LifeLock Blog

For two years Dark Market provided an exclusive marketplace for 2,500 of the world’s most accomplished identity thieves to buy, sell and trade stolen identities. “Dark Market” provided its carefully vetted members a country club of sorts where the professionals could meet to compare and review professional practices and tools.

What this elite group didn’t realize was that Dark Market was a Federal Bureau of Investigation snare. Master Splyntr, the site’s administrator, was actually J. Keith Mularski, an FBI agent. And, though the criminals thought Splyntr was logging on somewhere in Eastern Europe, in fact, he was working at National Cyber Forensics Training Alliance in Pittsburgh, PA.

Before the site was closed down last month millions of dollars had changed hands among the thieves. But while the site was up, it netted 56 arrests and saved $70 million in losses.

Shawn Henry, FBI Cyber Division Assistant Director, said the sting was a coordinated effort between the Bureau, the U.K.’s Serious Organised Crime Agency and other agencies in Turkey and Germany.

October 4th Master Splyntr notified forum members that the site was being closed down because of attention it was receiving from “a lot of the world services (agents of FBI, SS, and Interpol).”

In fact, the site was shut down and the information-gathering phase of the operation brought to a close after another of the site’s administrators, Chao, was arrested in Turkey for kidnapping and torturing a police informant.

Welcome to the LifeLock home page. This is where you’ll meet LifeLock members who’ll tell you why they chose LifeLock to help them protect themselves from identity theft. They’ve all been victims of identity theft in the past, even the former police chief.

On the left side of the home page, you’ll see links to some TV interviews with CEO Todd Davis, and with Zach, a LifeLock customer whose identity was stolen when he was only seven.

Be sure to check out the center panel that lets you know you’re dealing with a Better Business Bureau accredited business.

When you’re done with all the information on the home page, click the blue tab at the top of the page, “How LifeLock Works.” This is probably the most important page on the website. This is where you’ll learn more about LifeLock’s comprehensive services and their exclusive identity protection tools. If you need more information, there’s a long list of frequently asked questions on the left side of the page. Just click on any one of them for more info. (more…)

It’s National Protect Your Identity Week, and if you haven’t done it already, this is the perfect time to enroll with Life Lock.

Last year, 8.4 million Americans became victims of identity theft. In less than four years, more that 250 million personal and financial records have been lost, stolen or exposed in data breaches. And, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center,

• Someone known by the victim perpetrates 30% of identity theft cases.
• Lost and stolen wallets are still one of the most common causes of identity theft
• 82% of the ITRC survey respondents discovered the crime through adverse action (bill collector, missing bank funds, job or credit denial, contact by law enforcement)
• Existing account ID theft costs victims an average of $550.39, and took an average of 116 hours to resolve
• New account ID theft costs victims an average of $1,865.27, and took an average of 158 hours to resolve

When you enroll with LifeLock, you’ll be covered by their comprehensive ID theft protection that makes them the service of choice for close to 1.5 million Americans. Their service includes:

• Fraud alerts
• Credit reports
• Reduction in pre-approved credit card offers and junk mail
• Removing your name from phone solicitors’ lists
• LifeLock exclusives WalletLock™, TrueAddress™ and eRecon™
• $1 million total service guarantee

Don’t wait another day. Visit LifeLock.com to learn more about these Life Lock services, and start protecting your identity today. For the very best value use the LifeLock discount code Defense.