IdentityLookout.com is a website that joins credit reporting with identity theft protection. For a $1 fee, you will get a 30 day trial of their website and the protection they offer, in addition to an Experian credit report.
After your 30 day trail is over, if you have not canceled your membership, you will be charged $12.95 every 30 days for continued identity theft protection. Identity Lookout has two different forms of identity protection. One is the credit freeze, which is the strictest form. This means that whenever an application for any form of credit is opened in your name, it will not be approved unless a phone call is placed to you and you approve it.
The second form of protection is the more standard form of protection, called credit monitoring. Credit monitoring just means that your credit will be watched for odd purchases, loans, credit card applications etc. If something suspicious does occur, you will be notified.
Now, as you can see, this second form of protection does not actually stop your identity from being stolen. Someone could still use your identity to get a loan or a credit card, but the theory is that you will be notified of it and able to stop the identity theft before it gets out hand. This is actually the industry standard for identity theft protection.
Identity Lookout also offers a couple interesting features of identity protection, including Internet Scanning and Lost Wallet Protection. You can register up to three different credit and debit cards with them, and they will scan the internet to track purchases from those cards. If something raises a flag, they will contact you.
The Lost Wallet Protection is a feature where, if you lose your wallet, you can contact their service and they will help cancel all your credit cards. This way you are protected from forgetting about a card.
However, with all the identity protection features they offer, Identity Lookout does not offer free credit reports. Your first initial credit report costs $1, and you will have access to it for 30 days. At the end of 30 days, you will no longer have access to that report and you will need to pay for any other credit reports you order throughout your membership. How much you pay isn’t clear.
Also, Identity Lookout offers a couple different ways to pay for their membership. You can pay monthly, which allows you to cancel at any time but means you are not eligible for any refunds, or you can pay for a year’s membership up front. If you pay a year up front and cancel any time within the first six months, you are eligible for a prorated membership.
In general, if you are looking for identity theft protection, it seems as thought Identity Lookout has a fair number of services and options they provide. But if you are looking for easy access to credit reports, this might not be the service for you.
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