LifeLock Review

Cristina By: Cristina | Last updated April 13, 2017

hand coming out of laptop screen stealing credit card from wallet, identity theft, lifelock

9.5 / 10

TRY IT NOW

Our editorial staff evaluates products and services independently, but Best Review Guide may earn money when you click on links. Read our advertising disclosure.

PROS:

  • Quality identity monitoring and useful advanced features on their mid and especially top tier plan
  • Great customer support
  • Clean and straightforward interface
  • Black market website surveillance for over 10,000 criminal sites
  • Mobile support

CONS:

  • No special offers or coverage for family members
  • The most advanced and helpful features are only included in their most expensive plan
  • A very controversial history; has been repetitively fined for false advertising
Show More

SUMMARY:

LifeLock Inc. is a company that offers identity theft protection. It has been in business for more than 10 years. 

It is one of the most popular identity theft protection providers on the market, despite the fact that it has a very controversial history. The company claims to have over 4 million members.

CHECK PRICE

COMPLETE REVIEW

The company was founded in 2005, it’s headquartered in Arizona and in 2016 was acquired by Symantec. LifeLock was sued in 2008 by Experian for false advertising and fraud and in 2010, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) fined the company with $12 million for the same reasons. They also ordered LifeLock to pay another $100 million in 2015 to settle contempt charges for not protecting clients’ information and for using deceptive advertising.

LifeLock offers monitoring services, identity theft restoration and uses the LifeLock Identity Alert system, which notifies you via text message, email or phone whenever a suspicious transaction was made in your name.

The service has 3 plans: LifeLock Standard, LifeLock Advantage and LifeLock Ultimate Plus.

LifeLock Standard starts from $9,99/month or $109, 89/year. The plan includes the Identity Alert System, lost wallet protection, $1 million service guarantee and $25,000 stolen funds replacement, address change verification, black market website surveillance and others.

LifeLock Advantage costs $19,99/month or $219,89/year. In addition to the features from the standard package, it also includes $100,000 in stolen funds replacement instead of $25,000, data breach notifications, court records scanning, credit card, checking and savings account alerts, fictitious identity monitoring and online annual credit reports and scores for one credit bureau.

LifeLock Ultimate Plus is their most expensive plan and it starts from $29,99/month or $329,89/year. It also includes the most advanced features: all the ones included in the other packages, but with $1 million stolen funds replacement and online annual credit reports and scores for all 3 credit bureaus, investment account activity alerts, bank account takeover alerts, credit inquiry activity, sex offender registry reports and monthly credit score tracking.

LifeLock can be a useful tool for defending your identity, but unfortunately, its most comprehensive package, with the best features, is the Ultimate Plus, which is also the most expensive. So if you are on a tight budget, you are advised to look for something else.

LifeLock also has apps that are compatible with both iOS and Android devices. With these apps you can approve or reject financial transactions, you can view alerts or your credit score, etc.

The company offers $1 million service guarantee, claiming it will spend that amount of money on lawyers and experts, in order to help you reclaim your good name in case your identity was stolen.

The sign up process is similar to any other online service. You have to create your account by giving them your contact information, billing address and your credit card information. If you want to add other family members you have to pay the full price for each of them, which is a major drawback considering others competitors who have special offers and freebies for minors and spouses. Some of the features may take a day to switch on and can’t accept information as soon as you make your account.

In terms of identity monitoring, there are limitations on how many email addresses or bank accounts you are allowed to enter. You can add up to 2 addresses, 2 email addresses, 5 bank accounts, 5 credit cards and one maiden name for your mother.

The website interface is straightforward and clean, so you will have no problem in navigating it and finding what you need.

Here’s a short description of some of the main features of LifeLock:

  • lost wallet protection: the name is pretty self-explanatory; in case you lose your wallet, LifeLock will help you cancel and replace your credit cards, driver’s license, etc.
  • black market surveillance: LifeLock watches over 10,000 criminal websites on which thieves can sell your personal information and alerts you if it finds your data on any of them
  • LifeLock identity alert system: allows LifeLock to send you text, phone or email messages in case of any suspicious activity regarding your personal information
  • Stolen funds replacement (from $25,000 for the standard plan, up to $1 million for the Ultimate Plus); LifeLock claims that it will reimburse you for costs related to replacing documents, stolen purse or wallet, fraudulent withdrawals, traveling expenses, legal expenses and a few others
  • Reduced pre-approved credit card offers: oftentimes, credit card offers are targets for identity thieves, because once you have discarded the offer, they can fill out the application and open the card in your name; this LifeLock feature helps you remove your personal information from pre-approved credit card mailing lists
Pricing

The service has 3 plans: LifeLock Standard, LifeLock Advantage and LifeLock Ultimate Plus.

LifeLock Standard starts from $9,99/month or $109, 89/year.

LifeLock Advantage costs $19,99/month or $219,89/year.

LifeLock Ultimate Plus is their most expensive plan and it starts from $29,99/month or $329,89/year.

Help/Support

LifeLock allows you to access your account on a 24/7 basis. There is also free, 24/7 customer support by phone, live chat, or through their ticket system. The email response time is around 24 hours. If you want to contact them through live chat you have to first connect with an automated system, give them some of your personal info and only after that you will be assigned to a live rep.

Phone: 1-800-543-3562

International: 1-480-457-4500

Email: [email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected] (for info about becoming a LifeLock partner)

Social media: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, YouTube

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LifeLock

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lifelock

On the bright side, their restoration specialists are friendly and devoted and develop long term relationships with their customers, so there are no complaints here. In addition to phone, live chat and email support, they also offer you self- help resources. You can try to obtain some answers to your questions by browsing through their FAQ section on the website, or get some useful tips and knowledge from their news section. Overall, customer support is not an issue with LifeLock.

Rate this review!

CHECK PRICE

Our editorial staff evaluates products and services independently, but Best Review Guide may earn money when you click on links. Read our advertising disclosure.

SEE ALTERNATIVES

Identity Guard with IBM Watson
Identity Guard with IBM Watson
Read Review
Identity Force
Identity Force
Read Review
Identity Guard
Identity Guard
Read Review

CHECK ALTERNATIVES

Identity Theft Our top picks

BEST IN CLASS
1
9.9
Identity Guard with IBM Watson
Read Review
BEST VALUE
2
9.8
Identity Force
Read Review
RUNNER UP
3
9.7
Identity Guard
Read Review
4
9.6
ID Watchdog
Read Review
5
9.5
LifeLock
Read Review
6
9.4
Privacy Guard
Read Review
7
9.3
Credit Sesame
Read Review
8
9.2
ID Patrol
Read Review
9
9.0
ID Shield
Read Review
10
8.8
TrustedID
Read Review

SUBSCRIBE