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.

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.

The Federal Trade Commission announced the other day that a settlement has been reached with LifeLock to the tune of $12 million. Since the breaking of this news, and partially due to a press release issued by LifeLock referencing Identity Theft Lab’s rating of them as the “Best Overall” identity protection, we have been asked on a few occasions most notably by Zoran Basich in his Wall Street Journal Venture Blog whether our “best overall” rating will remain. The short answer is yes, for now, but first lets take a deeper look at this settlement and the, ahem, errors made by LifeLock before we give you the reason for our decision.

According to a press release issued by the FTC, LifeLock agreed to pay $11 million to the FTC and $1 million to a group of 35 state attorneys generals to settle charges that they used false claims to promote their identity theft protection services between April 1, 2005 and March 31, 2009 and that LifeLock failed, at least at some point within this timeframe, to adequately safeguard their clients personal information as they had stated they would do.

The FTC took exception to LifeLock CEO Todd Davis advertising his Social Security number everywhere and referenced its widely advertised use on the side of a truck. This combined with some other statements and advertisements may have given consumers a false sense of security in regards to how well their identity was protected and for some consumers may have given the impression that LifeLock was protecting them from all or other types of identity theft when they were predominantly just protecting them from financial identity theft with a strong emphasis on new account fraud.

The press release stated “And even for types of identity theft for which fraud alerts are most effective, they do not provide absolute protection. They alert creditors opening new accounts to take reasonable measures to verify that the individual applying for credit actually is who he or she claims to be, but in some instances, identity thieves can thwart even reasonable precautions.”

Anyone who has followed this blog will know that there is no such thing as full-proof identity theft protection and that fraud alerts while effective should not be your only means of protection. It should also be noted that LifeLock changed its marketing practices by April of 2009, launched a new enhanced service by October 2009 and then, this past January, added a whole new level of protection called LifeLock Command Center that actually does help protect Americans from other types of identity theft such as criminal.

“As the crimes of identity theft and identity fraud continue to evolve, we have positioned our business to grow at a more rapid pace in attempt to stay in front of the crime,” said LifeLock Chairman and CEO Todd Davis. “With our next generation LifeLock Identity Alert(TM) system and our advanced LifeLock Command Center(TM) protection suite, we are using technologies that allow us to search broader, deeper and for more data than ever before.”

Even when considering LifeLock’s old service, what the FTC failed to see or at least point out is that Americans are mostly concerned about financial identity theft and that by discovering an identity theft situation of any kind you are better protected from other types as well because you now know that some thief has your personal information. This causes your guard to go up, at least it should, and you will become more vigilant in protecting your identity even for something totally unrelated such as a hospital visit. For example, you may ask your doctor to confirm that the last time you were looked after actually was the last time YOU were looked after.

The FTC press release also claimed that “LifeLock’s data was not encrypted, and sensitive consumer information was not shared only on a “need to know” basis. In fact, the agency charged, the company’s data system was vulnerable and could have been exploited by those seeking access to customer information. ” It also states “the settlements require LifeLock to establish a comprehensive data security program and obtain biennial independent third-party assessments of that program for twenty years.”

It is important to note that there was no external breach but still this shocked us. How can an identity theft protection company not be taking the highest of security measures when the lack of such measures can result in a devastating setback for the company. We know LifeLock has always taken the security of its clients seriously, they have earned and maintained an ISO 27001 Security Certification since January 2007, but the lack of encryption is unacceptable and should not have happened. There is no excuse for not employing the strictest security measures possible. We realize that the FTC claim is from the past and not relating to LifeLock’s current security measures but maybe this is why they hired a new Chief Technology Officer a few months back and added another Senior Executive to its technology team recently.

Many people will claim that the independent third-party assessments are over regulation but we do not see this as a bad thing. Even LifeLock welcomed the settlement and increased industry regulation.

“LifeLock is pleased with this agreement, which, for the very first time, works to set advertising guidelines for the entire industry. We welcome federal and state efforts to regulate our industry, because doing so helps to protect consumers from the risks of identity theft,” said LifeLock Chairman and CEO Todd Davis.

At least now, clients of LifeLock will know their personal information is protected to the highest levels of security. Financial Institutions, Credit Bureaus and Identity Theft Protection Companies should be held to a higher standard of security and independent third-party assessments for all of them would certainly ensure they are using best of breed technologies, implementing the strictest policies and procedures and enforcing the highest security measures possible. Don’t consumers deserve this?

So the question remains, does LifeLock still have the “best overall” identity protection. The answer is yes. As you probably picked up on, the FTC settlement was due to past behavior relating to their old outdated service and old marketing practices. This is not to condone what happened but LifeLock is far from the first company to take their advertising over the top. And quite frankly, we will leave the judgement of what constitutes acceptable marketing to the FTC, that is their role. Ours is to evaluate the service itself and for now, we still see LifeLock as the best overall identity theft protection service, and don’t see the point in punishing them for their past mistakes, the FTC just did this.

