LifeLock shares info with Equifax, even after hack
Company has had an agreement with the credit bureau since ’15
An identity-theft protection service that has touted Equifax’s data breach earlier this year in its recent marketing gives customer information to the credit bureau that got hacked, according to its terms of service.
LifeLock, which began the marketing campaign in September when Equifax disclosed the theft of nearly 146 million people’s personal information, has had an agreement with the credit bureau since 2015. It uses Equifax for credit monitoring, credit data and credit-score products and services.
LifeLock terms of service state that customers consent to having Equifax provide data to LifeLock so that LifeLock can provide fraud alerts. Two other credit bureaus — Experian and Trans Union — provide similar services.
A LifeLock representative said the LifeLock-Equifax relationship has not been re-evaluated since the hacking, which took place from May to July, became public.
“As part of our commitment to protect the identity of our customers and offer a comprehensive monitoring protection service, it is imperative to analyze as much data as possible,” the company said in a statement. “We will continue to work with all the bureaus — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — since credit monitoring is an important component of identity theft protection.”
Symantec Corp. of Mountainview, Calif., which bought Tempebased LifeLock in February, did not answer when asked whether the Equifax hackers were able to access customer information that otherwise would not have been available if not for the intercompany agreement.
“With your personal info, criminals can open accounts, file tax returns, buy property and more,” LifeLock says on its home page. “Don’t wait to get identity theft protection.”
Equifax offers a website to help consumers determine if they were among those whose information was compromised, but it requires submitting a name and the final six digits of a Social Security number.