Debix identity-theft protection service is newly cheap, might work

Years of identity-theft horror stories show that the world has no shortage of entrepreneurs and quick-buck artists angling to sell you some peace of mind.

Probably none has made quite so big a belly-flop splash as LifeLock, the service that slaps fraud alerts on your files at the three major credit bureaus, and perhaps commits fraud in order to do so.

LifeLock has advertised heavily and claims to be doing great, despite the little flap over the fact the company's co-founder was jailed on fraud charges earlier in his career and barred from the credit-repair business. Oh, and then there's the attention-grabbing bit by the company CEO, who fearlessly published his own Social Security number only to see it promptly stolen and used for fraud.

Other, quieter companies have the same basic approach, assisting clients by putting fraud alerts on files and then renewing them as they expire every 90 days. The alerts tell businesses they had better get in touch with you before issuing any new credit to someone using your name. LifeLock, Trusted ID and the rest typically charge about $100 a year, although you could do the same thing yourself for free.

Debix, however, does more, and does it for less. The company just dropped its price to $24 a year, and it puts a different phone number on the fraud alerts, so that potential creditors call Debix, and Debix tracks you down. Voice samples and secret codes round out the set-up; early reviews are enthusiastic.

While we're on the subject though, please know two things. First, you can do a whole lot for $0, including getting your own credit reports and putting a freeze on them so no new creditors can peek, making them highly unlikely to issue credit in your name.

Second, none of these systems prevents all types of identity fraud. A truly helpful rundown of how all this stuff works, and what questions to ask those peddling anti-ID theft services, has just been released by the nonprofit Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.

-- Joseph Menn

Photo: LifeLock co-founder Robert Maynard Jr. Credit: Courtesy of Wired

Comments

[The real Danny Lents - IdTheftAwareness.com]

I applaud Debix for offering their service at a reasonable value. I also love their idea of engaging law enforcement early in a fraud case.

The Federal Trade Commission reported that only 27% of ID theft victims successfully submit a police report for ID theft. 65% of ID theft victims don't even make an attempt to submit a police report. You can imagine that the thieves love this statistic.

The Debix service will likely increase the risk for thieves by getting police involved in more ID theft cases.

www.IdTheftAwareness.com

[Mark Hargrove]

I think it's incredibly cruel and uncalled for to plaster a large picture of Mr. Maynard on an article that has nothing to do with him, Debix or LifeLock for that matter.

Mr. Maynard resigned from LifeLock over a year ago and the company is thriving. Neither Mr. Maynard or LifeLock should be smeared as a way to promote a competing product!

This type of yellow journalism is disturbing and makes me question its agenda.

I feel bad for Mr. Maynard's family -and for LifeLock, for being attacked in such a non-provoked mean-spirited manner. What happen to unbiased journalism? What happened to letting the consumer know what's available and then making an informed decision based on facts and not conjecture?

[patrick k. doebrick]

Debix cheap product seems to be in direct correlation to new credit. At least LifeLock has services that we can't easily figure out how to do on our own. The service I am talking about relates to their scouring the web looking for our credit card numbers, social security numbers in black market websites that are frequented by thieves. And another service that is worthwhile is their wallet protection. If you are on vacation and lose your travelers checks, wallet, license, credit cards and more, do you want to spend your time replacing everything? Would you know where to begin?

If Debix lower price means less protection, I must say, sometimes you get what you pay for! They have a higher priced service that may offer additional help -but I question if their move to promote this lower price product isn't more about beating their competitors than it is offering a really good product? Sounds like they want to 1) go for more market share and 2) try to up sell their other product. Can't blame them -but why attack a competitor if you believe your product is better promote that! sounds much like a political smear campaign!
Curious, if Debix and Lifelock are the same thing, how could you perceive Debix to be of a better value? The scales seem tipped...

[Mr. Smith]

Privacy group says identity-theft monitoring services may be a waste of money

Many are overpriced and offer protections that can be had for free, PRC claims

July 29, 2008 (Computerworld) Consumers who sign up for identity-theft monitoring services may be getting a lot less protection against some common types of fraud than they assume they are, according to an online guide released yesterday by the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (PRC).

What's more, many of the services offered by identity-theft monitoring vendors can often be obtained for free, the San Diego-based privacy advocacy group claimed.