But there is a caveat to this. We never intended to recommend LifeLock to everyone, our goal has always been to find the best of breed identity theft services and review and compare them in such a way that it allows consumers to see the points of difference between these services so that they can choose the right service for them.

We consider all the companies in our identity theft protection comparison chart to be excellent and perhaps in the near future we will revert to presenting them all as best of breed and drop the “best overall” and other taglines or notes we have on our site. In the meantime, however brief, we have decided to let it stay because right now many people are shying away from LifeLock and given their current offering we don’t believe that is the right thing to do.

To help customers find a complete credit protection service for their personal finances, Life Quotes, Inc., an online service provider of comprehensive insurance options, have recently entered into a partnership with LifeLock, Inc., the industry leader in proactive identity theft protection, that will provide Life Quotes users LifeLock’s service at a 10% discount. This is the same LifeLock discount provided here.

“Helping protect our members’ personally identifiable information is LifeLock’s primary focus,” said Steve McGrady, LifeLock Vice President of Partner Sales. “In order to help safeguard more consumers from the threats of identity theft, it is especially important for us to continue working with companies like Life Quotes, who help consumers take charge of their finances and protect what’s most valuable to them.”

In the same way that Identity Theft Labs provides a trusted and convenient way for consumers to review and compare identity theft protection services so they can find the plan that is best for their families, Life Quotes provides an online resource for consumers looking to find the right insurance company. In addition to life insuance, Life Quotes also provides quotes for auto, health and business insurance, helping busy consumers and business owners save time and money.

“Life Quotes customers tend to be the kind of consumers that consciously stay ahead of the curve when it comes to their personal and business finances,” said Mike Zuccato, Director of Online Marketing. “Through this partnership with LifeLock, we hope to provide our users with a necessary tool for helping to protect against identity theft. Just as life insurance and other forms of insurance are important protection measures, an identity theft service is crucial to keeping a stronger hold on finances.”

In a joint press release it was noted that “Both LifeLock and Life Quotes aim to help individuals with families to support. Especially with the current state of the economy, the need for families to protect their personal finances is greater than ever before. The partnership between LifeLock and Life Quotes provides Life Quotes users with an opportunity to receive LifeLock’s extensive identity theft protection service at a discounted rate. “

As the threat of identity theft continues to increase and consumer awareness grows we expect to see more of these partnerships between identity protection companies and businesses who see how adding credit protection as a service for their customers or staff adds value to their offer or company.

LifeLock launched its new service, LifeLock Command Center, in January of 2010 to help protect individuals and families from other types of identity theft beyond credit while at the same time adding enhanced credit protection. While financial identity theft will always be the biggest concern for Americans it only comprises less than a third of all complaints to the Federal Trade Commission. LifeLock’s Command Center extends the comprehensiveness of its original service, at an increased fee, to help protect consumers from other types of identity theft such as criminal.

Lets take a look at these added services and the safety it provides you.

Payday Loan Alerts and Reports
Notifies you of any payday loan activity with your name, date of birth and Social Security number.

Court Records Alerts and Reports
Lists court records that match your name and date of birth from county courts, Departments of Corrections (DOC), offices of Administration of Courts (AOC) and other legal agencies to help you verify that criminals aren’t using your name to commit crimes.

Public Records Alerts and Reports
Lists postal addresses associated with your identity found in public records.

Alias Records Alerts and Reports
Lists alternate names associated with other pieces of your identity (Social Security number, driver’s license, etc.) found in public records.

LifeLock Personal Breach Detection™ Services
Actively monitors unregulated internet and file-sharing networks for your identity information. If we find you are at risk, we’ll alert you by e-mail and help protect you against accidental personal information disclosures.

Sex Offender Registry Alerts and Reports
Lists registered sex offender records for your zip code. It will also alert you if a sex offender is fraudulently using your address.

As you can see it is quite comprehensive and is an additional service to their basic service (see our LifeLock review). In fact, there is no other identity theft protection service offering this level of protection. Of particular interest to us is the criminal identity theft protection, the enhanced credit protection with Payday Loan Monitoring and the Alias Record Alerts which will notify you if someone else is using your Social Security number or other identification.

If you feel the extra $49.50 per year is worth the added level of protection that LifeLock Command Center provides you can sign up here. It an extra level of protection that may very well be worth the extra peace of mind.

