Debix vs. Lifelock

Posted By: Dr. Frugal in Credit on 07/26/2007 at 14:38:10

There are two leading companies offering personal identity theft protection: Lifelock and Debix. Lifelock has been established longer, has larger-profile clients and offers up to $1 million in guarantees of protection. Debix is relatively new but has already claimed some larger clients, including the State Offices of Ohio, who signed up en masse after a data breach early in 2007. Debix only offers $10,000 but costs less. Below we set up the Debix vs. Lifelock table so you could more easily compare their services.

	Debix	LifeLock	Credit Monitoring
Yearly credit reports mailed to you:
Banks must call before doing anything:
Keeps listed phone private from creditors:
Provides an audit trail:
Stops pre-approved credit card solicitations
Coverage in Dollars:	$25,000 (backed by AIG)	$1,000,000 (backed by general insurance)	$10,000 (backed by general insurance)
Discount Available:
Cost(per year)	$24	$110 ($89 w/ promo code)	$119

Comments

Posted by CM at November 16, 2007, 6:05 am:

On 11/16/07 the NY Times lists one more big player, in addition to Debix and LifeLock. It is TrustedID.

Posted by PR at January 16, 2008, 8:46 am:

The Debix website says they offer "Up to $25,000 Identity Theft Coverage and Recovery Services".

Posted by Dr. Frugal at January 16, 2008, 12:10 pm:

Thanks for letting me know--I'll update it tonight.

Posted by BDP at February 5, 2008, 12:58 pm:

Has anyone read what the New York Times said about LifeLock? Apparently their CEO is totally full of it.

Posted by Informed User at March 26, 2008, 10:02 am:

Did anyone actually read about this $1 million guarantee? I quote (from Lifelock's Website), "We will pay up to $1,000,000 to *cure the failure or defect in our service*, per member, per lifetime for all incidents in the aggregate, regardless of circumstance." In english? We will invest $1,000,000 into our services to make them better. Oh, and by the way, you get nothing out of the whole deal. Sounds like a bad deal to me...

Posted by Just read LL agmt at March 30, 2008, 4:02 pm:

"WE WILL NOT MAKE PAYMENTS TO YOU FOR ANY LOSS YOU MAY INCUR. OTHER THAN OUR SERVICE GUARANTEE, AND EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE SET OUT HEREIN WE MAKE NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY ABOUT OUR SERVICE OF ANY KIND, AND WE DISCLAIM ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OUTSIDE OF OUR SERVICE GUARANTEE, SUCH AS A WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS OF OUR SERVICE FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE." I think the next section contradicts Lifelocks CEO's recent radio ads. In other words, we will hire some people to "assist you" with no assurances that your credit will be completely restored...Later in their Agreement they claim to not be an insurance company or offer insurance, so why mention the $1MM in the first place? It is clear that this company has some serious credibility issues, I would avoid any company that advertises this $1MM guarantee...which most people would take as meaning paying back creditors stolen money, pay you for lost time & aggrrevation because the service failed. What it really says is we will hire someone to make some calls, write some letters...no guarantee's. What a joke. Their competitors are insured through outside insurance Co's, better alternative- This is nothing more than well planned snake oil sales presentaion preying on the misinformed. Nice work on your column...

Posted by Dr. Frugal at March 31, 2008, 8:27 am:

With all due respect, while I do sell space on the side (which I guess in a roundabout way gives me a vested interest), every company's fine print looks like that. I'm not saying ANY identity theft insurance is a good idea if you're not at risk. If you're not doing anything that increases your chances of it then it's a total waste of money. However, if you're in a position of heightened risk is it any more a "well planned snake oil sales presentation" more than any other type of insurance? I don't think so--all insurance is a rip-off if you're never going to use it.

Posted by Debix customer at July 19, 2008, 6:33 am:

Everyone is at risk. Considering the fact that Identity Theft has bypassed drug trafficking as the number one crime in the U.S. Debix actually stops identity theft, no other company can claim this. Check on the creditials of Debix. The executives are the who's who when it comes to identity theft protection. Debix has been used by state, local gov't, universities, etc to protect those they exposed. Get protected. You are going to need it. Too much information explosion. How do not care how careful you are. Everyone is at risk.

