Congressman Weiner reminds us to keep our info safe!

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June 6th, 2011 - Posted by Sarah

Another great tip learned from Rep. Weiner: Never take compromising photos of yourself, and definitely never send them to anyone!

So it turns out that Representative Anthony Weiner's (D-New York) Twitter photo scandal wasn't a hack after all. But let it still be a reminder to keep your confidential information safe with identity theft protection services and to change your password!

Can I sign up for and pay annually for an identity theft protection membership service?

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May 3rd, 2011 - Posted by Sarah

The following is an actual user-submitted question:

Q. Can I sign up for and pay annually for an identity theft protection membership service? I prefer to pay annually in lieu of monthly.

A. When you subscribe to a service such as identity theft protection, often it's more convenient or fiscally responsible to make one larger payment a year rather than a small one each month. Luckily, several of the services we review offer annual prepay options, and sometimes it even saves you more money:

TrustedID, $84.12 per year and up: This service monitors a number of different accounts for you and provides you with anti-spyware protection and one three-bureau credit report each year. We think it's the best value of the services out there, especially for families, because it offers a free 14-day trial and a 15% NextAdvisor discount.

LifeLock, $99 per year and up: This service gives you a free 30-day trial and monitors a wide variety of public records as well. NextAdvisor can offer it to you for 10% off. It's also a pretty strong value; it just doesn't have as many features as TrustedID.

Suze Orman's Identity Protector, $125.04 per year and up: Rounding out our annual prepay offers for identity theft protection services is Suze Orman's Identity Protector. When you sign up with Suze, you'll get three-bureau credit scores and reports. Plus this option bears the name of finance guru Suze Orman.

So whether an annual payment fits better into your budget or is less of a hassle, any of these three services could be great choices for you.

True Life: Stolen Identity

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April 14th, 2011 - Posted by Sarah

When the university I was attending sent a mass email explaining that its employee database had been hacked, I kind of ignored it. Yes, I worked for the school as a teaching assistant, but I scoffed at the possibility that anyone would want my identity. I was a broke, full-time college student working three jobs, and I hadn't done anything financially significant in my life, so who cares?

Somebody cared. Somebody took my information and used it to apply for credit cards and go on a drugstore shopping spree. Who spends $500 at Walgreen's? A jerk, that's who.

But all was not lost. At the behest of my mother, I had taken the university up on its deal with Experian, a discount on a credit monitoring service much like ProtectMyID.com. It put a fraud alert on my accounts, sent me copies of my credit report, and sent me notices every time anyone tried to access my credit report or open a new account. I was a bit shocked to learn that many credit inquiries had been done on me, meaning that someone tried to use my information more than once.

I resolved the drugstore charge separately with my bank; when someone steals your identity, you're not liable for purchases you didn't make. But it scared me into looking after my credit religiously. If you don't have identity theft protection, get it before a stranger makes you wish you had.

What information do I need to give for identity theft protection? How quickly can it be activated?

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April 5th, 2011 - Posted by Sarah

The following is an actual user-submitted question:

Q. What information do I need to give for identity theft protection? How quickly can it be activated?

A. Most identity theft protection services, including top-rated Identity Guard Total Protection, Trusted ID, and LifeLock, require similar information: first and last name, full street address (with state and ZIP code), phone number, date of birth, Social Security number, and email address. If you haven't lived at your current address for at least the past six months, you will need to provide your previous address.

You will also need to give your credit card information; even though most companies offer a free trial, they need to start billing you after that trial period has passed unless you cancel the service.

Each service takes a different amount of time to kick in. For example, both Identity Guard Total Protection and Trusted ID begin as soon as you sign up, but others, such as Protect My ID, require more time for parts of the service — the credit monitoring can begin immediately, but the account protection depends on when you enter that information for the accounts and how long it takes to verify.

How a landlord can run a tenant credit report

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February 24th, 2010 - Posted by Tasha

The following post in our Reader Question series is an actual user submitted question:

Q:  What is the best way to do a credit check on a prospective tenant?

A: Every experienced landlord or property manager knows that it makes good financial sense to run a credit report on prospective tenants.  This simple step can save you time and money in the long run, but it's surprising how many landlords don't get this information prior to renting their property.  With the explosion of internet commerce, it's easier than ever to get this information quickly and securely online.

Experian offers two options to check a tenant's credit and is very reasonable in price.   There are also a number of other companies out there that provide credit checks for prospective tenants.  You can do a simple Google search on a phrase like "tenant credit report" to find them.

LifeLock to stop setting fraud alerts on behalf of consumers; Launches LifeLock Identity Alerts

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August 31st, 2009 - Posted by Joe

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

Equifax offers lenders access to new FICO score

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June 15th, 2009 - Posted by Joe

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?

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April 8th, 2009 - Posted by Joe

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 continues to offer FICO despite Experian dropping the popular score

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February 18th, 2009 - Posted by Joe

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

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February 5th, 2009 - Posted by Erik

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 myFICO.com 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.