Over the next few weeks LifeLock will be transitioning to their new identity theft protection system. The new service will replace fraud alerts and work together with LifeLocks other services including eRecon, TrueAddress and WalletLock. Though LifeLock is touting this as a change for the better, and indeed it may be, it is clear that they would have preferred to add the new service as an addition to fraud alerts rather than a replacement. Unfortunately, the litigation brought forth by Experian, which claimed the spirit of the FACT Act was not written with the intention of letting companies set fraud alerts on behalf of consumers, was upheld in a preliminary court ruling. An extremely unfortunate decision that has left privacy experts dismayed and in the end will only hurt American citizens.

LifeLock CEO Todd Davis said they had planned for the possibility of this ruling and that the new identity protection system, which will be rolled out in the next few weeks, will offer “better and broader protection”. Davis went on to say the new system “adds an even greater level of security to protect your identity often in real time. Our new service will provide deep forensic analysis of the entire credit network to both help predict future risk and identify vulnerable members before their identity is stolen. Our new service monitors million of data sources, substantially more than the credit bureaus. These new sources include retailers, banks, mortgage lenders, utilities and auto lenders.”

At LifeLock.com, the official news on their yet unnamed new system is that it uses highly developed technologies, scientific modeling and algorithms, and multi-point data mining to detect fraud and can even help predict future identity risks and vulnerable members. We will have more information as it becomes available, including a detailed analysis, and will of course update our LifeLock review as the changes roll out over the next few weeks. For now here is what Todd Davis has to say in its entirety, just play the video below or visit lifelock.com for further details.

LifeLock and Symantec, makers of the popular Norton Internet Securty Suite, joined forces today to help protect consumers from identity theft both offline and online.  The first step of this partnership sees LifeLock’s identity theft protection service packaged at a 10% discount (first 30 days free) within Norton retail box sets at stores across the US. While this is the same deal commonly found online LifeLock has pushed their brand presence to retail establishments and Symantec has added value to their product offerings. Janice Chaffin, President with Symantec, had this to say

“Today’s malware has become more intrusive, more stealth and more focused on financial gain and there are a variety of ways cyber criminals can compromise your identity and finances in the real world. Online security is a great first line of defense, but the best offline offense is to guard your identity, your money and your credit with identity theft protection. In partnership with LifeLock, we want to provide consumers with the tools they need to better safeguard themselves in both worlds”

This is what this really comes down to, identity theft has become a world wide threat with sophisticated international rings and organized crime becoming increasingly involved in this potentially lucrative crime.  Large organizations including government bodies and financial companies have succumbed to hackers  or malware or otherwise exposed personal and private information of Americans in numerous data breaches.  When they are unable to protect their secure information it becomes obvious that consumers need top of the line online security protection in addition to offline identity theft protection.

This is what this partnership brings.  LifeLock couldn’t develop an internet security suite to protect their members and have it be anywhere near as effective as Nortons which Symantec has worked on for over a decade. But the need existed.  Far too many people have private information stored on their computer and with the  sophisticated malware making its rounds around the net it is imperative that an internet security suite is used for protection.  That said, even with effective personal online protection consumers are at risk from many other channels most notably through the companies they deal with, online and offline, that store their personal information.

“You, your identity and your financial information are more vulnerable than ever before, and people need to protect themselves and their wallets no matter if they’re in a crowded public place or shopping online from home,” said Todd Davis, LifeLock CEO. “Symantec and LifeLock represent two sides of the security and identity protection coin and we feel that in combining our core competencies, we have a unique solution to an increasingly alarming problem.”

Hopefully, this is just the first step to a successful partnership and that eventually LifeLock will include or have as an addition to their service offering Norton’s Internet Security Suite.  To us, it seems like a match made in heaven.

If you already have online protection you can purchase LifeLock for the same discount provided by Symantec (10% off, first 30 days free), just see our LifeLock review.

Unfortunately, we all know that identity theft is a horrible part of American society that is here to stay. But soon it will be a part of pop culture too, since it’s taking a ride on the reality TV train, thanks to hotel and casino mogul, Donald Trump. Trump will feature LifeLock CEO Todd Davis (yes, the guy that posts his Social Security number on T.V., billboards and busses) on the April 12 episode of The Apprentice.

In this episode, the contestants will design a new LifeLock package, which may or may not be used for resale in the future. These contestants, who are all competing for money to give to charity, are supposed to gear the package toward consumers and then decide how it will fit into a display, also of their design. Davis is apparently looking to branch out with the LifeLock service, possibly to partner with retail establishments, and is looking to the Apprentice contestants for possible inspiration.

So how did we get to this point, where the Donald is in cohorts with an identity theft protection plan provider? Part of it is the prevalence of identity theft in America today. It is becoming so common, affecting more than 9.9 million Americans in 2008, that people want to know all that they can about preventing it, including what identity protection services can offer. The other part may be the accolades that celebrities enjoy when they appear to want to help the public. (Just think about how popular Oprah got when she changed the theme of her talk show from trash TV to the Angel Network.) This is not to say that Donald Trump isn’t sincere, he is, just that getting a little morale boost could only help him as his real estate empire continues to have financial woes due to our economic situation.

