LifeLock to stop setting fraud alerts on behalf of consumers; Launches LifeLock Identity Alerts
Posted by Joe on August 31st, 2009
Thanks for visiting the NextAdvisor Daily blog. You may want to subscribe to our RSS feed.
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
- Reader Question: Are credit bureau fraud alerts still available?
- LifeLock… Now with frequent flier protection!
- Debunking the case against LifeLock
- Reader Question: Will shopping for a mortgage hurt my credit score?
- America's largest retail pharmacy to offer LifeLock's identity theft protection services
Equifax offers lenders access to new FICO score
Posted by Joe on June 15th, 2009
Equifax is making a new type of credit score available that will potentially change the way that lenders view your next loan application. Dubbed Beacon 09, the new Equifax score is based off of Fair Isaac's FICO 08 methodology.
The new score will generally penalize consumers less for one-time mistakes, such as paying a bill late. On the other hand, the new model is harsher on those people that carry very high debt to credit ratios.
Most lenders will continue to use standard FICO credit scoring methodology for now, but consumers should expect that the FICO 08 score methodology to become more frequently used over time. As such, it is a good idea to take a hard look at your current debt load and making plans to pay it down if you anticipate the need for additional credit in the near future.
Equifax is the second major credit bureau to adopt the new scoring methodology from FICO. TransUnion began offering the score back in January. It is unlikely that Experian, the remaining major bureau, will be offering FICO 08 any time soon as the two companies are currently involved in an ongoing lawsuit.
I am trying to select the best credit report monitoring service for my needs and have questions. Can I call you?
Posted by Joe on April 8th, 2009
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 am trying to select the best credit report monitoring service for my needs and have questions. Can I call you?
A: We would love to be able to address individual questions for each person who visits our website. Unfortunately, it would literally be impossible for us to do so given the many hundreds of thousands of consumers that visit our site each month. So we try to focus on having as much detailed information as possible on our website about each service.
When it comes to selecting a credit reporting service there are a couple of things to consider depending on whether your primary goal is to:
- Monitor your credit for any changes as cheaply as possible.
- Receive specific information about your current credit health (particularly if you are going to be applying for a loan in the near future).
- Have on-going access to as much information about your credit as possible.
If you are looking for a cheap way to monitoring your credit, then FreeCreditReport.com is probably your best bet. While this service only provides access to your Experian credit reports and scores (versus all three reports and scores like some other services), it does monitor your credit file at all three bureaus (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion) and alerts you as soon as any changes are posted for just $12.00 per month. This ensures that you can address any negative changes to your credit reports at the earliest possible moment.
If you are in the process of securing a loan or credit of any sort, we would suggest signing up for Equifax with Score Power. Not only does this service provide three bureau monitoring, it also gives you access to your FICO score (based off of your Equifax credit file) which is the type of credit score that most lenders use when make lending decisions. Equifax with Score Power also offers a free three bureau credit report and free FICO score when you sign up for a 30 day free trial, as well as unlimited Equifax credit reports for paying members (the service costs $14.95 per month after the free trial period).
Finally, if you want access to credit report and score data from all three credit bureaus plus three bureau credit reporting monitoring, then we would suggest Identity Guard. This service also has some great features, like free Internet security software for your PC, that will help protect your identity online and in the real world. Identity Guard offers free credit reports and scores from all three bureaus when you sign up for a 30 day free trial, then just costs $14.99 per month thereafter. You will receive all three credit reports and credit scores each quarter as a paying member.
You can learn more about these services and others by visiting our comparison and reviews of credit report monitoring services.
- Equifax offers free 3-in-1 credit report and 3 bureau credit report monitoring
- Reader Question: How much do credit report monitoring services cost?
- What is my fico score?
- Reader Question: Which credit report monitoring services provide ongoing credit report and score data?
- Unlimited credit reports and scores from all 3 bureaus with CreditCheck Total
Equifax continues to offer FICO despite Experian dropping the popular score
Posted by Joe on February 18th, 2009
Equifax will continue to sell FICO scores according to a statement by a senior official at the credit bureau. This affirmation comes just a few days after Experian announced it would no longer be making FICO scores available to consumers.
According to Steve Ely, president of Equifax's Personal Information Solutions subsidiary:
"We remain committed to empowering consumers to take charge of their credit by continuing to deliver innovative products — including the FICO score — that enable consumers to understand their personal credit information, protect their identity, and maximize their financial well-being".
We reported earlier this month that Experian would no longer be offering the FICO score as of last Friday February 13, 2009.
The Last Day to Get Your Experian FICO Score is February 13
Posted by Erik on February 5th, 2009
There is clearly no love lost between Experian, one of the three credit bureaus, and Fair Isaac, the company that creates FICO scores. We were notified today via email by Fair Isaac that as of February 14, 2009 (yes – Valentine's Day), consumers will no longer be able to purchase or access in any way their Experian FICO score. It seems Experian has terminated the agreement that allowed Fair Isaac to give consumers their Experian FICO score effective February 14. From the email:
Fair Isaac has long been committed to empowering consumers with information. Besides helping consumers understand and manage their credit profiles, we believe that consumers are entitled to know their FICO® scores from all three major credit bureaus, since these are the scores lenders use to make credit decisions.
