featured image 89 Lifelock Black Friday Deal Reduces Cost of Identity Theft Protection by 61%

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Norton is one of the leading names in antivirus and cybersecurity. However, its identity protection service, LifeLock, is underwhelming. Learn more about LifeLock and see how it stacks up against its competitors.

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LifeLock Standard Learn more On LifeLock by Norton’s website Insider’s Rating A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star 3.55 /5 Icon of check mark inside a promo stamp It indicates a confirmed selection. Perks 60-day money-back guarantee on annual plans. Get alerts to possible threats by text, phone call, email, or mobile app; lock accounts with one click; and if your identity gets stolen, LifeLock will work to fix it. Fees $11.99 monthly or $89.99 for first year, then $124.99 upon renewal Pros Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Restoration specialists available

Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. 24/7 live member support

Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Couples and family plans

Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Free trial

Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Dark web monitoring Cons con icon Two crossed lines that form an ‘X’. Only monitors Equifax, not Experian or TransUnion

con icon Two crossed lines that form an ‘X’. No court records monitoring

con icon Two crossed lines that form an ‘X’. Costs increase after one year Product Details Get identity and social security number alerts via text, phone, email, or mobile app notifications

All plans offer credit monitoring

Up to $1 million in coverage for lawyers and experts, collectively, if needed, for all plans Show Pros, Cons, and More chevron down icon An icon in the shape of an angle pointing down.

LifeLock Review

LifeLock is an identity theft protection service provided by digital security company Norton, most well-known for its antivirus software.

The most noticeable aspect of LifeLock’s service is its cost. LifeLock plans start at $11.99 monthly, which is already more expensive than some of the services included in our guide on the best identity theft protection services. Its most expensive service, LifeLock Ultimate Plus, costs $34.99 monthly. It’s one of the most expensive identity theft plans across the entire industry. If this isn’t enough, LifeLock increases the price of annual renewals.

For its high cost, LifeLock offers disappointingly little. It reserves tri-bureau credit monitoring for its most expensive plan, Ultimate Plus. Additionally, LifeLock offers no cybersecurity features despite being operated by a digital security company.

Despite its shortcomings, there are a few things to like about LifeLock. For one, it immediately offers restoration experts with its cheapest plan, which some services reserve for its more expensive plans. Starting at its mid-tier plan, LifeLock offers financial account monitoring, something surprisingly uncommon among identity protection services. LifeLock has positively reviewed mobile apps for Android and Apple devices and 24/7 member support. It also offers annual discounts, free trials, and family plans for all its services.

It’s worth noting that while LifeLock doesn’t offer cybersecurity features on its own, you can sign up for Norton 360 with LifeLock, which combines its antivirus software and identity protection services. This service comes in three tiers and is slightly more expensive than LifeLock but offers far more value. Services include a VPN, antivirus software, and parental controls.

LifeLock has received mixed customer reviews, receiving an average of 4.0 stars out of five on its Trustpilot page. Across 2,050 reviews, 72% gave the service four stars or above. The company’s Better Business Bureau page fares worse, receiving an average of 1.1 stars out of five. That said, its mobile apps are highly rated. On the Apple app store, LifeLock received an average of 4.3 stars over 8,30o reviews, and its Android app received an average of 4.7 stars across 30,020 reviews.

Ultimately, LifeLock can reduce the risk of identity theft but falls short compared to the best identity theft protection services and the best credit monitoring services.

LifeLock Identity Theft Plans

LifeLock offers three plans: Standard, Advantage, and Ultimate Plus. Each ascending tier offers everything the last plan provided, with additional features.

Cost: $11.99 monthly or $89.99 for first year, then $124.99 upon renewal

As its name would suggest, LifeLock Standard offers ground-level identity theft protection, leaving noticeable gaps in security.

Social Security alerts and credit monitoring: Triggers when LifeLock detects fraudulent uses of your Social Security number and other personal information for credit or other services. LifeLock Standard also includes credit monitoring from Equifax, one of the three major credit bureaus. It’s worth noting that some free credit monitoring services will monitor one credit bureau for free.

Triggers when LifeLock detects fraudulent uses of your Social Security number and other personal information for credit or other services. LifeLock Standard also includes credit monitoring from Equifax, one of the three major credit bureaus. It’s worth noting that some free credit monitoring services will monitor one credit bureau for free. US-based identity restoration specialists: The cornerstone of any good identity protection services, restoration specialists guide you through the process of recovering from identity theft.

