Over at ConsumerAffairs.com, reporter Joe Enoch has a nice detailed piece Lifelock Sales Surge Despite Critics: 'Concierge' system charges top dollar for service consumers could get for free explaining some of the issues swirling around Lifelock, the third party firm that wants to protect you from identity theft. I point out in his story that federally-mandated free fraud alerts on your credit report don't actually stop issuance of credit to thieves -- so go with the tougher security freeze or free credit report (find more here and here ) for peace of mind (list of state security freeze laws from Consumers Union) and besides, you can impose fraud alerts yourself for free. I also note, however, that if the credit bureau Experian prevails in its self-serving lawsuit (see Phoenix BizJournal, also see Red Tape Chronicles), against Lifelock, the case law it creates could damage consumer Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) legal rights against credit bureaus.