Posted by Alberto Barona at August 7, 2008, 8:18 am:

I was an identity theft victim last year, and it is true that nobody really cares about being protected until it actually happens. I would have never thought it would happen to me, but it did. As a result, I started researching for an identity theft protection company that would work for me, and I read about Life Lock, Debix and others. I found out that most of the companies, pretty much do the same thing, I would say maybe 80 percent of their services are the same, so I chose a company that is local to my area. I live in Florida, and I chose a company called ShieldSafe, mostly because a friend who's a local police officer recommended it to me. Throughout my research I realized that identity theft protection shouldn't be that expensive, so that's why out of most identity theft protection companies, Debix and ShieldSafe are the better choice. Lifelock is just way too expensive for services that you can find somewhere else for a much cheaper price. Anyways, Im not endorsing Debix or Shieldsafe, but just wanted to let everyone know that the identity theft protection businesses should offer the real price of what their services cost. Also, one has to chose the company which they feel is the most secure in their point of view, mine was Shieldsafe cause they have roughly 30 years of law enforcement under their belt and they're local to me.

Posted by Doug Caldwell at August 7, 2008, 12:46 pm:

Thanks all for the discussion. I recently heard about Debix and wanted to read what others had found out or experienced with ID theft.

Posted by Mark Jones at August 13, 2008, 6:08 pm:

I looked up ShieldSafe and they offer what looks to me like the same service as the rest, but for 49 dollars. Does anyone else see anything i'm missing? I think unless I find something I'm missing, I'm going with ShieldSafe.

Posted by mark smith at August 15, 2008, 12:32 pm:

Just came from Debix site (8-15-2008) and the annual fee is $24, not $99 as stated above. I think it makes sense to protect oneself but be comfortable and do your homework before selecting a provider. Ask questions and be comfortable with the choice, don't just pick one and hope to get lucky.

Posted by Andres at August 16, 2008, 8:52 am:

This is obviously a sales pitch web site for debix.

Posted by Lily at August 29, 2008, 10:12 am:

Andres, how is this a sales pitch website for Debix? It seems to me that there are multiple companies being compared and discussed here. If Debix is showing to be the better choice... how is that a pitch?

Posted by Dr. Frugal at September 4, 2008, 2:06 pm:

Andres, I can say with compete and total certainty that I could care less if you buy one product over another or none of them. Please remember that when I wrote this entry (over a year ago) identity theft protection was the hot thing and I was merely pandering to my traffic that wanted a comparison. Debix just lowered their price by $60; I can't make them re-raise it to make the competition look better.

Posted by Shari in Iraq at September 10, 2008, 9:17 pm:

I did a lot of research on this as I monitor my credit reports but I mainly live overseas so it is sometimes difficult. I found that Debix offered the best protection at the best price. I think a lot of people see that and that is why this website is sounding like a Debix pitch. An intelligent person will usually pick the best choice. At $24 a year they sound like a great choice to me and they were also written about in an article I read comparing various companies. Here is the link to the article: http://tech.msn.com/security/articlecnet.aspx?cp-documentid=9639061 That article was all it took to convince me.

Posted by Unsatisfied w/ Debix at March 16, 2009, 7:32 am:

Debix not only "stops identity protection" it stops your life! I am still waiting for funds to transfer into my new bank account as I have to jump through all these hoops now. Don't believe these stupid comments. Sounds like the Debix marketing team owns this blog.

Posted by Jay Ross at April 12, 2009, 6:20 pm:

Please...w/this last poster...I've opened up and transfered 2 bank acct's since I've had Debix w/no problem and Debix worked fine. Debix, I was given 12 months free because of ID theft and they are better than paying monthly fees for 3 and 1 credit reports or, lifelock...They care about their customers too. Because I didn't understood squat about ID Theft and they spent at least 3 long telephone conversations explaining to me not just about Debix, but step by step what I need to do to protect myself, what I needed to do, what's outmoded...and they weren't rushing me either. Until they knew "I got it"...they wouldn't let me hang up...and they aren't even getting paid from me. Meanwhile, I'm watching on TV, on Trumps "Celebrity Apprentice" this jive marketing campaign for Lifelock (which clearly, in it of itself, a 2 hour commercial for Lifelock right there-so, take that into mind; too slick for me! Debix is the joint!

Posted by Jon at July 13, 2009, 8:51 am:

Obviously this thread is old, and there has not been a post in 3 months, but at this point the price has changed, and Debix has increased to $9.95/mo so essentially it is the same price as Lifelock at $10/mo.

