Today’s New York Times features an article on Experian and their commercials touting free credit reports. The article focuses on Experian’s wildly popular commercials that feature catchy tunes with the lyrics “Free credit report dot com,” or “F-R-E-E that spells free.”

The first problem with these commercials is that when you order your “free” credit report from their website, freecreditreport.com, you’ll be enrolled in a $15 a month credit monitoring program. The Federal Trade Commission has already fined Experian almost $1 million for misleading advertising, but the commercials continue, and there’s another one coming out this week.

Experian calls this “aggressive marketing,” in spite of their previous legal problems and continued complaints to the FTC by consumer protection agencies United States Public Interest Research Group, ConsumerInfo.com and Consumer Action.

The Florida Attorney General’s office is also investigating Experian’s advertising.

Secondly, consumers are legally entitled to free annual credit reports (genuinely free) from all three credit reporting agencies (CRAs), without ever having to contact the CRAs directly. This right was established by Congress and is guaranteed.

Thirdly, credit monitoring does little to protect consumers from identity theft. Consumers who enroll in credit monitoring services (knowingly or otherwise) are only notified after the identity theft has occurred. It’s like closing the barn door after the cows are out.

Finally, there are a number of steps consumers can take to minimize their chances of becoming identity theft victims. These steps range from shredding mail to limiting documents they carry in their wallets.

LifeLock is the industry leader in identity theft protection, and they offer extensive services that genuinely protect consumers. Their services include some things that a consumer could do themselves free of charge, but LifeLock includes them along with other low-tech and high-tech services for optimal convenience and protection.

With hundreds of millions American’s vulnerable to identity theft because of data breaches, doesn’t it seem cynical to take advantage of them when their trying to protect themselves?

Find out more about the covenience and security of LifeLock’s identity theft protection services by visiting LifeLock.com. If you decide to enroll in LifeLock’s services, be sure to use promo code RD17 for the best discounts available.

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This entry was posted on Monday, August 4th, 2008 at 9:24 am and is filed under Experian and false advertising. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.