We were recently notified that, effective February 14th, Experian will no longer allow consumers to view their FICO® scores based upon Experian data. FICO® scores from Equifax and TransUnion will continue to be available on myFICO.com.
There have been ongoing lawsuits between the two companies that have obviously not helped foster any ongoing agreements. Experian has been trying for years to unseat the FICO score as the primary credit score lenders and consumers seem to want. Because of the strong FICO brand, Fair Isaac has been able to make the vast majority of the profit on any Experian FICO scores sold. Apparently, Experian finally had enough.
This is obviously bad news from a consumer perspective. FICO scores are the most common type of credit scores used by lenders and it's quite valuable for you to know all three of your scores. Lenders will still be able to use your Experian FICO score to evaluate your creditworthiness, you just won't be able to find out what that score is. However, consumers will still be able to get Experian credit scores, just not Experian FICO scores, and most types of credit scores will be very good approximations of your FICO score. In fact, our top-rated credit monitoring service, Identity Guard Total Protection, will continue to give you all three bureaus' credit scores and reports free when you sign up for a free 30-day trial. See our comparison of credit monitoring services to see other options.
But for those of you who want to know all three of your FICO scores, you need to act fast! You can still buy them from myFICO with FICO Credit Complete until February 14. You'll still be able to get your Equifax and TransUnion scores through FICO Standard beyond that date . Come Valentine's Day, though, Experian and FICO's volatile relationship will be over and the ability to know for certain your Experian FICO score will be a thing of the past.
New "FICO 08" score debuts
Posted by Joe on January 29th, 2009
Fair Isaac, the maker of the popular FICO score, announced that one of the major credit bureaus will begin offering a new version of the score called FICO 08. The new scoring methodology is expected to decrease some scores while improving others.
The new FICO 08 score was created provide more accurate scoring for those consumers with limited or damaged credit histories who may represent a larger risk to lenders than those consumers with more established credit. According to Fair Isaac, the net result of the evolving score is that consumers with more established credit histories should see slight increases in their credit score when calculated using this new methodology.
The catch is that it will likely be a very long time until this scoring system is widely in use. Lenders typically test any score changes extensively before they begin using them for important lending decisions. Additionally, TransUnion is the only one of the three credit bureaus that is offering the FICO 08 score as an option for lenders. Equifax is expected to begin offering the FICO 08 laster this year. It is unlikely that Experian will be offering this new score anytime soon as the company is currently engaged in litigation with Fair Isaac.
The original FICO score will continue to be the score that lenders use most for the foreseeable future. Equifax offers a free FICO score when you sign up for a free trial of credit monitoring service. You can learn more about Equifax and other credit report monitoring services at NextAdvisor.com.
Reader Question: How much do credit report monitoring services cost?
Posted by Joe on June 4th, 2008
Q: I see that most of the credit reporting monitoring services on your website offer a free trial. How much do they cost after the free trial is over?
A: While free trial periods are great to evaluate whether or not a particular credit report monitoring service is a fit for your life, it is important to realize that once the trial period is over you will have to live with the monthly fee.
Below is a list of the free trial periods and monthly fees of the top five credit report monitoring services we have reviewed. We have also included information on what credit report and score data you receive when you sign up. This is important because in almost all cases you get to keep the initial credit report and score information your receive during your free trial.
Equifax offers a 30 day free trial and costs $14.95 per month thereafter. Upon sign up you will receive a free FICO score and free 3-bureau credit report which are yours to keep even if you decide to cancel during the free trial period.
CreditCheck Total offers a 7 day free trial and costs $14.95 per month thereafter. Upon sign up you will receive free reports and scores from all three credit bureaus which are yours to keep even if you decide to cancel during the free trial period.
Identity Guard does not offer a free trial, but will give you your second month for free. The ongoing monthly fee is $11.99. Upon sign up you will receive free reports and scores from all three credit bureaus.
FreeCreditReport.com offers a 7 day free trial and costs $12 per month thereafter. Upon sign up you will receive a free Experian credit report and score which are yours to keep even if you decide to cancel during the free trial period.
Privacy Matters 123 offers a 7 day free trial and costs $19.95 per month thereafter. Upon sign up you will receive free reports and scores from all three credit bureaus which are yours to keep even if you decide to cancel during the free trial period.
To learn more about credit report monitoring services visit our credit report monitoring service reviews and comparison.
- What is my credit score?
- Reader Question: Am I entitled to a free credit report each year?
- I am trying to select the best credit report monitoring service for my needs and have questions. Can I call you?
- FreeCreditReport.com offers 30 day trial of the cheapest three bureau credit monitoring service
- Equifax offers free 3-in-1 credit report and 3 bureau credit report monitoring
1 million credit scores lowered by Sallie Mae
Posted by Joe on May 15th, 2008
The largest provider of student loans in the United States, Sallie Mae, made a critical reporting error which artificially lowered the Equifax credit scores of approximately one million borrowers.
