any pros and cons to using Life Lock?

RRP

Several years ago I "locked up" access to my and my wife's credit files as a way to at least thwart attempts of identity theft. We also practice certain other precautions, but I always wonder if a service such as Life Lock for $120 a year is worth the peace of mind. Or if not them some other company. Any thoughts here would be appreciated.

Fidel

I've never used them, but the credit watch service from MyFico.com is excellent - and tied directly to the credit bureau.

You get instant notifications via email any time there is any change or inquiry to your credit report, and you also get notified if your score moves more than 5 points in either direction.

You also get 3 full credit reports per year included in the membership.

I would shop around, but for $7-10 per month the peace of mind is a worthwhile investment.

RRP

Thanks Rod. Here in IL we are one of several states that require the big 3 credit bureaus to honor one free credit report per year. For years I used to cycle one request every 4 months so as to watch for inquiries. Then I read somewhere about being able to "lock up" your credit which I did and that stops any requests from being answered. Granted this may not fit every one's needs but it works for us.

mkc

I'm trying to recall where I recently read an article on the various identity theft services. Possibly Kiplinger's or Smart Money...

IIRC, Lifelock was involved in some sort of advertising fraud case fairly recently. Plus it doesn't provide nearly as much in monitoring as some of the other services do.

We used Equifax's service for 2 years, provided free due to a security breach at Prudential Insurance. During that time, we were alerted to 2 address changes that were not of our doing, but were because of old info still on file at legitimate creditors. We were able to correct them quickly as a result. We haven't renewed at our cost yet, but have considered it. We also need to research the ID theft insurance provided by our regular homeowner's company.

-M