LifeLock announced in an email sent to subscribers today that the identity theft protection service will soon stop setting fraud alerts on behalf of consumers. This announcement comes after a judgement this May in a case brought by Experian in which the credit bureau challenged the legality of LifeLock's practice of setting fraud alerts on behalf of consumers.
LifeLock CEO Todd davis stated that the company had been anticipating the possibility of this outcome and have invested in developing a new system call LifeLock Identity Alerts. According to Davis, this new system:
- Uses more sophisticated and scientific algorithms to spot identity fraud
- Mines more data sources than the credit bureaus. These additional sources include data from many retailers, banks, mortgage lenders, utilities, and auto lenders
- Examines patterns over time across this network to help predict future identity risks and the vulnerability of members
Davis did not give a specific date on which fraud alerts would stop being set, although he did say that the transition would happen over the next few weeks and that LifeLock members would not experience any interruption in the protection of their identities.
We have not been able to review the new features of LifeLock Identity Alerts in detail as of yet, but have included the full text of the email message sent by Davis below. We will provide more information once we have more details on the new tools and timeline for transition.
**Important Message from LifeLock**
Dear Valued Member,
LifeLock is pleased to announce we are beginning implementation of a new and innovative identity protection system that provides you even better and broader protection. This new system, which replaces fraud alerts, is better because it offers you the benefit of real-time protection in some instances, and broader because it identifies identity risks beyond the scope of fraud alerts.
As you may know, as a result of litigation with the credit bureau, Experian, a Court has ruled that LifeLock must soon end the practice of setting fraud alerts on behalf of consumers. The placement of a fraud alert on a member's profile is just one of the many tools LifeLock uses to protect our members from the growing threat of identity theft. We have been planning for the possibility of this ruling by developing even better ways to help protect you, and are excited about the broader protection we will roll out in the coming weeks.
The new LifeLock Identity Alerts will notify you by email, postal mail, and/or phone anytime we detect your personal information being used to apply for many forms of credit cards, wireless services, retail credit, utilities, check orders/reorders, mortgage loans, auto loans, and non-credit related payday loans. If the application is fraudulent, our remediation team will take action to help restore your good name.
This system uses very powerful, forward-looking models to help predict fraud and identity risks before fraud occurs. For example, the system:
* Uses more sophisticated and scientific algorithms to spot identity fraud;
* Mines more data sources than the credit bureaus. These additional sources include data from many retailers, banks, mortgage lenders, utilities, and auto lenders; and
* Examines patterns over time across this network to help predict future identity risks and the vulnerability of members.While this transition takes place in the coming weeks, you will notice no interruption to the around-the-clock protection you depend on from LifeLock.
In addition to this new identity protection system, LifeLock will continue to provide you with the full suite of other personal protection services you have come to know and trust – including WalletLockTM, eReconTM, TrueAddressTM, and of course our $1 Million Total Service Guarantee. If you become a victim of identity theft while a member of LifeLock because of a failure in our service, we will help you fix it, up to $1 million. (Restrictions apply. See LifeLock.com for details)
At LifeLock, we never take your trust in us lightly, and consider it an honor to protect your good name. We are confident you will share our excitement about this improved level of service and the increased peace of mind and protection it will provide you and all our members. If you ever have questions about your membership or this enhancement to your service, please send us an email at member.services@lifelock.com or call us at 1-800-LIFELOCK (543-3562), option #2.
We thank you for your business and your continued trust in LifeLock.
Sincerely,
Todd Davis
Todd Davis
CEO