The cornerstone of any good identity protection services, restoration specialists guide you through the process of recovering from identity theft. Stolen wallet protection: If your wallet gets stolen or lost, you can call LifeLock, and they will help cancel or replace the various cards you had in there, such as credit cards and debit cards, insurance cards, and Social Security cards.

If your wallet gets stolen or lost, you can call LifeLock, and they will help cancel or replace the various cards you had in there, such as credit cards and debit cards, insurance cards, and Social Security cards. USPS address change verification: People may target your mail to gain access to your personal information. LifeLock notifies you when someone files an address change request for any mail you expect.

People may target your mail to gain access to your personal information. LifeLock notifies you when someone files an address change request for any mail you expect. Dark web monitoring: Dark web monitoring identifies any of your personal information changing hands over dark web sites, which is very hard to do on your own.

Dark web monitoring identifies any of your personal information changing hands over dark web sites, which is very hard to do on your own. Identity theft insurance up to $25,000: The standard plan also offers $25,000 in reimbursements for stolen funds and up to $1 million in coverage for lawyers and experts.

Cost: $22.99 monthly or $179.88 for first year, then $239.99 upon renewal

LifeLock Advantage builds on the services that the standard plan provides.

TransUnion identity lock and reports: LifeLock Advantage gives you access to a monthly credit report and credit score from TransUnion. You can instantly lock and unlock your TransUnion credit report. Credit locks are similar to credit freezes, which the three major credit bureaus must provide for free. While these are the same service, LifeLock is faster than the credit bureaus. However, you’ll still have to manually freeze your credit reports with the other two bureaus.

LifeLock Advantage gives you access to a monthly credit report and credit score from TransUnion. You can instantly lock and unlock your TransUnion credit report. Credit locks are similar to credit freezes, which the three major credit bureaus must provide for free. While these are the same service, LifeLock is faster than the credit bureaus. However, you’ll still have to manually freeze your credit reports with the other two bureaus. Payday loan lock: Someone with your personal information may go to a payday loan provider to take out money under your name. These loan providers usually don’t do a credit check, so they’re often hard to identify.

Someone with your personal information may go to a payday loan provider to take out money under your name. These loan providers usually don’t do a credit check, so they’re often hard to identify. Criminal activity monitoring: Monitors any crimes committed in your name.

Monitors any crimes committed in your name. Financial account monitoring: Building off the credit monitoring that the Standard plan gives you, Advantage provides monitoring of your financial accounts including credit, checking, and savings accounts. This is a surprisingly uncommon feature found among identity theft protection services.

Building off the credit monitoring that the Standard plan gives you, Advantage provides monitoring of your financial accounts including credit, checking, and savings accounts. This is a surprisingly uncommon feature found among identity theft protection services. Phone takeover monitoring: LifeLock Advantage monitors your phone account, preventing bad actors from making phone calls using your number and gaining access to the online accounts linked to your phone number.

LifeLock Advantage monitors your phone account, preventing bad actors from making phone calls using your number and gaining access to the online accounts linked to your phone number. Identity theft insurance up to $100,000: LifeLock increases their reimbursements to $100,000 for any money lost to identity theft and the same $1 million in coverage for lawyers and experts.

Note: You can access free credit reports weekly through AnnualCreditReport.com.

Cost: $34.99 monthly or $239.88 for first year, then $339.99 upon renewal

LifeLock’s densest and most expensive plan, Ultimate Plus, offers comprehensive security at a premium price. It’s not only the most costly plan that LifeLock offers but is also more expensive than most identity protection services. Here’s everything Ultimate Plus adds to the previous plans.

Tri-bureau credit monitoring: Ultimate Plus finally adds the other two credit bureaus to its monitoring plan. Additionally, you can access monthly credit reports and scores from TransUnion daily. You can also access your credit reports from the other two bureaus once per year.

Ultimate Plus finally adds the other two credit bureaus to its monitoring plan. Additionally, you can access monthly credit reports and scores from TransUnion daily. You can also access your credit reports from the other two bureaus once per year. 401(k) and investment alerts: Adding to the checking and savings account alerts, Ultimate Plus alerts you to changes in your 401(k) and investment accounts.

