Will LifeLock protect my bank accounts?

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April 13th, 2009 - Posted by Caitlin

The following post in our Reader Question series is an actual user submitted question. To maintain the integrity of the original question, we do not edit or change reader questions in any way.

Q: I know that LifeLock protects your credit card, Social Security, driver's license, and address changes. But what about my bank accounts? I recently had someone steal money from my bank account.

A: LifeLock will alert you if an identity thief attempts to open any new bank accounts in your name. Unfortunately, since LifeLock relies on information from the three credit bureaus, it cannot prevent or detect what would appear to be normal activity in your existing bank accounts. LifeLock does offer a companion product, WalletLock, that would help you notify all the necessary parties in the event that your wallet, credit and debit cards, driver's license, Social Security card, insurance card or checkbook are lost or stolen.

If your debit card is lost or stolen and you report the loss to your bank within 2 business days, under federal law your liability is limited to $50.00 in losses. If you report the loss within 60 calendar days from the time your bank statement is mailed, your liability is limited to $500.00. If a thief steals your debit card number, rather than the actual card, federal protections are more generous. Many banks voluntarily offer zero-liability policies, as do Visa and MasterCard.

Another of the identity theft protection services we review, TrustedID, offers additional protection by scanning black market websites where identity thieves buy and sell stolen data. If you register your credit and bank account numbers with TrustedID, you'll be alerted immediately in the event that your account information is discovered on the Internet black market.

To learn more about LifeLock, TrustedID and other identity theft protection services, see our reviews and comparison chart.