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Uh oh, you’ve heard about the data hacks and credit card breaches – identity theft is serious business and a security threat for each and every one of us. But now it’s time for you to learn more. Way to take the initiative to research the topic! Our LifeLock review includes the pros, cons, key features, pricing, customer testimonials, and more to help you decide if the cost of LifeLock is worth it.
LifeLock
Pros
- Million Dollar Protection™ Package
- Detects use of personal information to apply for a line of credit, utilities, cell phone plans, etc.
- Monitors your driver’s license, mother’s maiden name and medical information
- Fully managed recovery support
- A- BBB rating
- 24/7 support
- Monitors websites to make sure your credentials are not for sale
- Features include court records scanning and sex offender registry
- Offers more coverage than some other competitors
- Child plan is available as an add-on to an adult plan
Cons
- Delay on notifications for credit reports
- Does not monitor all transactions at all businesses
- Does not monitor email
- Must upgrade plans for bank account coverage and credit report/score monitoring
Alternatives To LifeLock
Don’t like the score you’re seeing? Our identity theft experts have reviewed over a dozen providers. Check out our ID theft protection service comparison to find out our top picks this year.
Key Features
Below we’ve gone into further detail about some of the things we like and don’t like about LifeLock.
- 24/7 Support – Around-the-clock customer support is one of LifeLock’s big selling points. Criminals don’t work 9-5 jobs—they are scheming 24/7. That’s why it’s important to have an identity theft protection service with customer support available 24/7 to help you.
- Child Plan – Not all identity theft protection services offer a child-specific plan—LifeLock is one of the few that does.
- No Family Discount – LifeLock offers no family plan discount. So, if you want to be proactive and cover everyone in your family, the price is going to increase quickly since there is no group plan available.
- Credit Scores and Reports – LifeLock offers credit scores and reports from all three bureaus.
- Up to $1 Million Service Guarantee – This is the maximum amount of money LifeLock will pay if their service is found to have failed.
- Up to $1 Million Insurance for Lost Funds
Pricing
LifeLock Standard | Advantage | Ultimate Plus | |
---|---|---|---|
Price (save on annual plans) | $8.99/month or $89.99/year | $17.99/month or $179.88/year | $19.99/month or $239.88/year |
Family Plan (2 adults) | $14.99/month or $149.87/year | $28.99/month or $287.889/year | $8.99/month or $89.99/year |
Family Plan (2 adults + 5 kids) | $21.99/month or $221.87/year | $35.99/month or $359.99/year | $46.99/month or $467.88/year |
Identity & Social Security and Alerts | |||
Dark Web & Privacy Monitoring | |||
Data Breach Notifications | |||
LifeLock Identity Alert System | |||
Lost Wallet Protection | |||
USPS Address Change Verification | |||
Reduced Pre-Approved Credit Card Offers | |||
Black Market Website Surveillance | |||
Live Member Support 24/7/365 | |||
$1 Million Total Service Guarantee | |||
Fictitious Identity Monitoring | |||
Court Records Scanning | |||
Home Title Monitoring | |||
Data Breach Notifications | |||
Online Annual Credit Reports and Scores | 1 Credit Bureau | ||
Credit Card, Checking, and Savings Account Activity Alerts | |||
Investment Account Activity Alerts | |||
Checking and Savings Account Application Alerts | |||
Bank Account Takeover Alerts | |||
Credit Inquiry Activity | |||
File-Sharing Network Searches | |||
Sex Offender Registry Reports | |||
Monthly Credit Score Tracking |
Personal Experience And Customer Reviews
Does LifeLock work? We’ve got some first-hand experience with it, as do our readers. Read about their experiences below.
Personal Experience
The LifeLock portal is straightforward and easy to use. Alerts arrive in a timely fashion in the smartphone app, and in most cases, you quickly get the necessary details to act on an incident. For example, last week, I received an alert that somebody had opened a utility account with a direct match on my name, date of birth, and social security number. I was able to call the utility company, they confirmed an account had opened but not activated, so they could close it and issue a fraud alert in their system. I also froze my credit reports at the three agencies.
My only negative is that LifeLock had sent me an email that their fraud experts would handle this on my behalf. But I didn’t hear from them until several days later, and their department is closed on the weekends and holidays. By that time, the utility account might have been activated and who knows what other harm done.