Adding to the checking and savings account alerts, Ultimate Plus alerts you to changes in your 401(k) and investment accounts. Home title monitoring: Ultimate Plus locks down your housing records, so nobody can use your home title information against you. It also prevents identity thieves from using your home equity to take out a loan.

Ultimate Plus locks down your housing records, so nobody can use your home title information against you. It also prevents identity thieves from using your home equity to take out a loan. Social media monitoring: LifeLock monitors your social media accounts for changes to your settings or unusual posting activity. It can also monitor your child’s social media accounts for cyberbullying, hate speech, and explicit content if you sign up for the family plan.

LifeLock monitors your social media accounts for changes to your settings or unusual posting activity. It can also monitor your child’s social media accounts for cyberbullying, hate speech, and explicit content if you sign up for the family plan. File-sharing network searches: Scans file-sharing networks to see if your personal information is available on these sites.

Scans file-sharing networks to see if your personal information is available on these sites. Sex offender registry searches: Like criminal activity monitoring, LifeLock scans the sex offender registry for your name and personal information.

Norton 360 with LifeLock

Cost: $9.99 to $34.99 monthly or $99.99 to $299.88 annually

LifeLock, on its own, has disappointingly little to offer when it comes to cybersecurity. However, when paired with Norton 360, LifeLock gains more utility. Unfortunately, some of the features offered by Norton 360 with LifeLock only work on specific devices. For example, its ad-tracker blocker only blocks ads on Safari on iOS devices and SafeCam only works on PCs.

Here are the list of features.

Secure VPN: Offers security and privacy when connecting to web-based services by obscuring your IP address.

Offers security and privacy when connecting to web-based services by obscuring your IP address. Ad-tracker blocker: Blocks unwanted ads on Safari on iOS devices.

Blocks unwanted ads on Safari on iOS devices. SafeCam for Windows PCs: Lets you block unauthorized usage of your PC’s camera.

Lets you block unauthorized usage of your PC’s camera. Privacy monitor: Similar to dark web monitoring, this feature scans data broker websites looking for your personal information.

Similar to dark web monitoring, this feature scans data broker websites looking for your personal information. Security for PCs, Macs, smartphones, and tablets: Antivirus and malware software for your devices. The number of devices varies based on your plan: five devices, 10 devices, or unlimited devices.

Antivirus and malware software for your devices. The number of devices varies based on your plan: five devices, 10 devices, or unlimited devices. Cloud backup for Windows PCs: Stores files on the cloud. Storage space varies based on plans: 100 GB, 250 GB, or 500 GB.

Stores files on the cloud. Storage space varies based on plans: 100 GB, 250 GB, or 500 GB. Virus Protection Promise: This is Norton’s satisfaction guarantee. If Norton cannot remove a virus from your device, you get a refund on the price paid for the current term of your subscription.

This is Norton’s satisfaction guarantee. If Norton cannot remove a virus from your device, you get a refund on the price paid for the current term of your subscription. Password manager: This service provides an online vault for your passwords. It can also generate complex passwords for you and auto-update them in the vault.

This service provides an online vault for your passwords. It can also generate complex passwords for you and auto-update them in the vault. Parental controls: Parents can monitor activity on their children’s devices.

How Much Does LifeLock Cost?

LifeLock is more expensive than many of its competitors. Below are the prices for the first year of a LifeLock subscription.

Price (Monthly) Price (Yearly) LifeLock Standard $11.99 $89.99 LifeLock Advantage $22.99 $179.88 LifeLock Ultimate Plus $34.99 $239.88 Norton 360 with LifeLock (Select) $14.99 $99.48 Norton 360 with LifeLock (Advantage) $24.99 $191.88 Norton 360 with LifeLock (Ultimate Plus) $34.99 $299.88

Prices for LifeLock increase after a year. You can find the rates of annual renewal here.

It’s worth noting that LifeLock also has couples and family plans that offer coverage for multiple people at a discounted price. AARP members also have access discounts for Norton 360.

How to Buy LifeLock

Buying LifeLock starts with identifying the plan for you, whether you want basic identity theft protection or something more comprehensive (albeit more expensive). Regardless of your choice, you should start with the 30-day trial, where you see which offerings you’d use from LifeLock. You should also get a feel for the layout and user experience. If you never use LifeLock, you’re throwing that money away.

