I've been using Lifelock for over 10 years. My identity has been stolen once since then and a fake IRS filing was done. I also had a few other instances of ATM & bank scam attempts in that time. I've found Lifelock to be worth every penny I've paid. But, I have heard that you can get pretty much the same type of protection from the three Credit Report companies (minus the guaranteed recovery benefit).
One of the things that I did after someone stole my ID & hacked my bank accounts was to file a fraud alert with the credit reporting companies and the IRS. This means that even f I get caught in scam again. the BG's can't get anywhere because my name & SS# flagged and I will get a call or a contact telling me someone is attempting to use my name, account or SS#.
The only downside to having a fraud alert on my IRS acount and credit reports is the increased hassle of getting a loan. It's still possible to do so. But, it stops scammers cold because it's an automatic refusal with banks and it signals the IRS to investigate any filing.
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