Whatever the reason, LifeLock is being featured on the show, and this is a decidedly good thing, since it may steer more people toward identity theft protection plans by putting the thought in their heads. Subscribing to these plans, and being diligent about online, mail and recycling bin security, could save people thousands of dollars, not to mention countless hours of hassle and red tape bureaucracy.

But it is important to note that LifeLock is not the only identity theft protection service. Although it might be the right company for you, especially with the expansions that may be coming out soon, you shouldn’t purchase its package just because you’re an Apprentice fan or solely because LifeLock is rated as the best identity protection company by us.

Instead, do some research, read our reviews, compare LifeLock to their competitors such as TrustedID, and make sure you are getting the right service for you and for your family. You don’t want to pick out the wrong plan and then have to go back later and say “you’re fired.”

LifeLock and TransUnion have entered in to an agreement in which the process for placing fraud alerts by LifeLock will be automated. Previously LifeLock called the credit bureaus on behalf of their clients to set the fraud alert. This was a contention of Experian in their LifeLock lawsuit as they believed the spirit of the FACT Act passed by congress was only intended for consumers to place fraud alerts and not others on their behalf. The agreement puts to rest the legal issue concerning LifeLocks manual setting of fraud alerts and allows them do so more efficiently and accurately.

“Protecting consumers just became easier,” said LifeLock CEO Todd Davis. “While we have been growing our company by providing a strong layer of defense against identity theft, we have been looking to develop a business solution with the credit bureaus that takes advantage of leading technology and provides our members with a process unchallenged in our industry.”

Other identity theft protection services such as TrustedID and Debix already had agreements in place with one of the major credit bureaus and as such there services were not challenged by Experian who only sued LifeLock. Experian seems to have been shut out of any agreements with other companies for the placing of fraud alerts. It seems that they would have been much better off signing an agreement with LifeLock rather then launching a lawsuit against them. Experians resistance to the fraud alerts employed by LifeLock is likely due to the fact that LifeLock took a lot of business away from their credit monitoring services and prevents them from marketing pre-approved credit card offers and other opportunities to consumers. Credit Bureaus earn a large portion of their revenues by selling our private information to companies looking to market their products. It is unclear why some credit bureaus have embraced the automated technology used by identity protection companies preferring to sign deals with them rather then oppose them. TransUnion president of Consumer Services, Mark Marinko had this to say.

“We believe in empowering consumers through education and choice. This effort will help ensure that regardless of whether consumers choose to manage their own credit directly through the services TransUnion provides or authorize LifeLock to handle those kinds of responsibilities on their behalf, their requests and personal information will be handled in a highly efficient and secure manner.”

The agreement between LifeLock and TransUnion is good for consumers because consumers want choices and apparently a lot of Americans prefer the protection of LifeLock as evidenced by the 1.3 million people who have enrolled in their identity protection service. Learn more about LifeLock and their services with our unbiased review and comparison chart.

LifeLock, the leading providers of identity theft protection, announced they signed US Airways as a partner to promote their service as a benefit to their members. LifeLock CEO Todd Davis made the announcement. The strategic alliance offers US Airways Dividend Mile Members 1000 Dividend Miles and a 10% LifeLock discount to enroll in their identity protection service.

“Whether you spend a great deal of time traveling or staying at home, identity theft can be crippling,” said Davis. “This partnership with US Airways shows the airline’s commitment to ensuring that their customers’ personal information is kept safe.”

The strategic alliance offers US Airways Dividend Mile Members 1000 Dividend Miles and a 10% discount to enroll in LifeLock’s identity theft protection service.

The safety and satisfaction of our customers is a top priority for our airline,” said Fernand Fernandez, director, customer loyalty and marketing programs with US Airways. “As we continue to expand the benefits offered within our Dividend Miles Program, protecting our customers from the growing threat of identity theft is very important to us. LifeLock is a simple and effective preventative tool. Our Dividend Miles Members will appreciate this added security element.”

LifeLock has continued its success in aligning with other companies who have loyalty and membership benefit services. They already have similar alliances with numerous AAA agencies. It is a win – win situation for both parties as LifeLock cements its position as the leading identity protection company and the companies they sign up provide a benefit to their customer that many will be interested in.

Identity Theft Labs also offers a LifeLock discount that includes membership at $99 per year, every year, plus the first 30 days free. This brings your first year membership price down to $90.75. You can also choose to enroll at $9 per month but this, of course, brings the yearly cost to $108 with the first year costing $109. Whatever you choose it is a great way to protect your identity.