Like all lenders Sallie Mae reports account history information for all their borrowers to all three of the major credit bureaus including Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. In the most recent data transfer an error caused about 10% of all accounts, or about one million total borrowers, to appear delinquent.
Sallie Mae realized the issue and contacted all three credit bureaus. Equifax had already posted the information the impacted individual's accounts which immediately lowered their credit scores. Experian or TransUnion scores were not impacted.
The issue has been resolved and the Equifax credit scores have been restored for impacted individuals. Those who believe they may have been impacted are encouraged to contact Sallie Mae directly at 1-888-2-sallie. Sallie Mae will also provide credit references to impacted consuers upon request.
"We certainly and fully understand the importance of one's credit rating and we worked with urgency to resolve this situation," Said Sallie Mae spokesman Tom Joyce.
Those consumers that utilize a credit report monitoring service would have received immediate alerts when these changes were posted to their Equifax credit report and score. To learn more about credit report monitoring services we suggest visiting our credit report monitoring service reviews and comparison.
Reader Question: Are credit bureau fraud alerts still available?
Posted by Joe on April 1st, 2008
This post is another in our ongoing series of "Reader Questions". if you have a question of your own on any of the services we cover please use our contact form to let us know.
Q:With respect to the Identity Theft company comparisons that you provide, Identity Guard states the following during an enrollment process:
As of April 2, 2008, the Credit Bureau Fraud Alert feature will no longer be offered through your Identity Guard service.
It seems to me that without this important feature, they are no longer worth the higher cost of $14.99 cost per month.
Have the other services such as LifeLock also discontinued this feature?
A: You are correct in that Identity Guard is in the process of discontinuing their fraud alert feature. They are the only service that we are aware of that is planning to discontinue fraud alerts. LifeLock most certainly still allows their members to set fraud alerts as a part of their identity theft protection service.
Identity Guard will continue to provide three bureau credit report monitoring that will allow you to monitor chanegs to your credit report with Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. This is a service that LifeLock does not provide, although LifeLock will give you one free credit report per year as part of the annual credit report program.
If fraud alerts are important to you, and we feel that fraud alerts are a very important part of preventative identity theft protection, then LifeLock is the best service from our perspective.
- Reader Question: How do I set a fraud alert on my credit report?
- LifeLock to stop setting fraud alerts on behalf of consumers; Launches LifeLock Identity Alerts
- Reader Question: What should I do if I think I have been a victim of identity theft?
- NextAdvisor reviews Identity Truth
- Debunking the case against LifeLock
Reader Question: What is the best way to monitor my FICO score
Posted by Joe on April 1st, 2008
This is the first post in our new "Reader Questions" series where we will begin sharing questions from real readers for the benefit of the community at large. If you have questions for the NextAdvisor team you can submit them directly to us through our contact form.
Q: I was impressed by your review of the various credit reporting services, but also a little confused by all the choices. Maybe you can help me. My primary concern is to check my FICO score on a regular basis (say, monthly) — which service would be best for me?
A: If your primary goal is to monitor changes in your FICO score then we believe that myFICO is the best credit report service for you. However, if you want some of the additional benefits that people typically associate with credit report monitoring services, such as on demand access to credit report data and credit report monitoring, you may want to consider a service like CreditCheck Total.
MyFICO will provide you with two free score power reports each year which include your up-to-date FICO score. They will also provide you with an updated FICO score anytime there is a change to your credit file. This will ensure that you always know how changes in your credit report are impacting your FICO score.
There are some limitations to MyFICO in that they only monitor your Equifax credit report. Since all three of your credit reports, including Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, can differ from each other you won't necessarily have direct access to all the information that could be impacting how lenders view your creditworthiness. Additionally, MyFICO only gives you two reports a year while some other services allow you to access data at any time.
CreditCheck Total, for example, will give you access to all three credit reports and all three credit scores on demand. This doesn't include FICO scores, but will still give you a good indication of how you overall credit health is trending. CreditCheck Total also has the added benefit of helping protect you from identity theft by monitoring all three of your credit reports for changes.
The trade off with CreditCheck Total is that you won't have access to the FICO score data you are most interested in receiving on a frequent basis. CreditCheck Total also has a more expensive monthly fee at $19.95 versus MyFICO's $7.50
The good news is that both MyFICO and CreditCheck Total offer a free trial of 30 and 7 days respectively. So, you could try each out and decide which is right for you.
You can also learn more by visiting our full comparison of credit report monitoring services.
- Reader Question: Which credit report monitoring services provide ongoing credit report and score data?
- Unlimited credit reports and scores from all 3 bureaus with CreditCheck Total
- Can I get my credit score(s) without signing up for any other services?
- The Last Day to Get Your Experian FICO Score is February 13
- Reader Question: How much do credit report monitoring services cost?
Categories
Blog Archives
About Us Blog Contact UsTerms & Privacy PolicyAffiliate ProgramSite map
Copyright© 2006 - NextAdvisor.com - All rights reserved.