are going to be help in Spokane and Olympia. The Spokane summit will be held at 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 28 at the Luxury Box Event Center, 10514 East Sprague Avenue, Spokane Valley, WA 99206. The Olympia summit will be held at 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 29 at the Lacey Community Center, 6729 Pacific Avenue SE, Olympia, WA 98503.

I think these summits held by LifeLock and FBI-LEEDA are a great idea. The more people who know and understand how identity theft happens the more they can do to prevent it. Law enforcement agencies are being over-run by identity theft cases and the information and techniques learned at the summit could help them track down and catch identity thieves fast and more effectively. It’s great to see  police agencies taking the time to learn and stay up-to-date on the growing identity theft industry.

Perhaps the most common of identity thefts is the credit card identity theft. This is when someone steals your credit card, check card, or debit card numbers and places charges on them posing as you. It’s a little bit different from the kind of identity theft where people can actually apply for new credit cards. This type of Identity theft is where they are just using your existing card’s information to make charges.

This type of identity theft can be prevented or at least caught earlier with a couple precautions. The first precaution is to make sure you keep an eye on your cards. Oh course if someone steals your wallet or purse and can assume they are going to try and steal money from your accounts or charge stuff to your credit cards. However, most people don’t know that people can steal your credit card number without stealing your card. When you hand your card to someone for processing make sure they don’t swipe your card into a skimmer, a handheld card scanning device that could be held in your hand, attached to a belt or ankle or other parts of their body. This of course will only work if you can see them when they run your card. Employees that process the card away from the counter can’t watched for this type of scam.

The next tip is a simple one but so many people don’t do it. You should always shield your pin from view when typing it in. Shoulder surfing is a technique where people look over your shoulder to see your pin. Sometimes it’s a simple as someone peaking over your shoulder, but people have been known to record your pin using video cameras and fake keypads among other things. A skimmer attached to the ATM completes the scam and they have everything they need to steal from your account.

Just like a password you should change your card number every so often. You can request a new card number from your bank however often as you like. It is time consuming because you have to change all your online accounts to the new number but this will cut all ties to any exposed card numbers.

Something I have been enjoying is alerts from credit card and check card accounts. Some banks like Bank of America have alerts that will send text messages informing you of what is happening to your account. My accounts inform me of any large purchases, unusual purchases, and low account balances. These alerts are often in real time and will help you catch fraudulent charges. You have to report fraudulent charges within 30 days at most banks and 60 days for most credit cards. So knowing a charge is fraudulent sooner is better than knowing about much later.

Identity theft protection is always a good idea. My favorite identity theft protection company is LifeLock above all other services. They have proven themselves to the be leader in identity theft protection. There is no one I would trust more than LifeLock with my credit. Not all identity thefts can be prevented, but what can be prevented LifeLock will be there to protect you.

That big truck driving around the country—the one with the Social Security number on it? That’s the Life Lock truck. And the Social Security number belongs to Todd Davis, Life Lock CEO. Pretty cocky, huh?

The thing is, Life Lock works, and Davis knows it. There are about 1.5 members of Life Lock around the country who know it, too. Check out what just a handful of them have to say about the service at LifeLock.com. Comments like “…we continued on with our vacation knowing we were safe,” tell you how good it feels to have the Life Lock service, and just how good the service is.

And that’s what Life Lock is.  They do all the things you know you’re supposed to do, and could do for yourself free. They take your name off all the lists. They order a copy of your credit report. They place and renew the fraud alerts. Sure you could do it free—we all could. But who actually does this stuff?

Life Lock does it for you. And then they add extras that you can’t get anywhere else. They replace all your documents if you lose your purse or wallet. That’s a huge service.

And for less than $10 a month, that’s a great deal.

Having to move to a nursing home, or having to place a loved one in a nursing home, is surely one of the hardest things anyone can go through. No matter how well we research, how clean the place seems, or how nice the staff seems to be, it’s the horror stories we’ve all heard that keep us awake at night.

I hate to do it, but here’s another of those horror stories. Tamara Smith, a certified nursing assistant who worked in several Savannah, GA area nursing homes, has been charged with stealing the identities of more than 40 of the nursing home residents that she was supposed to be caring for.

She used that information to open credit card accounts, and to buy computers and cell phones.

Smith’s victims were as young as 60 and as old as 100. Along with the 43 identity theft charges against her, Smith will also receive an elder abuse charge for each victim over 65. More than half of her victims are, or were, residents at Tara Nursing Home in Thunderbolt, GA.

Irene Pennington, Thunderbolt police chief said they’re still investigating the identity thefts, and expect to discover more victims. She also said they expect to arrest others suspected of being involved in the crimes.

