Company Guarantees Against Identity Theft

Identity theft is the fastet growing crime in America.<br/><br/>Many companies offer to restore your credit after you're a victim, but, a new company is the first to promise it will prevent you from

Monday, June 12th 2006, 3:43 pm

By: News On 6

Identity theft is the fastet growing crime in America.

Many companies offer to restore your credit after you're a victim, but, a new company is the first to promise it will prevent you from becoming a victim in the first place.

News on 6 anchor Lori Fullbright says the company backs it up with a one million dollar guarantee.

Harold Hatfield flew all over the Pacific during his time in the Navy. Now, he's a great grandfather and at the age of 80, still advises clients on retirement investments.

His credit card was compromised recently, when someone charged $3,000 in New Orleans.

Harold says,"They asked me if I had the card in my possession. I said, yes, I have it right here in my hand. They said the card was present. Man, they're duplicating cards these days."

That convinced Harold it was worth $10 a month to protect himself from something worse, like identity theft.

He signed up for LifeLock, which put an alert on his account with all three credit bureaus. That means he'll get a phone call anytime someone applies for credit in his name.

Any citizen can do it for free, but, the alerts expire every 90 days, so you have to keep at it.

LifeLock's CEO, Todd Davis says, "We do it ever 70 days. It's kind of like you could change your own oil or use us for the convenience. We also take off the pre-approved credit card offers."

Criminals hack into companies and steal thousands of names and numbers, then sell them over and over. That means a person could be a victim more than just once.

LifeLock promises to prevent that, but, if it somehow happens, you're protected.

"We go fix the problem, period and we reimburse you up to a million dollars in financial losses," says Davis. "You won't be out a dollar."

For Harold Hatfield, it's an insurance policy that gives him peace of mind in a new world.

If you want to place an alert on your account with the three credit bureaus for free, you'll find them in the links section of kotv.com.

If you are still compromised, the Federal Trade Commission estimates it will take you 177 hours over two years to repair the damage.