Fraud alerts are the best way to stop identity theft says Lifelock, an identity theft protection company that will place a fraud alert with the credit bureaus on your behalf. This headline was heard often during LifeLocks recent campaign, Strike Back – Defeat Identity Theft Now, and though the bias is apparent, as a fraud alert is central to LifeLock’s business model, we strongly agree. Our previous article addressed many of the issues raised during LifeLock’s campaign and this article will address the remaining issues which all have to do with empowering consumers to take control of their credit. We will present each remaining issue and LifeLock’s comments followed by our own thoughts and opinions. Lets get started.
- National acceptance of fraud alerts
LifeLock.comWidespread acceptance and stronger enforcement of fraud alerts by financial institutions is a must to support consumers who want protection without being limited access to what is rightly theirs. At no time should a fraud alert on a credit report be ignored.
Identity Theft Labs
Absolutely right. Congress gave us the right to place fraud alerts but there needs to be greater acceptance of them across the board. It is steadily improving but we still believe there should be enforceable penalties for those who don’t comply with the FACT Act. By adding extra teeth to a very successful identity theft prevention tool consumers will be able to control their own credit file. This is the power of a fraud alert. It does not restrict our access at all yet prevents others from accessing our credit file unless we give our verbal approval. - National credit registry
LifeLock.comWhile the majority of financial institutions, credit card companies, merchants and employers use the three major credit bureaus as the standard for checking credit or verifying an identity, there are still companies that use their own form of credit verification, and such, weakening the current levels of protection available to consumers. Medical identity theft is on the increase because hospitals currently don’t have a system in place to validate identification.
Identity Theft Labs
Another very important point brought forth by LifeLock. A National mandatory credit verification would greatly reduce identity theft and credit fraud. Financial identity theft would see the greatest decrease and yes it would help with other types of identity theft but we do not believe that this should be the sole system to address medical identity theft. Medical identity theft needs to be dealt with by a new system of validation such as a photo health card. A National Registry could take care of the credit approval process and would certainly help prevent credit fraud, we just don’t think this should be our only solution. - Verbal authorization for all
LifeLock.comOver the past three years, identity theft companies have sprung up everywhere with offers to fix credit reports, offers to monitor credit cards and guarantees worth millions. However, few have offered consumers an actual voice in protecting their identities. Verbal authorization, as used with fraud alerts, is the only form of protection where a consumer actually gets to approve or disapprove any transactions that affect their credit report. Without a verbal okay and correct answers to security questions, transactions would not go through.
Identity Theft Labs
Absolutely right. Giving the consumer control over his or her credit is the best type of identity theft protection. Americans deserve to have this right and it is easily the best solution for preventing identity theft while allowing credit to be granted seamlessly. - Take control
LifeLock.comSince the day you were assigned a social security number it has been listed, posted and sold many, many times. It’s time to stop allowing everyone access to your life and take control. Take control of your personal information. Take control of your credit reports. Take control of what people can find out about you. Make your personal information useless to criminals and they will go looking for easier targets.
Identity Theft Labs
Unfortunately, as LifeLock pointed out earlier, 225 million Americans had their information compromised in the last three years and an alarming number of records continue to be lost daily. Most of these records contain social security numbers which, in our opinion, would have to be scrapped in favor of a new National ID if we are to gain complete control over our personal information. For now we need control over our finances and our credit and the authorization required by fraud alerts is a great start.
Identity theft is an issue that needs the attention of the country and LifeLock took a very important step that hopefully will be continued by individual Americans. There is no other crime of the magnitude of identity theft that can be prevented so easily. We have to let our politicians now that we want control of our own credit and that we expect verbal authorization. The desire for this authorization is evidenced by the number of people who have already placed fraud alerts. Now we need legislation that makes this permanent and takes in to consideration all the other issues raised by Lifelock such as legislation with provisions for accountability and enforceable penalties. Identity theft will always be present but we can certainly make it a remote threat that affects very few people, all we have to do is let our voices be heard. We have to demand the empowerment we need to take complete control of our own credit.
In the meantime you can enjoy the peace of mind provided by LifeLock’s guarantee while simultaneously taking control of your credit. Just enroll using our Lifelock promotion code and they will help protect your identity and give you the peace of mind you have been searching for. What a novel idea!