Imagine going to buy something at the store and hearing your credit card is tapped out, knowing full well you have thousands of dollars available. Or, how about buying groceries with your debit card and being told it’s denied because no funds are available? It can happen. Identity thieves don’t need your permission to access your accounts and clean you out of every dime of credit or every penny you’ve deposited. More than 11 million Americans face identity theft each year*, including children. That’s right. Identity thieves looking for a fresh start can take your children’s clean social security number and get access to all kinds of credit, then trash their profile so that when they go to take out loans they’ll be denied. And here’s the thing—you might not even find out for several years! Think about it. Why would you check your child’s credit now? And when would you? You won’t until they need a loan for a car or college, or maybe applying for a job. Then, the damage is already done.

HOWEVER, if you use a service such as LifeLock you will find out right away when someone is tampering with your credit, or your child’s. That’s because LifeLock offers advanced protection to monitor your personal information. LifeLock sends alerts of potential threats both credit and non-credit related. So, if someone grabs your family’s info and tries to use it for fraud (whether it’s applying for a loan or assuming a new identity), you’re going to know about it. You get online access to a personalized dashboard, help cancelling cards if you lose your wallet, and comprehensive recovery services if you do somehow become a victim while signed up for the service.

LifeLock even offers an advanced line of defense with the LifeLock Command Center™ protection, an added level of protection for those who want it. The LifeLock Command Center membership includes all of the services provided by LifeLock® identity theft protection along with:

• Expanded monitoring of personal information across a comprehensive network of databases, not just credit reports
• Enhanced, consolidated reporting of threats
• Public and court record surveillance
• Searching for use of known alternate names
• Surveillance of unregulated global networks and file-sharing sites
• Guidance to correct accidental disclosure of personal information on file-sharing sites
• The option to extend your line of defense with LifeLock Credit Score Manager™ protection
• The annual fee for LifeLock Identity Theft Protection is $110/yr or $10/month. The LifeLock Command Center is $165 or $15 a month.

I was given a yearly membership to review while writing this post. I found the signup to be simple. You can either sign up online or over the telephone. For something like LifeLock’s services I recommend calling to speak to a representative who can answer your questions right away and help you decide which LifeLock service is best for you. The representative I spoke to was very helpful and had me and my husband signed up for LifeLock’s Command Center service in about 10 minutes.

If you are looking for some peace of mind about protecting your family from identity theft, this seems to be a small price to pay in my opinion.

LifeLock website

Take a look at LifeLock’s Identity Theft 101 page to learn what the stats are in your state and more.

GIVEAWAY – Winner Announced!

Congratulations Vickie B.!

We are giving away a one year membership to LifeLock, a $110 value.

To enter leave a comment telling us what you like about LifeLock. Entries accepted through March 8th. Winner will be notified via email and must respond within 24 hours or another winner will be chosen.

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