LifeLock provides identity theft protection to nearly 1.5 million people in the United States. Visit LifeLock.com to learn more about their innovative and comprehensive services. Enroll using the LifeLock promotional code Defense to receive a huge discount.

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.

“I am a victim. The credit card companies and banks are victims, yet they are looking to me for repayment of the money that Linda David stole…

“I have been forced to relocate my family to live at my offices because I can no longer afford to pay rent. We have an infant son and we are being forced to live in an attic without heat. We are selling off our jewelry, liquidating investments and diluting our savings. This is not a situation of my making. I need help. I need it now.” (From Oreste Speciale’s victim-impact statement.)

Linda Lee David, a former employee, used Speciale’s identity to run up more than $209,000 in credit card debt over a two-year period.

David was sentenced this week to four years in federal prison for aggravated identity theft and violating supervised release terms. She spent three months in prison for stealing the identity of a coworker and running up $11,669 on fraudulent credit cards. She’d been out of prison for less than a year when she began ripping off Speciale.

She took out credit cards from Wells Fargo, WaMu, American Express, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Exxon Mobil, First Equity and Bill Me Later and used them for everyday expenses like gas, groceries and clothing. Occasionally, she made larger purchases like a 42-inch flat screen television and a mini camcorder. She also treated her family to fun-filled Niagara Falls vacation.

Unfortunately for David, that vacation was recorded on the cool little camcorder and shown in court as evidence against her.

Dallas identity theft ringleader Keasha Antoinette Turner was sentenced to six years in federal prison and ordered to pay more than $100,000 in restitution.

Turner worked with two Citibank employees as accomplices. Andrea Renee Harris and Christianna M. Wright, who worked in Citibank’s customer service and collections department, shared their access to account information with Turner. Turner used that information to receive Visa and MasterCard credit cards and make fraudulent purchases.

Turner pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud in August. Harris was sentenced to 18 months in prison, and ordered to restitution in the amount of $11,812 after her guilty plea to a bank fraud charge. Wright received a 34-month sentence, and must pay $51,312 in restitution.

The case was investigated by the US Secret Service and prosecuted by Assistant US Attorney David Jarvis.

Senior US District Judge A. Joe Fish said before sentencing Turner that she had been involved in ID theft and fraud for many years causing significant pain and stress for her victims.

Car salesman, hospital employees and credit card companies—we give our personal and financial information out all the time to total strangers. We have to.

But how can you protect yourself from identity theft and credit card fraud? Truthfully, there isn’t much you can do, but LifeLock can sure help you protect yourself and your family.

LifeLock is the industry leader in identity theft protection services. Visit their website at LifeLock.com to see why their innovative and comprehensive program has been the choice for nearly 1.5 million consumers.

The State Department has notified nearly 400 people that their passport applications may have been stolen, and the information used to commit identity theft and fraud.

It all started in March when the department discovered their employees had been snooping around in the passport applications of celebrities and presidential candidates Hillary Rodham Clinton, John McCain and Barack Obama.

Within a month of that disclosure, a 24-year-old man was arrested with 21 credit cards in different names, and eight passport applications. The names on four of the credit cards matched those of some of the applicants.

Lieutenant Q. Harris Jr. admitted he was part of an identity theft and credit card fraud crime ring, and was working with a State Department employee, and another employee of the US Postal Service.

Harris subsequently agreed to cooperate in the investigation, but was fatally shot just a few days after appearing in court.

Sean McCormack, a spokesman for the State Department, said the arrest had nothing to do with employees’ illegal snooping. He did say, though, that one employee had been fired as a result of the data breach. McCormack would not say how the passport applications were obtained.

The investigation into the credit card fraud and identity theft ring is ongoing and being conducted in cooperation with the Washington DC police department.  More passport applicants may be notified as the investigation continues.

Passport applications contain individuals’ names, Social Security numbers, physical descriptions, and the names and places of birth of the applicants’ parents.

We’ve all heard – or experienced – the horror stories of identity thieves who use stolen identities to open credit card accounts or buy cars, boats and houses. But, it could be worse. Take Malcolm Byrd’s story for instance: it’s the stuff Coen brothers’ movies are made of.

It starts with a guy in Wisconsin, Malcolm Byrd, reading a story in the local newspaper that details his arrest of the previous night. What the …? He goes to the police department. They explain that some guy got arrested for coke possession with intent to sell and gave his name as Malcolm Byrd.  By the time the “real” Malcolm Byrd read about the arrest, the impostor had bonded out of jail and was released.

Next, Malcolm goes to the paper. Apologies are made. A retraction is run. It was a strange, strange day for our hero, but it’s all been cleared up, right? Of course not. If it were all cleared up, it wouldn’t be worthy of the Coen brothers. (more…)