There is no doubt that identity theft protection services are growing in popularity, and for one major reason – they work. LifeLock, one of the industry leaders, made the Lead411 list of the 200 companies that had the largest percentage of revenue growth from 2008 to 2010. This is the second time LifeLock has been recognized by Lead411 as one of the fastest growing tech companies.

According to Todd Davis, the CEO of Lifelock, the growth can be attributed to not be afraid to change. “We consistently challenge ourselves to deliver more than what seems possible,” he said.

To be more specific, Lifelock has seen growth of 78% in the two year period Lead411 was measuring. Not only that, but it earned over a million dollars last year and was actually in the top ten in revenue of all of the companies considered for the award. In fact, companies had to make over a million dollars even to be considered in the running.

While LIfelock is definitely the most popular and comprehensive identity theft protection service out there, it is only one of many. There are dozens that you can choose from, including many featured on this site. A lot of them are often adding new services to their packages, so if you didn’t find one that suited your life before, now is a good time to check back and see if changes have been made to make one the perfect fit for you.

Why do so many people take advantage of identity theft protection? Simple. They don’t want to be part of the millions of Americans that are victims of identity theft each year. With a proper plan, they can be notified if someone unauthorized is using their personal information, have their credit monitored regularly, get legal help if they are victimized and more. Not a bad deal for about the cost of a daily coffee – or less.

Save 10% every year, regardless of the plan you choose, with our LifeLock promotion.

If you’ve been thinking about purchasing an identity theft protection service but you’re just not sure how helpful it’s going to be, perhaps a recent survey will assist you in making the decision. This study, conducted by Harris Interactive, involved surveying over 3,000 Americans 21 years of age or older, some who were covered by identity protection plans and some who weren’t. One of the most telling results of the survey was the increase in peace of mind that the current subscribers had. Over 70% of subscribers indicated that they were highly satisfied with this aspect that comes from being covered.

Also, 64% of subscribers responded that they were confident that they would be safe from complications due to things like credit card fraud and breaches in Internet security. Only, 38% of non-subscribers responded in a similar fashion. And 79% of subscribers said that their plans help protect them in ways they wouldn’t be able to do without its assistance.

A few more interesting things to come out of the study are:
*Those who were victimized while covered by a plan spent about half as much time resolving the issue as those who were not covered.
*Covered individuals had their identities recovered in about a quarter of the time it took for non-covered individuals.
*Plan holders spent about $345 on recovering their identities, instead of the average of over one thousand dollars that those who weren’t covered spent.
*The majority of plan holders who were victimized reported that their plans alerted them to the potential of fraudulent use of their information.

It’s important to note that LifeLock, the industry leader in identity theft protection, was a sponsor for this study. However, it’s also good to be informed of the fact that the individuals taking the survey did not know that this was the case, so as not to skew the results.

If you’re still not sold on an identity theft protection plan, please read our article titled Identity Protection, Do I Really Need It or peruse this site and find a plan that offers a free trial period. You may find that the peace of mind you get from simply having identity protection is more than worth the money. Plus, who knows? You may find that you sign up just at the opportune time, right before you become an identity theft victim. Then the time and money that you save may prove to be invaluable.

Want to check if your child is an identity theft victim? Of course you do, but how? Or, maybe you noticed something fishy in the mail, like a credit card application in your child’s name, well, guess what, it’s likely your child has become a victim of identity theft. But how do you prove it? The best way is to contact one of the three credit bureaus, or better yet, all three credit bureaus, to see if they’ve opened credit files in your child’s name. An easier way would be to go to annualcreditreport.com to order their credit reports or use an identity theft protection service like LifeLock to check their credit reports on your behalf.

If you go the credit bureau route, it’s essential that you do so in writing so that you can prove that you have a relationship to your child and are not just digging for information. When you make the request, you’ll need to include copies of your child’s birth certificate, his or her Social Security card and your driver’s license. You don’t want to send the original documents, and paying a few extra bucks to get it there securely is a good idea.

The optimum result will be that the credit bureau or whoever gets back to you and tells you that there is no record on file for your child. Since your child doesn’t have and isn’t applying for credit they should have no credit record and thus no credit report. If you find that your child has no report, resist the temptation to check back every month or so to determine whether or not this is still the case.

If you cause repeated inquiries, this could end up on your child’s credit report, which would actually make him or her more likely to become a victim of identity theft – the exact situation you are trying to stop or prevent. Instead, if there are no further incidents that trigger suspicion, stick to checking it every year or two.

