As one of the leading identity theft protection companies in the United States, LifeLock includes credit monitoring as part of its Ultimate Plus membership program. This review is geared specifically towards examining how robust and effective its credit report monitoring features are for those seeking to track, improve, and build their credit and credit score over time.

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The Good

Features
Triple-Bureau Reporting
Customer Service
Information Security
Identity Theft Protection

Features

LifeLock attempts to pull all three credit reports from the major credit bureaus upon signup with its Ultimate Plus plan, presenting the information in an easy-to-read format for its customers. In addition to the credit reports, LifeLock provides a TransRisk score for each report with an explanation of the main factors contributing to the score. Additionally, the company provides customers with an updated TransRisk score each month based off of activity in the customer's Experian credit report, as well as alerts customers of "key changes" on the other credit reports.

Triple-Bureau Reporting

LifeLock pulls credit reports from all three major credit bureaus-TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. The company provides a TransRisk credit score for each of these reports and ongoing updates to the Experian credit report.

Customer Service

LifeLock offers 24/7 phone support from call centers within the United States, making it easier to reach someone when you need to.

Information Security

LifeLock takes customer privacy and data protection very seriously, with a call center that prohibits agents from having access to cell phones or other means of recording customer data.

Identity Theft Protection

For those concerned about identity theft, LifeLock brings a lot of protective features to the table, which can be viewed under the "Feature Details" tab. A more thorough review of LifeLock as a protection service can be found here.

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The Bad

Non-Standard Credit Scores
Poor Refresh Rate
Reliance on Free Credit Reports
Price
Cancellation Policy

Non-Standard Credit Scores

LifeLock does not provide customers with a "true" FICO score, which is the credit score utilized by over 90 percent of major lenders. Instead, the company gives you a VantageScore, which few, if any major lenders use. This means that the credit scores LifeLock provides you may be very different from the one your lenders see, and cannot be relied upon for determining or even approximating your actual credit standing with lenders.

Poor Refresh Rate

On the Ultimate Plus plan, Lifelock will only provide customers with their full credit reports from all three bureaus once per year. A lot can happen in one year. Those who are committed to improving their credit would do well to monitor their full reports more often than that. As many customers have noted, the company's advertised monthly credit refreshes are only for one of those three credit reports, Experian, and do not include the report itself, only a VantageScore credit score which, as mentioned before, isn't all that useful in determining your actual credit standing with most lenders.

Reliance on Free Credit Reports

LifeLock obtains credit reports from AnnualCreditReport.com, where, by federal law, anyone can pull their own credit reports for free once per year. This means that if you've recently pulled your own credit reports from that site, LifeLock will be unable to pull them for you into your account.

Price

When you take into account the above factors, providing the customer with three reports a year and no true FICO scores, $29.99 per month represents one of the worst values of any credit monitoring company we've ever reviewed. That's an effective cost of $120 per credit report per year, with no FICO score provided.

Cancellation Policy

Canceling with LifeLock requires a user to call in and speak with someone over the phone whose job is to persuade the customer not to cancel. This is a hassle that we don't like to see. Additionally, no partial refunds are offered for those who cancel mid-month, which is a customer-unfriendly policy. Both of these practices are commonly employed by businesses seeking to cover for a high cancellation rate following a misleading claim.

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The Bottom Line

Although it has a well-deserved reputation for ID theft protection and, as previously mentioned, we may recommend it for those seeking to guard against fraud, LifeLock's relative lack of updated credit reports, price, and complete absence of true FICO scores make it a poor value for those who are simply seeking to monitor their credit scores, reports, and improve their overall credit health.

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User Reviews

Star Rating

3.9

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53 Reviews

Review Breakdown

5 grade

51%

4 grade

23%

3 grade

2 grade

1 grade

11%

Sentiment Criteria

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Laura Allman

I like that they will monitor expenditures from accounts that exceed a certain amount, which I can set. I've been the victim of a major hack into accounts and . My credit card and banks companies got money back for me. I now feel safer because Lifelock will catch such issues even faster and ensure resolution and backup to my financial institutions.

4 months ago

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Shannon Morley

I have been a member of life lock for 6 years now. I was a victim of fraudulent charges, my email being hacked into, etc. I made the decision to sign up with life lock, and ever since then I have not been a victim of fraud, me emails have stayed in my language and not hacked. I have my children signed up with them also. I love that I get messages asking if "this was me". I love knowing who is around me and the safety measures I should take.

