Comparison of Services
In the chart below we summarize our findings for the services we reviewed side by side, identifying the pros and cons of each. A more detailed comparison is included below the chart. We hope this review proves helpful in providing you with relevant and current information on the state of identity theft prevention services being offered today.

	Identity Guard	LifeLock	LoudSiren (Debix)
Sets and renews credit fraud alert every 90 days
Your Phone Number Privacy		Puts your phone number in your credit file	Puts a Debix phone number in your credit file
Alerts you on up to three phone numbers
Audit history maintained for credit disputes
Identity Theft Insurance	$20,000 at Level 3 by Travelers Casualty and Surety	$1,000,000 backed by XL Capital	$25,000 backed by AIG, $1,000,000 Debix Guarantee
Recovery services
Free credit reports every year.
Removal from pre-approved credit card lists.
Removal from junk mail lists
Removal from telemarketer call lists
ISO 27001 certified information security standard
Base Price (annual)	Varies based on service level	$120	$99
Children’s Pricing
Discount Available	Level 1 Is Free	Limited Time 26% Off - $88
More Information / Web Site	Identity Guard	LifeLock	Loud Siren

Detailed Comparison

Identity Guard offers basic credit monitoring services with 4 levels of protection to suit various budgets and situations. Add on products are also available to provide credit scores.

• Price: Varies based on Level
• Fraud Alerts: Not provided. You have to set and renew your own
• Alerts: Email alerts you daily
• Credit Monitoring: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion reports - Credit Reporting Initially, get a 3-in-1 report from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion; Quarterly Updates
• Identity Theft Insurance: $20,000 with $250 deductible at Level 3 and up
• Credit Score: Offered as add on service
• Fraud Resolution Assistance: Yes

LifeLock employs a proactive security system that actually prevents new credit being granted in your name. LifeLock accomplishes this by establishing 90-day fraud alerts with all the credit-reporting agencies and renewing these alerts before they have a chance to expire. LifeLock also removes you from all pre-approved credit card offers and most junk mailing list and they arrange for delivery of your credit reports from the credit bureaus. Finally, LifeLock appears to be the only service of the ones we reviewed currently offering discounted identity theft protection for children.

• Price: $120 per year per adult. $30 per year for children
• Fraud Alerts: Set and renew fraud alerts with Experian, TransUnion, Equifax and ChexSystems
• Alerts: You are alerted by phone when someone tries to establish a new account in your name
• Monitoring: All the four Reporting Agencies for Possible ID theft
• Fraud Insurance: $1 million dollars
• Credit Reporting: Experian, TransUnion, Equifax and ChexSystems
• Credit Score: Not Offered
• Fraud Resolution Assistance: Yes

Loud Siren also proactively prevents identity theft by establishing and renewing fraud alerts on your credit reports. They make sure you no longer receive any preapproved credit card offers, reduce your junk mail by removing you from junk mailing lists and reduce telemarketing calls by placing you on don’t call lists. A unique advantage Loud Siren has is they keep your phone private from both creditors and thieves by putting their own phone number in the fraud alert, not yours. Alerts are then forwarded discretely to you. You can supply 3 different phone numbers to receive these alerts. Loud Siren also provides emergency fraud assistance and offers $25,000 dollars of identity theft insurance plus a $1,000,000 guarantee.

• Price: $99 per year
• Fraud Alerts: Set and renew fraud alerts with Experian, TransUnion, Equifax
• Alerts:You are alerted through cell phone, home phone and office phone (live demo available on website)
• Monitoring: All three Reporting Agencies for Possible ID theft
• Fraud Insurance: AIG insurance $25,000 dollar, no deductible plus a $1,000,000 guarantee
• Credit Reporting: Experian, TransUnion, Equifax
• Credit Score: Not Offered
• Fraud Resolution Assistance: Yes

The credit bureau’s standard advice that if you don’t give out your personal information to strangers and keep an eye on your credit reports you’ll be safe, just doesn’t wash anymore. The truth is, with the easy availability of information on the internet your social security number and other personal information are hardly more secure than your personal phone number. Yet denial and resistance to this truth seems alive and well in some circles.

The speed at which identity thieves can operate when exploiting your personal information or requesting new credit accounts in your name, in minutes not days, demands a proactive solution well beyond passive credit monitoring and the industry has just started to respond in the past couple of years. With the passage of changes to the Fair Credit Reporting Act in 2003, including new sweeping abilities to add fraud alerts and credit freezes, consumers finally have been given the tools to help stem the tide even before their information is compromised.

Consumers can take advantage of this new ability to place 90 day fraud alerts on their credit reports or even request permanent credit freezes if deemed necessary. These credit protection steps, once thought to be extreme measures, are even becoming the basis for entirely new business models implemented through companies like Debix and LifeLock. Sadly, the identity theft situation will likely only get worse before it improves. Only a small fraction of consumers are even aware of their new capabilities under the law, let alone having considered whether or not to take advantage of them.

There are apparently organized crime “vendors” involved in this growing business of providing workers with stolen identities, often those of children, senior citizens or people who have died. The employers are also enabling this behavior by looking the other way. Employers can get away with this because although federal law requires them to ask for documentation of legal status they aren’t required to then verify this documentation with the government. An employer can be prosecuted only if he knowingly hires an undocumented worker.

Clearly the federal laws need to be adjusted to hold Employers accountable for blatantly aiding and abetting this crime.

If you are seeking the perfect identity theft prevention service for you and your family, this site will save you time by helping you pinpoint the protection program that is best for you. We review the top identity theft prevention services side by side and identify the pros and cons of each system.

We hope you enjoy the site.

Sincerely,
Darrin Marks - Internet Security Expert and Identity Theft Industry Analyst

Source: Federal Trade Commission, The Gallop Organization poll, Consumer Sentinel and Identity Theft Data Clearinghouse

Experian: (888) EXPERIAN.
P.O. Box 1017, Allen, TX 75013.

TransUnion: (800) 680-7289.
P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92634.
Order a copy of your credit report: (800) 888-4213.

Opt out of pre-approved offers of credit and marketing lists:
(888) 567-8688, (800) 353-0809 or (800) 680-7293.

Social Security Administration: (800) 269-0271.
Order your Earnings and Benefits Statement: (800) 772-1213.

To remove your name from mail and phone lists:
Mail Preference Service, P.O. Box 9008, Farmingdale, NY 11735
Telephone Preferences Service, P.O. Box 9014, Farmingdale, NY 11735.

Check Fraud (contact the company the merchant uses):
CheckRite: (800) 766-2748
ChexSystems: (800) 428-9623
Crosscheck: (800) 552-1900
Equifax: (800) 437-5120
National Processing Co. (NPC): (800) 526-5380
SCAN: (800) 262-7771
TeleCheck: (800) 710-9898.