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LifeLock Spokesperson's Stolen ID Inspires Lawsuits
OrochimaruVoldemort writes "It seems as though LifeLock isn't as secure as Todd Davis makes it out. According to a LifeLock spokesman, his identity has been stolen. For two years, Davis has been daring hackers to steal his ID. Looks like he got what he wanted. CNN reports: '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.'"
Isn't this old news? I thought I read about this months ago.
The guy has been throwing out his social security number (often in television advertisements) for 2 whole years and only once did anybody end up getting any money out of it.
And that person got it from a payday check cashing place at that.
Not exactly a reputable type of business in general.
I'd say his service works pretty well based upon that track record.
who really thinks some 3rd company can block all access to your information? Even if they had access to your credit file, its all in the past, so it would take a month to figure it out, while your credit score gets lowered, then all this company could do is pay to fix/remove it, more like insurance than any sort of blocking; then the "big 3" credit mongrels will sort out the problem after said company contacts them, and after I'm sure you have to call/fax them all this info, signed in triplicate, so in the end you just gave LifeLock money for a false feeling of security, because they have no higher ability to repair your credit file than another one has to destroy it. think about it people. Really?
Isn't the fact that he got his identity stolen due to use of the system more or less hard proof that he didn't know it wouldn't work?
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Apparently their business plan failed to account for people writing stuff down.
According to The Consumerist, "...the CEO's personal information is currently being misused by at least 20 different identity thieves"
...cause seriously, it's bullshit. I mean this idea that my "identity" can be stolen. What this seems to be about to be is accountability. If a bank gives out money because someone duped them into believing that they were me, then the buck should stop with them. Their fuck up, their loss in a sane world.
1) Goto: https://secure.lifelock.com/enrollmentform.aspx 2) Enter ' or 1=1 or ' quotes included as the promo code. 3) ??? 4) Profit
For two years, Davis has been daring hackers to steal his ID.
Child's play. I bet you dumbsassses aren't good enough to shuttle $5,000,000 into my bank account, losers! I dare you! I double dog dare you!
mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
The new news is that he is being sued. The old news is that identity thieves took his identity. The summary mentions the new part, but the title is poorly chosen. From TFA:
- Atty David Paris is seeking class action lawsuit against founder Todd Davis in MD, NJ and WV for
- Also being sued in AZ over the 1 million dollar "service guarantee" because it is being misrepresented and only covers "defects in lifelock's service" and not actual identity theft. which they are misrepresenting.
- Experian is accusing LifeLock of deceiving customers about their breadth of service because all they do is put a fraud watch on your credit record every 90 days which is something anyone can do with the agencies for free themselves. The only thing this protects you from is credit fraud which where an initial credit check is performed -- and incidentally means if you actually want a change in credit, a cell phone, car, etc you have to contact the credit agency ahead of time so they will allow it.
--David
Todd Davis apparently.
Curiosity was framed, Ignorance killed the cat.
There are some pretty straightforward things you can do to protect yourself from identity theft, without paying any money.
You can opt out of getting unsolicited credit card offers at optoutprescreen.com. (Here is a link to them from an FTC web page so you can tell they're legit.)
You can also make a habit of getting an annual free credit report from annualcreditreport.com. This can help you to detect if something goofy is going on. (Link from FTC. It's run by the credit reporting companies, and as you go through the process, they'll try hard to sell you on getting non-free services as well. You have to watch carefully, and not accept the defaults.)
IIRC there is also a process for locking your credit reports completely, but it costs money unless you can demonstrate that you've already been a victim of fraud.
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Ironic to read that Experian is complaining about LifeLock's practices when, in my view, Experian itself engages in deception far worse with their costly FreeCreditReport.com website that many people confuse with the truly free AnnualCreditReport.com.
Ron
His identity was stolen pretty quickly after he started advertising his SSN. I read elsewhere that his credit is sooo screwed up that the major agencies report his DOB as around 1943 or something and that there have been no less than 5 drivers licenses issued under his identity in various states. That doesn't sound like it remotely did what it was supposed to.
0x09F911029D74E35BD84156C5635688C0
I can't decide if this is someone trolling, a clever personal attack (utilizing /. to do your dirty work), or a genuine moron.
Curiosity was framed, Ignorance killed the cat.
As soon as I started hearing this, I thought this is a load of...well you know. I knew very well, there is no way possible that you can make an unhackable Internet connected computer system, at least not without HUGE costs (government maybe?) Especially because the way these companies do it. I doubt there was any encryption, much less firewalling, and other security. Just goes to show, P.T. was right on the money here. Best way to not be ID ripped off? Don't store your ID online, period. No cracker can get in, if it's not connected to the net. - Kc
-- Kevin C. Redden kcredden@ gmail 392992
Step 1: Call Experian (1-888-397-3742) and have them put a fraud alert on your file. They'll pass it on to the other 2 credit bureaus (Equifax: 1-800-525-6285 & TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289).