The PRC's guide doesn't mention any vendors by name and notes that the available monitoring services "vary tremendously" in what they offer. Even so, many of them are overpriced and don't provide anything close to full protection against identity theft or credit fraud, said Paul Stephens, the PRC's director of policy and advocacy and the author of the guide, which offers tips on selecting monitoring services.

[Denise Richardson]

I am a subscriber of LifeLock and do endorse their product. In fact, I do support companies that offer consumers prevention and restoration services. However, that's not what moved me to comment today.

I have to agree with both Mark & Patrick and must say I am happy to see I am not alone in finding this type of assault on LifeLock and Mr. Maynard distasteful.

However, I do feel it's important to note that the Debix price reduction, also seems to come with a reduction of services.

It's not clear what a consumer gets for $24.00. The placing of fraud alerts? I wonder if they will be the next target of Experian?

I believe that restoration services are an important part of any type of id theft services -I doubt that this price includes restoring an identity or any of the other services that LifeLock offers such as wallet content replacement, searching the web for our information, and all the other things that go along with preventing an id theft from occurring. It's important consumers review AND understand exactly what type of services their receiving for their buck!

I too wish companies could promote their services without continual attempts to shred the reputation of another company -or person. Remember -the real problem is-id thieves -not LifeLock.

[Chas]

Why do people persist in saying that LifeLock does identity restoration? Their contract is clear- they simply guarantee their performance... that is, they have a million dollar guarantee that they did the things they promise. (good luck collecting!) This does NOT include restoring anyone's identity! PEOPLE... get it... they are misleading the market!

If you are a victim of complex or repeated ID theft, your life could become a living hell. You may be fired or arrested, even get bad or no medical care. Try calling the "credit monitoring" or "fraud alert and freeze" vendors like LifeLock when you are arrested in the airport or they come take your kids away because of your "criminal record" !

IMHO Don't buy any id theft protection that does not include restoration by professionals (hint: they will need a limited power of attorney to act on your behalf) along with emergency legal representation by lawyers that work for YOU, not your vendor! Example is at www.fightIDT.com (the Kroll/PPL Identity Theft Shield)

[Denise Richardson]

Just to set the record straight...

They do have complete restoration services because I have interviewed clients who were very thankful for LifeLock's expertise and resolution. And that's why I can confirm that they do in fact have full restoration services 24/7. Unlike many lenders whose fraud departments are closed on weekends and holidays LifeLock was not!

If a subscriber becomes a victim of criminal identity theft, they will absolutely bail you out of jail, pay for attorneys, accountants and whatever is necessary to restore your identity up to $1,000,000.

That's their promise...and that's what they've been doing.

LifeLock has over a million subscribers and the only lawsuits against them are lawsuits claiming their guarantee MAY NOT be kept and their service MAY NOT work. I reiterate, nobody has come forward to claim they've been harmed, wronged, damaged or had an id theft because of LifeLock's service and /or their guarantee failed!

I don't knock kroll or any other service that is legitimately trying to be part of the solution, truthful with the public and is up-front with consumers on exactly what they offer in services.

If LifeLock harms the public or fails to fulfill their promises, then we should all hear about it!

Until then, I just wish people would stop claiming the sky is falling when it isn't.

Thankfully this is America and we all have choices -they just need to be informed ones!

[Jim Malmberg]

Before you folks go bashing LifeLock any more, you might want to have a conversation with Todd Davis (CEO of LifeLock) and see what he has to say - something which you have not bothered to do.

The biggest problem that everyone seems to have with LifeLock seems to be that consumers don't need to pay someone to issue fraud alerts. OK, but do you really want to manage calling the credit bureaus every 90 days to issue a new fraud alert, or would you prefer that someone else manage this process for you? If you don't want to be bothered with doing it yourself, you should be able to hire someone to do it on your behalf.

And if your identity is ever stolen, do you want to be the person responsible for cleaning up your credit report (something that you can certainly do without paying anyone else but it may take you 18 months or more) or would you prefer to have a team of people working for you to straighten it out?

Finally, if you had ever bothered to speak with anyone at LifeLock, you'd know that they don't tell anyone that using there service is an iron clad guarantee that you will never have your identity stolen. What they will tell you is that if you ever do become a victim, they will take on the heavy lifting of restoring your good name... including hiring attorneys on your behalf if you run into real troubles.

Before you write any more drivel on this subject, it might be good if you did a little research first!