When you sign up for the 30-day trial, you must put in all the information you’d give if you were buying the product up-front. You’ll have a chance to add family members to your plan before adding credit card information. Be prepared to add your Social Security number, date of birth, and phone number.

Compare LifeLock

Here’s a breakdown of how LifeLock compares with the services listed on our best identity theft protection services list.

Company Monthly subscription cost Annual subscription cost LifeLock Ultimate Plus $34.99 $239.88 Identity Guard $29.99 $215.88 Aura All-In-One $12 $108 IDShield $19.95 N/A PrivacyGuard $9.99 N/A Complete ID $13.99 or $8.99 based on Costco membership type N/A IdentityForce UltraSecure+Credit $29.95 $299.50

It’s worth noting that paying for an entire year upfront can save you money, though not all services offer annual subscriptions. Though you can also access various discounts for these services, LifeLock is still the most expensive product by a significant margin.

Let’s compare LifeLock’s services against some of its competitors.

LifeLock vs Aura

The most noticeable difference between Aura and LifeLock is that Aura offers one plan at $12, the same price as LifeLock’s cheapest plan. In Aura’s one plan, you get identity theft monitoring, tri-bureau credit monitoring, identity theft recovery services, and even some device and online safety software.

To get the same level of security with LifeLock, you have to subscribe to its most expensive plan. Even then, you still wouldn’t get the same level of cybersecurity as you would Aura unless you sign up for Norton 360 with LifeLock.

You can read our Aura review here.

LifeLock vs IdentityForce

Like LifeLock, IdentityForce also charges premium prices, costing $29.95 monthly for its most expensive plan. That said, IdentityForce has the features to justify its price, including a credit scoring simulator and a robust selection of cybersecurity measures.

It’s also worth noting that the price bump for IdentityForce’s family plans compared to its individual plans is far less than the price increase for LifeLock’s family plan.

You can read our IdentityForce review here.

LifeLock Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Does LifeLock offer a trial period? Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. Yes, LifeLock offers a 30-day free trial period. Once that free trial ends, your account will auto-renew into the paid version.

Can I cancel LifeLock? Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. Yes, you can cancel LifeLock at any time. You can get a full refund if you cancel within 60 days of the renewal billing date of LifeLock’s annual subscription and 14 days of the renewal billing date of the monthly plan. Many customer reviews left on LifeLock’s Better Business Bureau page cite difficulty getting a refund even if they canceled their subscription within the refund period.

How can I contact LifeLock customer service? Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. You can contact LifeLock customer service at 800-543-3562 or its members’ hub.

Why You Should Trust Us: How We Evaluated LifeLock

We evaluate each identity protection service based on how well it can protect, monitor, and recover your identity. We’ll look for key services that all identity protection services should have, such as dark web monitoring and public records monitoring, as these two features are difficult to find elsewhere.

We also look at whether an identity theft protection service includes credit monitoring and how comprehensive that monitoring is (single-bureau monitoring, tri-bureau monitoring, etc.). However, this isn’t as important to us as you can find pretty decent credit monitoring services for free. We also look for features that help the customer recover their stolen identity, such as stolen wallet protection, identity theft insurance, and dedicated fraud experts who can help you regain your identity.

Identity theft protection services often follow a tiered pricing system, offering a greater variety of features with their more expensive plans. Once you reach the highest tier of service, you’ll find a similar set of features across all services, which is why we pay particular attention to how high up their tier system you have to get to unlock certain features and how much the most expensive tier costs.

While this is our primary consideration when we rate identity theft protection companies, we also look at a company’s customer ratings to identify any issues. We also consider QoL features such as return policies, family plans, free trials, and annual discounts.

Using this evaluation method, we find that LifeLock, without the addition of Norton 360, is a lackluster service compared to some of its competitors. Services like PrivacyGuard offer a credit scoring simulator that shows you how certain information can affect your credit score. Other services like IDShield may not provide outstanding services, but they are much cheaper. However, once you add Norton 360, the service becomes far more useful.

You can find a full explanation of how we rate identity theft protection services here.
Source and Read More: https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/black-friday-deal-norton-lifelock-2023-11

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