Step 2: Repeat step 1 every 90 days.
Step 3: Save $120 a year by doing everything LifeLock does all by yourself.
(I know, I missed the obvious, "Step 3: Profit!" joke)
Here's the info for all three. This is regulated by the states so it's possible that you might not be able to initiate this from your state. http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/cc/20030613c2.asp Experian has a handy online form for you to do it. https://www.experian.com/consumer/cac/InvalidateSession.do?code=FREEZE
Degaussing scares the bad magnetism out of the monitor and fills it with good karma.
I understand where you are coming from, and I agree, but torts are way down on the list of court reform issues that need to be addressed. Federal, State, and local Attorney's offices are the worst offender here, with large companies being a close second. Our criminal justice system is basically a plea bargain system now, it's so gamed and rigged by the DA's that any notion of a person accused of a crime having a 'fair day in court' is reserved only for the very rich who can afford $50,000+ lawyers. The RIAA, MPAA with their frivolous lawsuits are just as bad.
The common thread here is that the courts have become another way to abuse everyday citizens in our country for political and financial gain, or even worse, for Public Relations.
To the lawsuits mentioned in this story, I think the litigants in this lawsuit deserve their day in court. Part of me is glad his identity was stolen. Anyone who knows about how identity theft works (even at a cursory level), knows that the services this guy was pedaling were complete vaporware. His company was taking advantage of a climate of fear and he inadvisably believed his own hype. Granted, courts do get it very wrong sometimes, and we always need to make sure we provide ways to rectify those situations, but I do not think this case is in that territory.
It is wrong to mislead people using their irrational fears and ignorance. Yes. It is wrong. Alot of people in our society seem to think that it's ok to do this...that's what I think needs reform!
Thank you Dave Raggett
This looks like a silly lawsuit to me, and there certainly are silly lawsuits. But "tort reform" as pushed by Bush and his cronies is not necessarily the answer. In Texas, thanks to tort reform, a physician could literally operate on you totally stoned and maim you for life, and the damages you can recover are so severely capped that it wouldn't be worth it to sue him (meaning it will be hard to get a lawyer to take the case if you can't pay hourly). That's not a bug. That's a feature.
The intended effect of tort reform is to place a controlled value on the variables. Mr. Executive says, "If we do this evil thing [sell a dangerous vehicle or drug, for example], how much money will we make?" Bean counter says, "We will make $300 million and it will maim and/or kill a bunch of people." "How much will the law suits cost us?" Without tort reform, the bean counter has to answer, "I don't know. Juries are unpredictable." But with nice, tidy hard-capped damages, he can answer something like, "Our maximum exposure will be $150 million." "Great! Let's do it!" And we're off.
And lest you think I'm just a bitter litigator who had his livelihood yanked out from under him, I'm not. I am a patent attorney. I don't do personal injury. I hate torts. I've just seen the statutes that were spoon fed to the Texas legislature by the insurance lobby. Tort reform is not your friend if you are not a tortfeasor.
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I guess you should look at their site and read what they are claiming. Of course they could have changed things because of the court cases but it seems pretty clear to me. First, they are claiming that if their service fails they will pay up to 1 mill to set it straight. You would know it failed when there wasn't a fraud alert on your credit report when something happens. At least that is the way it is represented as of now.
So if a clerk fails to check ID or doesn't run the credit report, their service worked and it was a failure outside it. But supposedly, they contest it for you and all you have to do is tell them about it.
The CEO even claims the Texas incident is proof life lock works because the clerk failed to verify the guys identity and the service took care of everything for him. He wasn't out a dime more then the cost of the service and didn't waist any time with the incident.
Second, It says it stops you from being a "victim of identity theft". That could be interpreted in many ways. Is a victim someone who has had someone else attempt to use their personal information or is a victim someone who has had to pay fees and spend endless hours as well as being denied a loan for something else because someone used their personal information. It is sort of like if someone attacks you and punches you. You would/might be a victim unless you signed up for a cage match or knowingly stepped in a boxing ring as an opponent of someone skilled in that art. You would/might be a victim if you were minding your own business, you probably wouldn't be one if you punched the other guy first. So there is some interpretation going on here.
From the adds, I agree with you. But after reading their website lifelock.com , I'm not sure if that really is the case. I think it will be interesting to see what the courts determine.