LifeLock Announces Tips to Help Protect Consumers Against Identity Theft
05 Februar 2015 - 10:57PM
Business Wire
As Consumers Scramble to Protect Their
Identities Following Anthem Inc.’s Data Breach, LifeLock Offers
Tips to Help the Public Protect Their Identities
Another year, another data breach. More than 85 million personal
records were exposed in 783 data breaches in 2014, leading
President Obama to act on identity theft, America’s
“fastest-growing crime,” and urging legislative action on
cybersecurity during his State of the Union address last month. And
yesterday, Anthem Inc. confirmed yet another breach of personal
information, including Social Security numbers, which could affect
tens of millions of Americans.
Data breaches have an impact not only on businesses, but also on
consumers – a 2014 Forrester Consulting study on behalf of LifeLock
found that individuals that were notified their personal
information was part of a breach are six times more likely to have
been a victim of identity theft in the past 12 months. But what
many people may not factor in is the emotional impact of a breach.
Consumers can feel poorly equipped to handle a data breach and feel
as though businesses may not do enough to help them. A new study of
more than 1,200 consumers conducted by Morpace on behalf of
LifeLock found that 58% of consumers believe retailers put the
burden of identity theft protection as a result of a data breach on
the customer and over 80% of consumers believe retailers and
banks/credit card companies need to do more to protect their
customers.
“As the Morpace study shows, the public is feeling helpless when
it comes to protecting their identity and you can understand why
when a breach seems to happen every other week,” said Hilary
Schneider, President of LifeLock. “But there are some simple things
people can do right now to help protect themselves so that when a
crisis occurs, they can be more confident. In a short amount of
time, consumers can get educated and take some proactive steps to
help protect their identity.”
LifeLock, which helps consumers take a proactive approach to
owning their identity, recommends five tips on what consumers can
do immediately to help protect themselves if they believe their
data has been exposed by a breach. Those tips are:
- Change passwords for
email accounts, financial accounts and social media
accounts.
- Order a credit report from all three
credit reporting agencies and place a fraud alert on the report
(Equifax: 800 525-6285; TransUnion: 800 680-7289;
and Experian: 888 397-3742).
- Call the Identity Theft Resource
Center at (800) 400-5530 with additional questions.
- Monitor transactions by keeping an
eye on credit and debit card accounts, looking for any
fraudulent transactions and report any suspicious transaction
immediately using the phone number on the back
of the credit or debit card.
- If a retailer or employer offers
free credit monitoring as a result of a breach, take advantage
of it. But recognize that credit monitoring shouldn’t take
the place of comprehensive identity theft protection.
According to a 2014 Forrester Consulting study on behalf of
LifeLock, once every two seconds someone is a victim of identity
theft resulting in total cost of identity theft of over $19
billion.
Schneider added, “The reality is, breaches are a part of our
lives. Period. We have to acknowledge that and take ownership of
our identities by taking an aggressive and proactive approach. The
information and tools are available to help consumers try to stay
one step ahead of the identity fraud caused by hackers – it is just
a matter of educating them and making this a new part of their
lives.”
For more tips and information for consumers visit
www.lifelockunlocked.com.
About LifeLock
LifeLock, Inc. (NYSE: LOCK) is a leading provider of
proactive identity theft protection services for consumers and
risk management services for enterprises. LifeLock’s threat
detection, proactive identity alerts, and comprehensive
remediation services provide peace of mind for
consumers amid the growing threat of identity theft.
Leveraging unique data, science and patented technology from
ID Analytics, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary, LifeLock offers
identity theft protection that goes beyond credit monitoring.
As part of its commitment to help fight identity theft,
LifeLock works to train law enforcement and partners with
a variety of non-profit organizations to help consumers
establish positive habits to combat this threat.
LifeLock, Inc.Annika Tunberg,
312-321-4862annika.tunberg@zenogroup.com
Lifelock, Inc. (delisted) (NYSE:LOCK)
Historical Stock Chart
Von Jul 2024 bis Aug 2024
Lifelock, Inc. (delisted) (NYSE:LOCK)
Historical Stock Chart
Von Aug 2023 bis Aug 2024