p2pnet - rss feed: ID protection firm couldn’t protect: lawsuit
p2pnet news | Security:- Todd Davis decided as the boss of LifeLock, he’d make the perfect advertising vehicle.
“My name is Todd Davis,” he says on his web site. “My social security number is 457-55-5462.” And, “yes, that’s my real social security number.”
A free, guaranteed genuine Social Service number? Who could resist?
So scammers didn’t.
He goes on he’s, “absolutely confident LifeLock is protecting my good name and personal information, just like it will yours,” guaranteeing his service “up to $1 million dollars”.
LifeLock, the “industry leader in proactive identity theft protection,” offers a, “proven solution that prevents your identity from being stolen before it happens,” promises Todd on the site.
“We’ll protect your identity and personal information for only $10 a month - and we guarantee our service up to $1,000,000. We also offer identity theft protection for children, so guarantee your good name today and enroll now.”
Says another ad on the site, “My name is Bobby Jo Harris and this is my story. I’m a former chief of police of a major city. I knew identity theft was a $50 billion a year business, and a prime focus of organized crime. But they got me anyway. Even though I was a senior law enforcement official, it took weeks to clear my name. I decided: never again. A reporter recommended LifeLock to me and I tried them out. I’ve never had a problem since.”
Now, however, customers in Maryland, New Jersey and West Virginia are suing Davis, “claiming his service didn’t work as promised and he knew it wouldn’t, because the service had failed even him,” says the Associated Press, going on:
“Attorney David Paris said he found records of other people applying for or receiving driver’s licenses at least 20 times using Davis’ Social Security number, though some of the applications may have been rejected because data in them didn’t match what the Social Security Administration had on file.
“Davis acknowledged in an interview with The Associated Press that his stunt has led to at least 87 instances in which people have tried to steal his identity, and one succeeded: a guy in Texas who duped an online payday loan operation last year into giving him $500 using Davis’ Social Security number.”
According to AP, Justin Klein, an attorney for the class-action plaintiffs in New Jersey, says, among other things, LifeLock claims “make it appear that the company can protect customers against all kinds of identity theft fraud, including incidents resulting from hacking and password theft”. But that’s not the case, says Klein.
LifeLock also fails to mention services such as the three annual credit reports it offers can be had for free, “or that repeatedly placing credit alerts on people’s records can adversely affect their ability to get loans and other types of credit, Klein said,” states Computerworld.
“Furthermore, Klein claimed that LifeLock’s $1 million reimbursement guarantee is only enforceable in certain very limited circumstances - for instance, if the company failed entirely to place a credit alert on behalf of a customer,” it says. “The language associated with the guarantee also ensures a great deal of protection for LifeLock itself, according to the New Jersey complaint.”
On top of the class action, in February, credit reporting bureau Experian sued LifeLock for allegedly, “engaging in deceptive and fraudulent behavior by placing false fraud alerts on the consumer credit-history files maintained by Experian,” says the story, adding:
“Experian alleged that LifeLock’s actions were causing millions of dollars in excess administrative costs at the credit reporting firm and that the practices eventually could reduce the effectiveness of fraud alerts.”
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.Stumble It!
Associated Press - Fraud-prevention pitchman becomes ID theft victim, May 22, 2008
Computerworld - ID fraud-prevention firm LifeLock hit with customer lawsuits, May 22, 2008
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