7 years ago

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Carolyn Reed Pleasant Grove, UT

I don't know whether I was hacked or not - but when Anthem/Blue Cross failed to provide security for its customers, I got worried. While others frantically contacted the various credit companies, I just called Lifelock - and was assured that my identity was protected. They continued to do this as weeks passed and - when I applied for a lease to buy a new Subaru after mine was totaled - I was immediately told by Lifelock that my credit was being checked. I feel secure with Lifelock.

9 years ago

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Euginia Pleasant Grove, UT

Ok, so I finally bit the bullet and signed up for Lifelock after comparing like 5 different identity theft services. I have to say that I am impressed with Lifelock Ultimate. Not only did I get to see my 3 credit bureau reports right away, but in my lifelock dashboard I can see everything that's going on with my account. Hopefully, I won't have to use this service, ya know, but i really think I made the right choice over the other companies, although Trusted Id would have saved me a couple bucks and seemed pretty good too.

11 years ago

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Carolyn Reed Pleasant Grove, UT

Lifelock has been a lifesaver for us! My husband and I experienced an extensive attack and lifelock came to our rescue. They disputed all fraudulent charges, and swatted away every attempt made against us for illegal credit card applications. We will be forever grateful!

9 years ago

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William E Langen Saratoga Springs, UT

I just recently bought a New Truck it was a great feeling to know by who and when my Credit was being Checked ,you Guys are the Best at what you do I will refer you to as many family and friends that I can ..Your Text and Phone Notifications are Great. Thank You!!!!

9 years ago Edited September 14, 2021

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Gary W. West Jordan, UT

I've had the service for a few years, I've never had a problem with it. In fact, I really like the online Command Center because you can see if there is any public information about you floating around and it tells you if a sex offender moves into your neighborhood. My only complaint about the service would be that you can't see your credit reports or scores now in real time.

11 years ago

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Reese Pleasant Grove, UT

My parents had an incident where someone was able to get their banking information and they signed up for LifeLock and it stopped everything in its tracks. I thought that sounded good, so I signed up as well and I get updates when my credit is pulled and if things are correct or there is an error and LifeLock has great custoemr service to walk me through how to keep my credit in good standing and also helps me if something is wrong.

5 years ago

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Lesa Burgess Pleasant Grove, UT

Signed up for LifeLock to protect my identity and credit score a few years ago. They did a good job of letting me know of anything suspicious going on under my full legal name. I felt like they kept me in the loop, affordable product & overall I felt like my identity & credit score was safe & in good hands. I'm not sure I was looking for anything else but that. Very satisfied with LifeLock

6 years ago

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Carolyn Reed Pleasant Grove, UT

I have had one call about a credit card I opened. LifeLock was checking to be sure I had made this transaction. It is a good feeling to know someone is looking out for my interests.

9 years ago

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Carolyn Reed Saratoga Springs, UT

Your FICO Scores do not match the official ones published by the 3 Credit Bureaus. In fact my Bureau Scores are all over 800, where the ones you publish for me 2 are under 800 and one is over 800. I wish your scores matched the Bureaus scores better.

9 years ago

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Carolyn Reed Saratoga Springs, UT

Ii am very pleased to have Lifelock keeping a check on my credit. They have notified of any changes to me credit history. I have recommended them to my friends Nd will continue to do so. Thank you for a great job

9 years ago

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Bx Chick Yonkers, NY

I have had Lifelock for over 15 years. They are consistent with monitoring my credit and my credit accounts. They notify me when there is new activity or inquiries. I feel safe knowing that they are monitoring at all times. I highly recommend them to everyone because their fees are reasonable.

2 years ago

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Deb Jackson Valrico, FL

I have used Life lock for years. I am thankful that I get notified when someone tries to open a credit card using my information. The cost is reasonable and you can always find AARP rates too. Just wondering why it wasn't caught when someone filed income tax using my information, but perhaps they don't monitor that info. All in all it had been helpful to me.

2 years ago

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Morgan Knight Salt Lake City, UT

So grateful for Lifelock! Lifelock has brought so much comfort and awareness with keeping our data and information secure! The notifications are so helpful and happen way before we hear from the source of where the breach may have happened. Lifelock is a must have in this day and age!

3 years ago

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Deborah Hyde Springfield, MO

I like the peace of mind that LifeLock provides. They allow me to set up alerts if anything suspicious happens on my or my family's account. I have been happy with the customer service when I've had a question. I also think the price is very fair for the service that they provide.