[Philip McAnelly]

Here is the info right off the lifelock site. NOTICE they only cover you IF there is defect in their service...(so as long as they put on a credit alert they have no defect) This does not help you when our medical Identity is stolen, when someone uses your Id when arrested, or applies for a job under your social security number.

"1. Description of our Service ("Service"):

A. For individuals sixteen (16) years of age or older, we will, upon enrollment:

(i) request that Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, or other credit bureau as may become appropriate, place fraud alerts on your consumer reports to the extent permitted by 15 U.S.C. § 1681c-1. Your fraud alert will include up to two telephone numbers provided by you. While you are our client, we will attempt to renew these alerts as often as required to keep them active until such time that you notify us that you no longer have a good faith suspicion that you have been or are about to become a victim of fraud or related crime, including identity theft;

(ii) request, to the extent permitted by 15 U.S.C. § 1681b(e), that your name be removed from pre-approved credit card mailing lists;

(iii) request that your name be removed from junk-mail lists by using the opt-out options established by the Direct Marketing Association;

(iv) order, upon enrollment and once a year thereafter, your free annual credit reports from TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax, or other credit bureau as may become appropriate, as permitted by 15 U.S.C. § 1681j(a).

2. Our Service Guarantee (Warranty) is in support of our Service under this Agreement and is provided without additional charge:

A. If you are our client when someone accesses your personal identifying information and subsequently uses it without your authorization to commit a fraud, due to a failure or defect in our Service, and you have complied with this Agreement, subject to the terms herein, we will pay professionals to assist in restoring any such loss or recover such expenses, as required, provided however that the maximum limit of our Service Guarantee is $1 (one) million per lifetime for all incidents in the aggregate.

B. You must be truthful with us and you must tell us of the use of your personal identifying information without your authorization to commit a fraud within 30 days of first learning of it. You agree to cooperate with those we hire to help you.

C. If you need professional assistance to help remediate damages caused by the failure or defect in our Service, we will arrange for, and cover the expense of, that assistance to be provided to you through persons or firms we select; we will not reimburse fees of professionals or other service providers unless we choose those providers for your particular matter. Any such professionals, if required or applicable, will be licensed in the jurisdiction where your particular matter resides.

D. We will cure any failure or defect in our Service, resulting in damages you incur, subject to the terms of this Agreement as follows:

(i) If the amount involved is over $1,000, we reserve the right to investigate the Service Guarantee request in order to determine whether the request is valid before we do anything else. We will perform our investigation as promptly as we can. If our investigation shows that a reasonable person would conclude that your personal identifying information was used without your authorization to commit a fraud while you were our client and you have complied with all this Agreement, we will perform as described herein.

E. If we find that you intentionally misrepresented damages or committed a fraud related crime and misrepresented that you were our client when your information was misused, you agree to pay us back upon demand any amount we have paid in connection with your claim, including any costs we incur to collect the money from you. Being found guilty of a crime related to the loss which you attributed to identity theft is sufficient evidence to conclude that we are entitled to recover all amounts paid on your behalf as described above, but it is not the only basis upon which we may so conclude.

F. Similarly, should we decline your Service Guarantee request following our investigation and that decision subsequently is determined to have been wrong, we will honor our Service Guarantee.

G. OUR SERVICE GUARANTEE IS SIMPLE, BUT IT IS LIMITED. WE WILL PAY UP TO $1,000,000 TO CURE THE FAILURE OR DEFECT IN OUR SERVICE, PER CLIENT, PER LIFETIME FOR ALL INCIDENTS IN THE AGGREGATE, REGARDLESS OF CIRCUMSTANCE (‡ IN NORTH CAROLINA, WE WILL MAKE PAYMENTS TO PROFESSIONALS WE CHOOSE). WE WILL NOT MAKE PAYMENTS TO YOU FOR ANY LOSS YOU MAY INCUR. OTHER THAN OUR SERVICE GUARANTEE, AND EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE SET OUT HEREIN WE MAKE NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY ABOUT OUR SERVICE OF ANY KIND, AND WE DISCLAIM ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OUTSIDE OF OUR SERVICE GUARANTEE, SUCH AS A WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS OF OUR SERVICE FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE."