Posted by Jon at July 13, 2009, 9:01 am:

Let me update my last entry, I have found now 2 different prices listed, the $9.95/mo and the $24/yr at two different places on their site: http://www.debix.com/proven/choose_plan.php for the $24 deal, and http://www.debix.com/choose_plan.php for the $9.95 cost

Posted by ROBERT at July 25, 2009, 10:24 am:

If you go to http://www.debix.com/proven/choose_plan.php you can sign up for $24.oo for one year, and $40.00 for two adults (same household) for one year.

Posted by Jim at August 7, 2009, 12:11 pm:

New information: recent decision in Experian v. Lifelock means neither Lifelock nor others may place fraud alerts on behalf of their customers. The above website URL is no longer functional but www.debix.com works fine. Debix calls you by telephone when they see a change in any of your 3 credit files, including address change, whether you have placed a credit alert or security freeze with the credit bureaus or not. They monitor all 3 credit files daily. I learned this information by talking to a Debix supervisor today while researching what I want to do following a recent wallet theft. I may also get some form of credit monitioring allowing me to see my credit reports on demand, but I did sign up for Debix as it appears to meet my primary needs at this time. The supervisor spent nearly 30 minutes with me on the phone, wasn't pushy, was very knowledgeable. Here's what I learned: Debix doesn't just tell you when a problem is spotted, they will help you get to the bottom of it with their investigation which includes PI's when needed to determine what's up and who is doing it to you. They will proactively help you get problems removed that crop up on your credit or medical or IRS accounts as a result of identity theft. They are planning to add some form of customer on-demand access to credit reports, probably a 3 in 1 report, later this year or first quarter 2010. I am not otherwise affiliated with Debix or any other company competing in this crazy market, just some poor schmuck who got his wallet lifted WHO HAS DONE HIS HOMEWORK.

Posted by Jim at August 7, 2009, 12:18 pm:

PS to above: Debix is $9.99/month, single product, I know of no discounts but haven't checked much since this is effectively a new product on the market. The Debix supervisor noted that Debix has had it in development for several months; the Experian v. Lifelock decision forced their hand a little earlier than expected but they were ready to go within a few days of the decision.

Posted by Jim (again) at August 7, 2009, 12:35 pm:

2nd PS: ummmm. You can get Debix for $99.95 per year if you look around a bit. One of their "partners" offers Debix at this price via this link to Debix's website: www.debix.com/proven this amounts to a smallish savings of $19.45 a year. I called Debix back and asked for this price even though I'd just signed up at the $9.95 per month rate. No problems, and I didn't expect there would be.

Posted by Rebuilding at November 18, 2009, 1:28 pm:

I just canceled my Debix account after two years. My identity was stolen in late 2008 and the person remains at large, occasionally trying to get a credit card or loan with my SSN. Out of 10 attempts, Debix intercepted one. Customer support was ineffective and never gave me a final report of why this happened. I bought Equifax ID patrol and my credit reports are frozen. Until I finally froze my reports, Equifax accurately alerted me for the slightest ping against any of the bureau reports. The bureaus are far from solid in terms of process. They once mailed my reports to the criminal's address---when I was attempting to correct the same address in the report. Can you believe that? I have sent letters to the executives. No reply, not even a form letter of apology. Take it from this ID theft schlep. An educated consumer is the best defense. I had to learn the hard way. The police, FTC, and US Postal service have yet to catch and prosecute this person, even though whereabouts are known. Buy a tool from the credit bureaus to alert you, then freeze your reports if you want the most peace of mind. Avoid debt so you don't need credit...and hope one day you get to meet the criminal coward face to face on the street.

Posted by nsga at December 6, 2009, 8:17 pm:

I have read the comments at this site. It appears Debix is better because of it's price. I will look at them before I decide to switch. Most of the bad publicity I have read at other sites comes from other companies when it came to Lifelock. All you can do is keep reading and changed companies if you wish. Some states do offer locking your information. Only thing I do is keep watching all my accounts on line every day and call if there is anything I do not recognize. I have found some companies come to your account with a different name. Good luck

Posted by Maria at December 21, 2009, 2:01 am:

ShieldSafe is being offered free @ this website-at least free is what the video says! http://www.shieldsafe.com/

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