If you’d like more of an ongoing monitoring type of situation, you can register your child for an identity theft protection plan. Usually, for minors, the plans only cost a few dollars a month or less. If you’re looking into buying an identity theft policy for yourself, see if you can add your child or children onto it for what will likely be a nominal charge. TrustedID includes children in their family plan which costs $240 and LifeLock charges $22.50 per child under 16 (one adult at $99 per year is mandatory). LifeLock will even confirm with the bureaus that no credit file has been opened.

Want to learn more about child identity theft? Check out some of our other blog posts:

Identity Thieves May Be Closer To Home Than You Think

Debix Study Shows 1 in 20 Children Are Victims of Identity Theft

Those of you visting LifeLock.com or seeing a recent television commercial recently may have noticed LifeLock’s new marketing campaign featuring LockMan. LockMan appears strong, secure and ready to protect your identity and though he certainly won’t have the popularity of Ronald McDonald he has re-invigorated LifeLocks marketing which had grown stale with the FTC ordered banishment of their old marketing campaign featuring CEO Todd Davis.

LifeLock, the industry leader in identity theft protection, has also refreshed their website and launched several other programs namely LifeLock Command Center and LifeLock Credit Score Manager. Command Center has been out for quite sometime and includes all benefits of LifeLocks regular service with the addition of enhanced credit protection and protection from other types of identity theft. Visit our LifeLock Command Center review for further details.

LifeLock Credit Score Manager launched fairly recently and is an add-on to either the regular LifeLock service or Command Center for $148.50 per year. It includes:
* Daily Tri-Bureau Credit Monitoring
* Monthly Credit Score Updates
* Annual Tri-Bureau Credit Reports
* Annual Tri-Bureau Credit Scores
* 24/7 Credit Dispute Assistance

A new logo and icon, redesigned website, new commercials, new services and products. LifeLock certainly hasn’t stood still, in fact, they continue to innovate and create…. doing all they can to reach new customers and protect them from America’s fastest growing crime, identity theft. I guess that’s what market leaders do and with millions of customers LifeLock certainly is the market leader for identity theft protection. Kudos to them.

October is National Crime Prevention month. As part of the month’s events, Lifelock is partnering with the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Association to share information on identity theft prevention. Together, they are holding summits meant to benefit law enforcement. The goal is to educate them on the newest techniques identity thieves are using and how to adequately fight the crime.

In addition, to benefit consumers, the organization will be holding educational seminars that anyone can attend for free. These seminars are known as the Lifelock Speaker Series. Attendees of the series will learn more about how identity theft occurs and what they can do to avoid becoming a statistic. In addition to the information included in the seminars, Lifelock offered the following information in a recent press release:

*If you get an “official” call requesting personal information, cross check the number on your caller ID. Sometimes thieves can spoof the number, making a call appear to be from an institution it’s not really from. Instead of blindly giving out your personal details, make sure the number is the official one for that institution.

*Do a check of your rental history. This is one way to find out if a thief has taken out a lease in your name. You should do this even if you currently own your home. You never know if a thief could still be taking advantage of your good credit to secure a property.

*Get in touch with a company like Intelliscript to help determine if a thief is requesting prescription drugs in your name. A lot of people don’t find out until they get a notice from the insurance company. This company will let you see your entire prescription history.

*Be wary of debt collectors who still contact you after you tell them to stop. Since real debt collectors are legally obligated to cease contact in most cases, it’s likely the person that continues to hound you is an identity thief. If not, you should still report the person because he or she is breaking the law.

If you see any of these Lifelock Speaker Series advertised in your area I would highly recommend attending. Actually, it would be good to attend any seminar on identity theft… not only to learn how rampant and devastating it is but more importantly what you can do to keep yourself and your loved ones protected.

Don’t forget to encourage your law enforcement friends sign up for the joint FBI and LifeLock training as well. Without the assistance of knowledgeable peace officers the crime is going to continue its upright projection. I am sure everyone agrees that 10 million American identity theft victims per year and the cost of $50 Billion to the economy is enough. Education and action is what we need right now, so lets encourage everyone to contribute.

LifeLock, one of the largest and most well known providers of identity theft protection in the United States, recently received recognition from Arizona Business Magazine. The company was given the Most Admired Companies Award, or MAC Award. As the recipient of this honor, LifeLock was recognized at a reception on September 14 at the Ritz Carlton in Phoenix and featured in a special report in the magazine during the same month, along with other winners.