[Jeremy Duffy]

It's nice to see someone actually say that Lifelock is bogus (which it is) and that Credit Freezes are the best protection against ID theft (which it is). Maybe a freeze won't stop everything, but since the vast majority of ID theft is credit based, it will go a long way.

[Michael Liang]

Does Denise work for Lifelock? Phillip copied and pasted their coverage from their website. Has anybody mentioned the class action laws suits filed against Lifelock in at least three states for false advertising. I will say that Lifelock has done an excellent job marketing their service, such that it is.

[Erika]

There has been no reduction in coverage since the price reduction at Debix. Has anyone checked their website? Additionally, their service DOES include identity recovery, not just protection against fraudulent accounts being opened.

I checked. Look how they match up:: http://www.debix.com/product_review.php

[Sharon Soquel]

When I researched Debix I found them to have the right services but the pricing was per person-- that was my understanding. We have an unusual situation, my wife's folks live with us and I chose TrustedID since the price included the entire family. Well not the dogs.

I understand they all don't do everything and I can put and keep the machine in motion myself, but why. I am stuck in the sandwich generation and want to enjoy what little I have of my spare times. Please email me personally if you enjoy filling out forms and I will hire you ; )

SS

[Harold Johnson]

The only bogus thing is the lawsuits. Amazing that an article about Debix can turn in to a discussion about their competitors. My advice is to ignore the trash talk and compare all three companies and decide for yourself. Most insurance from cars to house etc have policies that protect the company not the consumer. The good insurance company is the one who pays, and all three of the companies mentioned have paid in every case. There is not one incident of proof, not even an article I could find, that any of them have not paid.

Do your own research folks, don't be swayed by the opinion of anyone else. This is why I drink Pepsi. :)

[Mark Riley]

I don't believe a cheaper price means cheaper coverage. You just have to do a good comparison. I GOOGLED under "affordable Identity theft" and found articles on FORBES and CNBC referencing a company called SHIELDSAFE which covered all the bases and for only 49 dollars. I GOOGLED SHIELDSAFE and found good reviews. I think the expensive companies are just covering advertising cost or are greedy.

[John Barksdale]

As a victim of identity theft, I became furious when I learned how poorly banks and credit card issuers verify the identity of credit applicants. I strongly believe that banks and credit card issuers should clean up the mess of identity theft for financial fraud, not the victims. I've posted my personal identity theft story at http://identitythefthurts.com.

[Identity theft Protection]

Identity theft is a horrible crime and it's good that Debix can actually catch some of these criminals in the ast. With this being the month of October this is when Identity theft crime starts to creep up with this being the crime month and the shopping season is right around the corner.

[Phil]

As with any thing it is best to compare your options and know what you are getting with each. I made my choice and found this site very helpful - http://www.identitytheftlabs.com

As to the comment that everything Debix does you can do yourself. Yes true, but with Debix there is are advantages to using their fraud alert technology, they include $25,000 worth of insurance (which I believe you must have), it saves you time, and in the event of theft you have professionals to assist you (saving your time again, not to mention stress). The best part is it only costs $24 per year which is cheaper then the quote from my insurance company. :)

[alliedtrustdiamond]

There are literally hundreds of credit repair websites and a lot of them try to guarantee success but the reality is most of them are just a waste of money. They use methods of repairing your credit you can do yourself if you simply google credit repair templates. Their process is very lengthy and requires months and even years to get a lot of things removed and sometimes the bad marks can come back as some companies are very persistent, especially if you still owe them money.

The only guaranteed method to repair your credit is to pay off the old bills and get your derogatory balances to $0. "Well that isn't very helpful" is probably what you are saying. Since none of us just have cash laying around to do that there are other things you can do that are guaranteed to increase your FICO score practically overnight and start rebuilding your credit.

It's actually very simple. Sign up for Millennium Secured Credit Card and send them $300. Buy $90 worth of groceries on it and make the payments. Keep the balance under $90. Then sign up for www.alliedtrustdiamond.com and get a $10,000 unsecured credit card, buy something and make the payments. Do a google search for USA Shopping Club and sign up with them for $12,500 unsecured credit card buy something and make the payments, Eclub USA and get your $3,500 credit card and finally Horizon Gold and get your $500 credit card.

Once all of these companies report to the credit bureaus you are going to see an immediate increase in your FICO score. Guaranteed. Then you can work on getting the bad marks paid off and removed. It's much easier to get them permanently deleted if you don't owe them any more money.