: SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Todd Davis has dared criminals for two years to try stealing his identity: Ads for his fraud-prevention company, LifeLock, even offer his Social Security number next to his smiling mug.
Now, Lifelock 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.
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.
Paris said the fact Davis' records were compromised at all supports the claim that Tempe, Ariz.-based LifeLock doesn't provide the comprehensive protection its advertisements say it does.
"It's further evidence of the ineffectiveness of the services that LifeLock advertises," said Paris, who is lead attorney on the three new lawsuits, the latest of which was filed this month.
Davis learned about the fraud in Texas when the payday-loan outfit called to collect on the loan, he said. He didn't get an alert beforehand because the company didn't go through one of the three major credit bureaus before approving the transaction.
Davis said it's possible driver's licenses have been issued to other people in his name because of the widespread availability of his personal information — and because of what he described as the flimsy mechanisms in place to report that kind of fraud.
Paris noted that LifeLock charges $10 a month to set fraud alerts with credit bureaus, even though consumers can do it themselves for free.
But Davis stands by his company and his advertising gimmick, which has appeared in newspapers and on billboards, radio and MTV. He even broadcasts it by bullhorn on walking tours through crowded downtowns.
"There's nothing on my actual credit report about uncollected funds, no outstanding tickets or warrants or anything," he said. "There's nothing to indicate my identity has been successfully compromised other than the one instance. I know I'm taking a slightly higher risk. But I'll take my risk for the tremendous benefit we're bringing to society and to consumers."
The lawsuits, for which Paris is seeking class-action status, highlight the fundamental limits on how much security identity-theft companies can provide.
Companies like LifeLock can help guard against only certain types of financial fraud by helping consumers set up alerts with credit bureaus, which inform them when someone tries to open a new line of credit or boost their credit limit to finance a buying binge, for example.
The services don't guard against many types of identity theft such as use of a stolen Social Security number on a job application or for medical services, or even the instance of an arrestee giving police a stolen Social Security number to shield his own identity.
LifeLock is also being sued in Arizona over its $1 million service guarantee, which the plaintiffs claim is misleading because it only covers a defect in LifeLock's service, and in California by the Experian credit bureau. Experian accuses LifeLock of deceiving consumers about the breadth of its protection and abusing the system for attaching fraud alerts to credit reports.
Security experts say complaints about the company reinforce the time-honored wisdom of keeping your Social Security number secret.
"There's been a lot of marketing, a lot of hype about LifeLock," said Paul Stephens, director of policy and advocacy with the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization. "The question is, 'How much protection does it really buy you?'"
"There is no company that can guarantee they can protect you (completely) against identity theft," Stephens said. "Absolutely nobody can do that."
LMAO!! What he didn't realize it that the weak link may not be his company but the credit issuers, DMV and other services. Security only works when everyone is playing by the same rules, or doing everything by the book. Some employees of the above mentioned (DMV, Banks, lender etc.) are just plain lazy or careless. All it takes is one off moment for them to let something thru that they may not ordinarily. For instance, if its Friday 3:55pm and they clock out at 4:00pm - Loan APPROVED and have a nice weekend.
That slick a** mutherf**ker deserves everything that he's got coming to him! He purposely deceived people into buying subscriptions to his business with the expectedness that their identities would be totally(not partially)protected. He should be made to *** that company down ASAP and refund back all the customers money with a letter of apology. And after further investigation, a little jail time may be in order for him. I know I would be mad as as h*ll if I was subscribing to his business. That's basically ten dollars a month that I would be wasting that could have been going towards my gas that is da*n near $4.25 a gallon.
121269 Flag post @YVE..THATS FUNNY....HEY LET'S GO SHOP TILL WE DROP.lololol. & esha718803 Flag post @121269 / Yve *** it, letz throw a party on him!!..lol -------------- TROOPER Flag post @ Yve
HAHAHAHA HEY IT'S THE ROCCCCC! I'LL PERFORM AT THE PARTY AND YO GIMME DEM JORDANS IT'S THE ROOCCCC! ----------------------------------------------
I'm with it...why you think I got it.....LOL
There's no full proof way to protect your credit but there are some things you can do that won't cost you a penny.
The first no brainer is don't share your info with people who have no professional reason to have it. No company that you do business with will *call you* and ask for SS and acct #'s they already have them.
If it sounds too good to be true it probably is no one is just handing out money and if they are you don't have to pay them to get it. Forgien Lotto is Illegal and 99.9% of the on-line survey, secret shopper, and work at home companies are fraud. Nothing is ever that easy.
Shred your *** before placing them in the trash.
Opt out of pre-approvals so you no longer get the letters in the mail and this can make it harder for someone to open one in your name.
Pull your credit report alteast once a year and take a look at account and credit card statements. Go to your local bank and request info on how to contact Chexsystems and this will tell you if someone is trying to open checking accounts in your name.
Most credit protection companies can at best alert you to fraud after it happens not prevent it unless you put a complete fraud block on your credit reports so that you have to confirm indepth info before the request can proceed.
Ok..that was long as hell.
That guy was an idiot and they say "an idiot and his money shall soon part."
You know what aside from the dummy in this story for a bad marketing move, people really need to stop trying to market themselves on a blog site. Leave your *** myspace/youtube/websites to your self becuase most of the rest of use are really tired of seeing your sh!t. We don't care about whatever you are trying to do.
