Is LifeLock identity theft protection really a rip-off?

When I first heard about LifeLock last year, I was very intrigued by its service. I was especially interested in how it advertised the services: With the company's CEO telling everyone his social security number.

The company "guarantees" that your identity will never be stolen, and it offers a "$1,000,000 Service Guarantee." If you sign up for LifeLock, it will set up fraud alerts for you with each of the three credit bureaus. It will also have your name removed from pre-approved credit card offers and junk mail lists, and it has the credit bureaus each send you a credit report once a year.

LifeLock has a WalletLock service to help you if you lose your wallet. It will help cancel accounts and help you if your credit cards are used fraudulently. And if your identity is ever stolen while you're using LifeLock, it says it will hire lawyers and investigators to help "recover your good name."

Sounds good, right?