Credit Card Account Fraud

New Credit Card Account Fraud: LifeLock's Guarantee

Millions of US customers, especially those who own active credit card accounts, have turned to LifeLock to make sure their ID and credit data are properly protected. With today's increasing instances of ID theft and fraudulent credit card use, consumers are ready to do and pay whatever required to stay on the safe side.

LifeLock, an ID theft protection services company, ensures that it can not only deal with the destroying effects of an ID thief's activity but that it can efficiently prevent any possible intrusions into an individual's credit and other personal information file. Let's see what services the company offers today and what drawbacks if any might be detected in their system.

Whether you apply for a credit card or manage credit online, stand in a queue at supermarket or shop at a web site, your personal and credit information is exposed to risk of ID thieves. As of today, the majority of victims are still affected only as far as having their credit card numbers stolen and fraudulently used by criminals.

As long as you promptly notice fraudulent activity in your credit file, LifeLock protection is not a big deal really. You report your suspicions to your card issuer and bear no liability if your card number's fraudulent use has place to be.

However, a relatively new type of identity crime has began to worry consumers and credit companies to a great extent - new account fraud. It happens when a fraudster illegally uses your private information, such as SSN, credit card number or driver's license number to open a new credit card account in your name.

The fraudulent account use may go unnoticed for years, devastating the victim's credit report and leaving no chances to recover. What does LifeLock do? Some years ago, there was an experiment with one of the company's founders, when he displayed his Social Security Number in the TV commercial, assuring consumers that he felt totally protected as a LifeLock client.

And he was! After that public display, no new credit card account was opened in his name; none of his credit cards had records of unauthorized use. He preserved his good name and credit reputation.

LifeLock provides for the security of a customer and even offers a guarantee to pay $1 million in case the customer is hurt due to the bad performance of their system.

So, what options do you have as a LifeLock customer?

• A 90-day fraud alert on your credit file with one or all the three biggest credit tracking bureaus - Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. With the alert activated, a bank or credit company should double-check the identity of an applicant and resort to certain procedures to make sure it's really you who are applying.

However, this type of ID protection service is not a 100% guarantee from new credit account fraud, as is supposed by some financial experts. Too many alerts that appear false alarms make companies less attentive to them, and so, the risk is still too big.

• Freezing credit account. The freeze locks your credit file so that no issuer has access to it until you yourself decide to lift it up, for a certain fee, however. This service offered by LifeLock is a much greater guarantee that no fraudulent account will be opened and you may sleep well under this sort of protection.

At the moment, LifeLock is one of the most trustworthy and respectful ID theft prevention companies. They say, prevention is much better than early detection and prove their words by a really high-quality service. Check it out yourself.