6 years ago

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TC B Florissant, CO

Fantastic program that protects your information, alerts you immediately with any concerns, and helps you navigate any breaches to your personal information!

1 year ago

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Carolyn Reed Pleasant Grove, UT

Just yesterday, May 5, my bank called and they said their computer flagged a payout that someone had used my bank card for a charge of 91.00. I was lucky it wasn't 9100.00! But the fact is the bank caught it and not Lifelock. Is that good?

9 years ago

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Carolyn Reed Pleasant Grove, UT

While I feel protected, I can't not write a review and not call out the unintelligent way in which I am alerted constantly about financial activity. For example, when my payroll check is automatically deposited into my account I receive an alert. If I buy something I receive an alert, far too many emails are being sent that are only forcing me to tune out the message, which is unfortunate because I was hoping for something that would have better processes built into the system for when it launches alerts.

9 years ago

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Carolyn Reed Pleasant Grove, UT

All the hype is unwarranted. I had great expectations but found very little services that are useful. First, I was told by their salesperson on the phone that I would get all 3 credit services and that I would get monthly updates and could view my reports any time. The truth is that while you get monthly updates, those updates are ONLY for ONE of the credit agencies. The other two are only as of the date you pay them, meaning you only get them once a year (which you can get for free directly from the credit bureau on an annual basis, anyway). I also was told that I would get immediate notifications of any activity over the threshhold settings you set for in advance with them (e.g., if you tell them to notifiy you of credit card charges or banking activity in excess of $200, they will notify you of any activity in the accounts you include in your profile when that amount is exceeded. Amounts less that that are ignored). The problem is that I have NEVER been notified in a timely fashion, which to me means that it is immediate, just like they show in their infomercials. The earliest notification I have ever received has been at least 24 hours after the incident, sometimes longer. A lot of damage can be done in 24 hours. In fact, it appears that they don't work on weekends. More often than not, if I make a charge at Walmart for an amount over the threshhold on a Saturday, the earliest I receive notification of the transaction is Tuesday of the following week! This is useful? If you are like me and check your bank accounts online every day or other day, you are wasting your money with this service. Perhaps it may be helpful if someone opens a new account in your name, but somehow I find that unlikely. This seems especially so since they only review accounts for which you have provided them with the account number. A new account would not appear on their records.

9 years ago

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Carolyn Reed Pleasant Grove, UT

I applied for a new credit card to transfer my balances for a )% interest and life lock called right away Thank you for making sure I was the one who did this.

9 years ago

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Carolyn Reed Saratoga Springs, UT

Life lock has been amazing. So grateful to have there help monitoring my credit. They have been on top of all the fraudulent activities that have occurred this past year.

9 years ago

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KOLTIN PRATT Pleasant Grove, UT

I have yet to find a better product for monitoring my credit. Not sure why they push their ID theft so hard, their credit monitoring is a huge selling point.

11 years ago

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Dwhoush Slidell, LA

LifeLock works very efficiently. You get notified very fast if there is a credit report pulled on you. The add on services you can get can also help your identity as well. The service was too effective for me so I had to stop using it.

4 years ago

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Zac Cannon Long Beach, MS

LifeLock monitors my credit cards and does a great job. I've had very little issues with my accounts getting hacked. If my account does get hacked, it gets knocked out immediately and my information stays safe.

4 years ago

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Sierra Beck Herriman, UT

My family uses Life Lock and we have been very happy with it so far. We receive alerts when our social security number or other person information is used and then we can figure out what to do next. It has helped us when a credit card number was used for a weird purchase that was not us and we were able to stop it before it became a big problem.

5 years ago

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Jami Schmieding Mesa, AZ

My previous job was broken into and they stole all of our pay roll information so I paid for Lifelock to watch over my accounts. They always kept me informed and made sure I felt secured and safe.

6 years ago

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Randal hyde Springfield, MO

I use lifelock to monitor my credit score. I like the notifications that they provide and it allows me to stay on top of changes to my credit. The service is easy to use and customer service is helpful.

6 years ago

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Sarah Bosko Estes Park, CO

Wish we didn’t have to use them, but will all the security breaches in our world today, they are nice. Easy to sign-up.

