"Foolproof way to prevent I.D. theft? Nope"

<strong><strong>....Do fraud alerts work?<br></strong></strong>A 90-day fraud alert flags your credit file. It tells a potential lender you suspect you are or could be the victim of identity theft. This should make them more careful when someone applies for a new credit account in your name, requests a new card for one of your existing accounts, or tries to increase the credit limit.<br><br> On its Web site, LifeLock says it wants to “lock down every individual’s private information” so no one else can use it. But a fraud alert does not <em>lock</em> your credit file. And it’s far from perfect.<br><br> According to the advocacy group Consumer Action, fraud alerts are only effective in about 75 percent of the cases. The only way to restrict access to your credit file is with a credit freeze, something LifeLock does not do.<br><br><span id="byLine"></span><strong><strong>Lawsuits and more lawsuits<br></strong></strong><span id="byLine"></span>In February, Experian (one of the big three credit reporting agencies) sued LifeLock, claiming its use of fraud alerts is illegal. The Fair Credit Reporting Act limits a 90-day fraud alert to someone who “asserts in good faith” a suspicion that he or she “has been or is about to become a victim of fraud or related crime, including identity theft.”<br><strong>See the details at: </strong>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28036314/<br><br><strong>This is The Consumer, Technology and Internet News</strong><br><strong>Visit and Join <a rel="nofollow" href="http://dailylifeonline.lefora.com/forum/">Daily Life Online Forum</a></strong>