The magazine gives the MAC award to companies who display excellence in corporate citizenship, judging them based on three major criteria: workplace culture, leadership and social responsibility and customer opinion.

According to Cheryl Green, vice president of marketing for Arizona Business Magazine, “These companies truly exemplify what it means to be a good corporate citizen. MAC winners consistently show strong leadership, a commitment to the communities in which they operate and concern for their employees and customers.”

The first criterion is based on a vote by the company’s employees, the second is related to the community and environment and the third is based on polling of customers. This is the one that should matter most to you.

When choosing a company to purchase an identity theft protection service with, you want to make sure that it is a company that you can trust and that it is a company that is going to stick around; in other words, one that is not a fly by night operation. LifeLock is certainly not the only company that will fit the bill, but it is one that you should strongly consider, along with others.

Identity Theft Labs is a great resource for reviews on identity theft protection companies. In addition to our professional unbiased reviews we offer discounts specifically for our users. Whichever plan you go with, you can take comfort in the fact that, once you have your plan set up, you’re less likely to become one of the 10 million Americans victimized by identity theft each year. This can make you more reputable in the eyes of potential creditors and speaks more to you and your credit’s integrity than any award ever could.

Here is our LifeLock review to get you started. If it fits your budget we would also advise you check out there new flagship service by reading our LifeLock Command Center review.

Arguably the industry leader in identity theft services, Lifelock is trying to grow its brand recognition even further. In June of this year, the company partnered with Boston based word of mouth marketing company, Bzzagent, to help spread the word about identity theft prevention and introduce more people to the benefits of using this service. This is just the latest in the company’s ongoing quest to stay in the public eye.

Thousands of “agents,” who are ordinary people that registered for the Bzzagent website at a certain point in time, will receive a free one-year Lifelock membership as well as a coupon code for a six-month membership that they can share with a friend. In exchange, they are tasked with telling friends, family members and even casual acquaintances what they think of Lifelock and reporting back to Bzzagent about how people respond. Agents aren’t paid for their opinions, but they do get rewarded with MyPoints for completing certain tasks. They are expected to be unbiased, not just to act like paid promoters who only mention the positive aspects of a product – well, if they want to keep their jobs as promoters anyway.

This program could go a long way in helping to educate the public about identity theft, and about protection plans. Even with all the cases in the news, it’s likely some people haven’t looked into identity theft protection at all, and some may not even know that these services exist. The more awareness there is, the better it is for everyone – well, perhaps except for the identity thieves of course.

Even if you’re not a Bzzagent, you can help to spread the word about identity theft and the things you can do to make sure it doesn’t happen to you. Plus, you can get a great discount on the Lifelock service just by signing up through our website. Lifelock is one of the most comprehensive identity theft protection services out there, and new services are being added to the package all the time. This year they launched LifeLock Command Center as their flagship service. Be sure to check back for the latest updates and reviews so that you can generate some buzz of your own.

Here is the link to our LifeLock Promotion.

You don’t have to be some sophisticated mastermind to be an identity thief. One of the reasons there are about 10 million identity theft victims each year in the United States alone is because people make it easy for thieves to get their information. The worst offenders: people 18 to 24, who, according to Javelin Research, do the least to protect themselves and take the longest to notice when someone compromises their credit. Identity thieves love people who don’t check their credit, especially after they’ve been victimized. It lets them continue to use their accounts with impunity.

The CEO of Lifelock, Todd Davis, told Channel 3 News in Arizona, ““The criminals, if they were willing to work hard, they’d be productive members of society. The reality is, as long as you make it hard, you won’t be the next victim.”

So how do you make it hard for thieves to get your information? Well start by eliminating the simple ways your information gets leaked.
*Don’t use the same passwords for your bill pay and bank accounts as you do for less sensitive sites, like social networks.
*Don’t throw credit card ads, bills and statements in the trash or recycling without shredding them.
*Don’t forget to install virus and malware protection on your computer, and always password protect it when you’re not using it.
*Don’t submit personal information online, or give it out over the phone, unless you know for a fact that you can trust the person or website that’s receiving it.
*Don’t write your personal identification number on your debit card or credit card, and never write passwords in a place where others can easily find them.
*Don’t use your birth date, your Social Security number or the word “password” as your password for anything.
*At the very least check your credit reports for free with annualcreditreport.com the government legislated website.

