It is very important for people interested in identity theft protection to realize that they don't necessarily need to spend $100plus per year for a credit freeze, credit-card opt out, telemarketer opt-out, annual credit report, etc.... Finding all such relevant information and procedures is indeed a hastle. A new website, http://www.creditlock.com , has organized most Identity Theft relevant information and services, and enables consumers to employ most such services for free. As for Credit Freeze, kits are also offered on a complimentary basis to members, and membership costs less than $4.69 per year.
Many individuals decide it is not worth it to protect themselves against identity theft becuase it is highly unlikely they will become a victim. Given the recent surge in Identity theft, a person is actually highly likely to become a victim sometime in his lifetime. However, you don't have to spend n arm and a leg to employ many identity theft services and techniques...

It is amazing to me that there are so many web sites, so much media coverage, and so many personal stories about Identity Theft and yet there are so many people and businesses alike that still don't get it.

I am also in the IDentity Theft business, but I have chosen not to market a plan that will simply freeze everything or send you a big "how to" kit in the event of IDentity Theft.

Just like many of you out there, I do not have the time or the money to chase down all of the forms, all of the companies and all of the red tape involved in restoring my identity. I also have no desire to take up my daily work hours (when most of your financial institutions that will have to be contacted) to try and fix my IDentity Theft situation.

The solution I chose involves the ONLY service I have found to date that will actually give my wife and myself coverage for one low cost AND provide both of us with COMPLETE RESTORATION SERVICES so that neither she nor I will have to spend much time with it. As an added bonus, there is also a matching program that provides us with access to a Life Events Legal Plan that we have found most useful on many different issues above and beyond IDentity Theft.

Since the FTC even states that you will need access and assistance from the Legal System at some point in your battle to restore your identity, doesn't it make sense to pay a few dollars a month instead of $200 - $300 an hour when you find you need legal services?

When you find yourself a victim of IDentity Theft, which would you rather have?

An Erector-type-kit with instructions on how to do it yourself?

OR

Licensed professionals doing all that is legally possible FOR you?

For us, the choice was clear.

Make an informed decision. Get the facts on your choices before you jump into the deep end with your family or your business protection. Can you really afford not to?

http://www.info-portal.us

Well, I would suggest going to the Federal Trade Commission to get the latest information on protecting your identity, both from a personal and a business perspective.

I also spoke to this woman recently about prepaid legal services during the Cool Products Expo over at Stanford University Campus. There are plenty of these services out there so I suggest you take a look at the different offerings and make an informed decision.

Victor -- I'm concerned about your objectivity after reading the story and comments.

Lifelock's service is a very expensive assisted-credit-freeze that provides no ongoing protection, and that one can do oneself cheaply and easily. Also, their $1M guarantee is very deceptive -- they insure RECOVERY COSTS only, NOT losses. Most quality services already include this.

And Prepaid Legal provides a very minimalist and expensive service as well. My company is a competitor to both of them -- thus my concern -- but I can affirm that many OTHER companies offer better programs as well, such as MyPublicInfo, Identity Safeguards and TrustedID.

Even more important, neither of the programs you mention will help companies prevent workplace or customer ID theft AT ALL. There are a whole set of simple practices companies should follow to improve their control of sensitive data, and avoid really massive liability. Ponemon's comprehensive 2006 study found that DIRECT data breach recovery costs averaged over $50 PER RECORD, and TOTAL costs were over $200 per record. Given that there have been over 150 MILLION records breaches in just the last 2 years, companies would do well to take this issue very seriously.

Peter Marshall
CEO, ID Theft Defense Center
www.idtheftdefensecenter.com

Peter,

Thank you for bringing up these salient points.

When I took a look at LifeLock initially, it was one of the few services that offered *any* kind of protection for the consumer. Yes, I will admit that LL is expensive (about $130/yr), but at the time they were no more expensive than getting the somewhat similar services from the big three credit services. And if you did subscribe to the services offered by the big three, they only offered you notification of some transactions, and didn't offer any kind of recovery assistance (monetary or otherwise) should your private data be lost. That was still wholly up to the consumer.

Since then several more services have popped up, several agencies and law enforcement have become more visable, and more importantly, the end-user is becoming more educated.

I'll send you an email and we'll arrange for a podcast so that readers and listeners can read/hear about your suggestions and service offerings as well.

Unfortunately, data theft, as you pointed out, is still on the rise, and there are many simple things that organizations and enterprises can do to mitigate theft and losses. Among them is security policy enforcement (and having a security policy to begin with), end user security education, and data encryption.