– Alex S., Safe Smart Living
Positive Reviews
Thanks to LifeLock they have been at my service since my first breach. They’ve made it easy for my father and I too have some security. Since 2017 they have made it easy and very professional And customer service has help me along the way for safer online experience and secure my accounts. Thanks LifeLock. Great job. – Daniel, ConsumerAffairs 7/28/2019
Easy to use and extremely comprehensive. I feel that my computer is well protecyed and running at its optimum performance. – Jane S., Trustpilot 8/2/2022
Hear about Casey’s scary experience and how LifeLock helped him.
Complaints
My copy of Norton Utilities stopped functioning and my subscription showed as being disabled. Apparently this is a known issue which the agent I was eventually able to contact was able to resolve quickly. Unfortunately the automated assistant Katie was of no assistance and possibly delayed the resolution. The live agent was extremely helpful and efficient. – Peter, Trustpilot 8/2/2022
Very difficult to cancel a subscription with them. Had to block the card used with their transactions to get rid of them, because they would not comply with cancelling my subscription. Felt like they held my ssn hostage. It is laughable that they behaved this way, and that I trusted them with my sensitive information. The joke was on me, but I will not use them again. – Anna S., BBB 8/7/2019
Company History
The Lifelock brand was acquired by Symantec in 2017, the parent company of Norton Security. Users continued to log into LifeLock.com until 2020 when the service was brought under the Norton.com umbrella.
LifeLock vs The Competition
See what the key differences are between LifeLock and other leading identity theft protection companies.
LifeLock vs Experian IdentityWorks
- LifeLock and Experian IdentityWorks will both monitor your personal information, court records, bank accounts, credit cards, credit bureaus, and even the sex offender registry in your area. LifeLock also monitors investment accounts and driver’s licenses. Experian does provide all 3 credit reports every 90 days (instead of annually from LifeLock).
- LifeLock has a much better customer service record and provides 24/7 access to fraud specialists.
- Experian’s pricing is lower than LifeLock’s, both for individuals and families.
Compare LifeLock and Experian IdentityWorks
LifeLock vs IdentityForce
- IdentityForce provides a larger scope of monitoring coverage with its UltraSecure+Credit plan.
- Both LifeLock and IdentityForce provide U.S.-based, 24/7 access to certified ID theft specialists and general member services. And their websites have a lot of useful resources about identity theft and the recovery process.
- The LifeLock app’s user interface is easier to use and includes an in-app messenger that quickly connects you to member services and ID theft specialists.
- IdentityForce’s add-on child plan is more affordable than LifeLock’s child add-on protection, and the plans largely cover the same things.
Compare LifeLock and IdentityForce
LifeLock vs Identity Guard
- LifeLock and Identity Guard will both monitor your personal information, court records, bank accounts, credit cards, credit bureaus, and more. LifeLock also keeps an eye on your investment account activity and driver’s license and monitors the sex offender registry in your area.
- With Identity Guard you can cover two adults and two children for only $27.99 per month. To get the same level of coverage for a family of four with LifeLock, you’ll end up spending more than $50 per month. You can also enjoy the same savings with Identity Guard’s Couple Plan.
- LifeLock provides full recovery services and 24/7 access to their fraud specialists, who take care of most of the recovery process for you. While Identity Guard also offers 24/7 access to specialists, you’re responsible for all the legwork to recover your identity. Identity Guard also provides up to $1 million in reimbursement insurance (as does LifeLock).
Compare LifeLock and Identity Guard
LifeLock vs IDShield
- LifeLock also monitors your investment accounts, IDShield does not.
- IDShield’s app provides a quick connection to their certified fraud specialists.
- IDShield offers a family plan for only $24.95 per month, you get coverage for two adults and up to 10 minors. There is no LifeLock family plan. You’re required to have separate accounts for adults, and you must pay $5.99 per month for each child for their LifeLock Junior package.
- Both IDShield and LifeLock offer full recovery services, but IDShield’s fraud specialists are licensed private investigators, who average seven years of experience from law enforcement, banking, and collection backgrounds.
Identity Theft Isn’t a Joke
Did you know that there’s a new victim of identity theft every two seconds? And one in five victims of ID theft has experienced it more than once. The 2022 Identity Fraud Study, released by Javelin Strategy & Research, reveals financial institutions’ methods to identify and respond to fraud are no match for criminals’ high-tech schemes to hijack consumer accounts. Fraud losses have been growing year-over-year and in 2021 mounted to losses worth over $52 billion, affecting 42 million U.S. consumer victims.
If you’re just getting started, our experts have put together a 101 guide on ID theft. If you’re already familiar with identity theft and are ready to see who wins our comprehensive comparison of ID theft protection services, here is our comparison of the major ID theft protection services.
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