CHANDLER, Ariz., July 10, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Bowling Green State University joins the University of Oklahoma in proactively deterring thieves by making the LifeLock Identity Theft Service available for purchase by members of the campus community. LifeLock is the nation's first and only service that prevents identity theft and backs up its promise with a $1 million guarantee.
Labeled "the fastest growing crime in America," it is predicted that, in the United States alone, 15 million people (or 1 in 20) will have their identity compromised in 2006 -- that's more than a 350 percent increase from a year ago.
"At a time when many colleges throughout Ohio are very concerned about the security of personal information, we are looking to LifeLock as one more option we can give students, parents, staff and alumni toward protecting their personal data," said Dr. Linda Dobb, executive vice president at BGSU.
Since January 2005, more than 80 U.S. universities have reported breeches in information affecting some 4 million people, mostly students. The majority of breeches have been a result of hacking, stolen computers and personal information listed on websites.
"With the losses suffered by some organizations in the last year-and-a-half, having Bowling Green State University make our service available for purchase by their students, faculty, staff and alumni is a proactive step toward preventing crime," said LifeLock CEO Todd Davis.
LifeLock does the prevention work for a client by maintaining active fraud alerts with the three major credit bureaus as well as ChexSystems. LifeLock clients are contacted every time someone attempts to open credit in their name or change an address. This step eliminates illegal use of private information.
"LifeLock is the only service of its kind that doesn't wait for a problem to occur to protect credit data," said Bruce Petryshak, chief information officer at BGSU. "It's a pro-active approach individuals can take to avoid the potential problems associated with identity theft."
Anyone associated with Bowling Green State University can go to www.bgsu.edu and use the promotion code bgsu-student to receive a special discount.
Compared to other products on the market, LifeLock is unique in that it also removes clients from solicitation lists, eliminating a primary target of ID thieves -- the pre-approved credit offer. LifeLock also reduces the amount of junk mail a client would receive and guarantees its service with $1 million to cover all expenses if anything was to ever happen to one of its clients. It costs the consumer about $120 annually.
"When you are talking about identity theft, true protection can only come when you concentrate on stopping the crime in the first place," added Davis.
LifeLock, which is based in Chandler, Arizona, is the first company to provide an identity theft program for children 16 and under, and ID theft protection for Hurricane Katrina victims. For more information on LifeLock, log on to www.lifelock.com.
The LifeLock logo is available at http://www.primezone.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=2686