Once you’ve taken care of the simple stuff, it’s time to make things a bit tougher still. To do that, you’ll want LifeLock identity theft protection, for example, or another quality company such as those listed on our homepage. You probably know that some thieves tend to delve a bit deeper to find their victims, especially if they’re looking for someone with a high income or a very good credit rating. That’s where a plan can really help you out.

Even if you have an identity protection plan, or will soon be getting one, don’t start slacking on the simple stuff. An identity theft protection plan is not going to help you if you get a virus from clicking on a link to a bogus banking website. While it can help you if your credit is compromised, there’s nothing it can do to rescue a ruined computer operating system.

The popular identity theft protection service, LifeLock, seems to be everywhere these days. Now, the LifeLock team is working with the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Association to create summits on identity theft to benefit police officers.

These summits, which will take place over the summer, will cover the following topics:
*Methods used for investigation
*New and emerging methods of identity theft
*Current identity theft trends

The first round of these free summits started in October of 2008. Since then, they’ve been held in 21 different cities in the United States. Over 700 law enforcement agencies and over 2,200 officers have attended them.

The importance of these free training is threefold. First, officers learn to recognize identity theft when it occurs. Second, they learn new techniques for preventing the crime and catching the perpetrators. Finally, they learn how to support victims in an effective way.

It could be thanks to this training that Albert Gonzalez was finally convicted and tried for stealing 40 million card numbers from popular retail and restaurant chains. Gonzalez was ultimately sentenced to spend 20 years in jail for his crimes.

This brings up a good point, that if you are a victim of identity theft, or your purse, wallet or laptop computer gets stolen, it’s important to contact the police in the jurisdiction where the crime occurred. If you don’t do that and simply cancel your license and credit cards and move on instead, law enforcement will have no record of the crime occurring. With the crime logged, as well as statements from you and any witnesses, it’s more likely that the identity thief – or traditional thief – will be caught.

Most thieves don’t operate just one time and then give up on their line of work. Your thief could be linked to several other crimes, and you reporting her could be just what law enforcement needs in order to finally prosecute. If you have an identity theft protection service and your plan alerts you to potential fraud, the company may contact law enforcement for you. It’s up to you to read the terms of your policy to see if that is the case.

LifeLock certainly is one such company.

Here’s more proof that identity theft is still a big topic in the news. LifeLock recently made its second appearance in prime time TV, on an episode of the Celebrity Apprentice. Its first appearance occurred last year on the same show. On this year’s episode, the contestants were tasked with promoting a bundled product that includes both a year of LifeLock service and Norton 360, a computer security product.

Janice Chaffin of Norton told CNN Money, “Working with a reality show … is a great way to educate consumers. Todd Davis, the CEO of LifeLock added, “This episode is the perfect outlet to demonstrate to viewers how to protect their good name.” It’s hoped that viewers were able to pick up some tips to help protect themselves in the future.

The reason it’s so important is that there are still 10 million victims of identity theft each year in this country – even though people are better educated than in the past. Part of the reason is because thieves are getting more sophisticated, but part of it is that a lot of individuals, and we’re talking 100’s of thousands, are still pretty careless with their personal information.

While they may not write all of their sensitive details on a card and hand them directly to a thief, they aren’t shredding sensitive mail, keeping watch on their laptops or locking them when they’re not using them or being careful what websites they visit. If they were, things would not be so easy for identity thieves, and they may have to find themselves legitimate employment.

Even if you know all of the tips and tricks you can use to protect your information, there may be one thing you haven’t thought about before or maybe many and there are certainly things you can’t do that LifeLock identity theft protection can. While LifeLock is consistently rated as one of the best available, there are literally dozens more, with varying degrees of protection for their clients. We only include the best identity protection options at Identity Theft Labs so you can rest assured regardless of who you choose.

You can find out more about LifeLock and Norton software on their respective websites. You can purchase the product featured on the show at your local Best Buy electronics store. If you happened to miss the episode, you can check it out online at nbc.com. If it’s not available yet, it should be in the next few days. There is no charge to view it, but your machine will have to be compatible with a video and sound player.

Keep in mind that the Norton bundle is LifeLock’s Basic Service. If you want better protection you can read our review on LifeLock Command Center. It is simply the best protection on the market right now.

Here is our LifeLock promotion code for their basic service (10% off, 30 days free, valid on renewals).