Why get identity theft protection for free when you can pay for it?
That seems to be the attitude of a number of companies, including Lifelock Inc. Known for the TV ads in which its chief executive displays his Social Security number for all to see, Lifelock sells for $10 a month a package of credit fraud alert tools that people can easily set up for themselves at no cost with one of the major credit reporting bureaus, including Experian Information Systems.
Interestingly, Lifelock's product made Experian so unhappy that it recently sued Lifelock, accusing it of "illegal placement of fraud alerts" in a case pending in federal court in California.
Experian doesn't have a pristine history in this field, according to the Federal Trade Commission. In 2005 the agency charged Experian with deceptively marketing "free" offers on its freecreditreport.com website.
Experian, which did not admit to wrongdoing in the case, reached a settlement that included its paying nearly $1 million that the agency could use for consumer education.
None of that money made its way to Consumer Watch.
Nonetheless, here's a list of free or low-cost consumer tools that can be used by individuals if you want to ignore the sales pitches by businesses that want to do the work for you.
Credit report
You have the right to three free credit reports a year -- one each from the major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
The reports list payment histories of loans and outstanding debts or bills. If you've been late or negligent in paying a bill, it might show up. Taking care of those might boost your credit status.
It's a good idea to get all three reports because there can be differences among them. Carefully check for mistakes -- sometimes bills that were paid long ago are still listed as unresolved. Also, you could find evidence of identity theft, such as charges for items you never bought.
Furthermore, it's important to check the personal information sections for irregularities, such as addresses where you've never lived.
If you spot problems, each of the credit bureaus has appeals processes you can use to challenge items listed. And although these bureaus probably won't win a lot of popularity contests, they do resolve some proper challenges in a matter of days.
By law, the credit bureaus had to set up a site where you can apply for all three of your free reports -- it's www.annual creditreport.com.
