More on Lifelock and Experian

I've been giving a lot of consideration to the lawsuit that has been submitted against Lifelock by Experian. The basis of the suit is that Experian is claiming that Lifelock doesn't have the legal right to place these "fraud alerts" on behalf of their consumers. They claim the individual has to do it themselves. What if I write a letter authorizing Lifelock to do this on my behalf?

But the basis of this lawsuit goes much deeper. It's about the cost to Experian and other credit bureaus that is driving the lawsuit. Once the fraud alerts are in place, they are required to generate free credit reports, I believe credit bureaus have to call the individual to confirm each time credit is applied for, etc.

But there is something that isn't being pointed out that I think should be pointed out. The people who suffer the most from identity theft are the individuals whos identity is being stolen. And the loss in measures of impact is much greater than they are to the creditors. The credit bureaus never had to feel this loss.

Now, the credit bureaus are feeling it. And they seem to believe their only recourse is to sue Lifelock instead of joining Lifelock's crusade to change the industry to make it more difficult for identity theft to occur. Maybe the credit bureaus need to call the credit card companies and tell them to stop mailing out so much crap. You know, if I need a credit card, I think I can figure out how to apply for one. I'm sick of shredding that stuff. Perhaps the credit bureaus should set up internal policies and procedures that require more inquiries whenever someone tries to set up credit to be sure that the person applying is who they say they are.

The credit bureaus up to this point could hold a neutral ground because they didn't have to feel anything. Well, now they feel it and they don't like it and it's putting them in the middle between the credit companies and the inidividual consumers. And they have decided to sell the consumer down the river by suing Lifelock than voice our concerns to the crediters.

Lifelock

Recently, I attended a seminar on Identity Theft. It is amazing how easy it seems to be for people to steal one's identity. Maybe the more appropriate word would be scary.

I decided that until I am ready to purchase a house, I don't really need any more personal credit. Any credit I apply for now, will be for my business. My business was recently approved for a loan so it is on it's way in developing good credit and I probably won't have to continue to use my own personal credit for it to get qualified for loans. I don't anticipate having to apply for more for at least another year. I don't mind having to go through extra, perhaps cumbersome, steps to apply for more personal credit if necessary.

So, I heard about this company called Lifelock. The CEO of the company openly gives out his social security number to demonstrate his confidence in his system. So, I signed on.

I've been doing some google research and it looks like Experian doesn't like them. Apparently Lifelock's method of protecting it's member's credit creates a lot of work for Experian. They feel that unless one has actual reason to believe they are a victim of fraud that the measures Lifelock takes shouldn't be implemented.

After further research, I understand that once one credit bureau is notified, then the other big 2 are notified. Those being Transwestern and Equifax. The process to apply for a fraud alert with the latter two is very cumbersome so my guess is that it is all falling onto Experian to process the alert and then notify the other two bureaus. This might also be why Experian is screaming about Lifelock.

I got a letter from my credit union telling me one of my accounts had been compromised but that they had everything under control. What was compromised, my social security number? I receive mail everyday. One day, I noticed I didn't get any mail. Was it stolen from my box? What constitutes a reason to believe I'm a victim of fraud?

Based on all the Credit Card crap I get in the mail and how easy it seems for anyone to access my information, and how fast identity theft is growing, I am increasingly concerned about my information falling in the wrong hands.

Everything Lifelock does for it's members, members can do for themselves. It's the hassle of doing it, sort of like changing the oil in my car, that deters me. I don't know how to do these things. If you go onto Experian's website, it takes a while to find the information to create a fraud alert. You have to dig for it.

Lifelock will also stop the credit card mail I receive. And they keep doing it. Not just once but every 90 days until I stop being a member.

I read somewhere, I don't know where it was, but I have a tendency to agree with this point: The credit bureaus make a lot of money doing what they do and having access to our information that protecting our credit is not really a priority. It is also my understanding that the measures used by Lifelock make it difficult for our information to be sold. One article went on to state that they really don't care. I believe that.