2 years ago Edited November 17, 2022

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Jeff San Jose, CA

Long time member who quit due to non-existent support when time came to renew. No help with renewal pricing or options. Nothing presented, no details on emails etc. Very disappointed as I liked the features of the product. But if I am paying a premium I expect some basic support for your paying customers.

5 years ago

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beth merckel Boulder, CO

LifeLock makes it really hard to cancel service. My father-in-law died in July and my mother-in-law was placed in a nursing home and declared incompetent in August. LifeLoc won't allow me to email the death certificate and Power of Attorney to cancel their account(s). LifeLock want the documents faxed or mailed to them. It's hard enough to deal with these kind of life issues, why does LifeLock need to make it harder? Join the 21st century and allow your customers to use email like every other vendor out there! Don't do business with LifeLock!

6 years ago

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Carolyn Reed Pleasant Grove, UT

I have been very pleased with the service. I have only had to call them once/twice but found them to be very clear when I asked them questions.

9 years ago

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Carolyn Reed Pleasant Grove, UT

I've been a member of LifeLock for a little ofer a year now - I've opened two credit cards, managed some other accounts and I've received nothing that anything was ever happening on my account. Nothing.

9 years ago

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James Hare Drexel Hill, PA

They're extremely on top of their game with credit monitoring and alerts. I've gotten lifelock alerts faster than confirmation emails most of the time

2 years ago

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James Moss Knoxville, IA

LifeLock does a great job in contacting me every time I have a credit inquiry. I wish they could see every credit inquiry but no one can. The customer service is excellent.

2 years ago

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Carolyn Reed Pleasant Grove, UT

Recently my American Express card was both cancelled and re-issued fraudulently ( to the tune of $21,000) and your service seems to not know about that nor did you contact me. So - that does not impress me. I thought you were the best. I am disappointed and also, quite frankly, totally non-plussed as to why you did not spot this.

9 years ago

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Carolyn Reed Pleasant Grove, UT

I recently was notified by my credit union that my debit card had been compromised. There was one unauthorized use and an additional attempt. This was never picked up by LifeLock. Not before, during or after. Bummed!

9 years ago

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NacyB Pleasant Grove, UT

Got a change of address in the mail that I did NOT issue, and was being frauded for gold coins! What?! not anymore.

11 years ago

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upnorthwi Bellevue, WA

Credit Monitoring. You would think that is what you get, well sort of. I've made various purchases that should have flagged LifeLock to alert me, they didn't. After much conversation with them about this, they only monitor certain banks, credit cards etc. So if a company, bank etc is not one of their members that they monitor, you will not get a alert. That makes LifeLock worthless to me.

2 years ago

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Rosann Stanko Logan, UT

I am comforted to know that we have LifeLock checking our credit and periodically letting us know there’s been a problem and they’re taking care of it.

5 years ago

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Maryayb Draper, UT

This service is of paramount importance as identity theft is so rampant. Love the email notifications when my credit is being accessed !

6 years ago

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Carolyn Reed Pleasant Grove, UT

You missed the boat. Someone opened a bank account in my name and was caught by the fraud department of the bank involved. Luckily they contacted me before any large amount of damage was done.

9 years ago

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Carolyn Reed Pleasant Grove, UT

They call us every time there is a hit on our credit. They are really on top of things.

9 years ago

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Janicé Pleasant Grove, UT

I signed up last week. Haven't had to use it, but just having it makes me sleep better at night. ;) Will update.

11 years ago

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Dre35 West Valley City, UT

Got lifelock when Experian got hacked. It's a great service, and the website was user friendly. Easy to navigate and make sure your identity is safe.

4 years ago

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Josh Harold Dallas, TX

I once had a problem with someone trying to steal my credit card and life lock notified me immediately, and for a good price.

4 years ago

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FIXITART West Jordan, UT

Lifelock was the biggest waste of money. They really did not do anything for me except take payments out of my account. It was an act of God to get customer service to cancel auto payments.

4 years ago

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Madison Kneiss Long Beach, MS

OVERALL GOOD EXPERIENCE WITH THIS SERVICE i HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED AND CONTACTED WITH ANY OF OF CHARACTER ACTIONS ON MY FINACES VERY HAPPY

4 years ago

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Carolyn Reed Saratoga Springs, UT

Quite Disappointed in the delay between when suspect transaction is made and notification is sent. Time delay is a few days or longer.

9 years ago

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Amy Boren American Fork, UT

They do a great job of monitoring. We received free service for a year but decided to keep the service.

5 years ago