Turns Out Lifelock's CEO Has Been A Victim Of Identity Fraud 13 Times

from the is-that-in-their-ads? dept

Wed, May 19th 2010 12:36pm — Mike Masnick

Ah, Lifelock. The company, which was recently fined $12 million for bogus advertising and absolutely dreadful security practices (the private data that Lifelock claimed it was helping you protect was not encrypted and was available to more than just authorized employees). Of course, the most amusing thing of all was how the CEO of the company, Todd Davis, plastered his Social Security Number everywhere to show how "safe" he felt with the company's service. In the past, we had noted that this didn't actually stop him from from being a victim of identity fraud -- when someone used his well publicized SSN to get a $500 loan in his name. Oh, and then there was the story about how the CEO then personally went to the home of the guy who did this, and "coerced" a confession out of him. In doing so, it ruined the police investigation and tainted the case.

Thankfully, it now turns out that there were twelve other opportunities to taint evidence. Yes, it's now come out that the CEO who proudly gave away his SSN because his own company would protect him has been a victim of identity fraud at least 13 times. And they say 13 is an unlucky number...

The stories go on and on, with lots of people using his Social Security Number to open up various accounts -- many of which it appears he didn't find out about until collections agencies came calling. Could there be any worse advertising for Lifelock than this? It's even pissing off the police

"It's unfortunate he chose to conduct business in that way," [Albany police] spokeswoman Phyllis Banks said. "It's not fair to [AT&T] because they're losing a pretty substantial amount of money."

Update: Lifelock, as per usual, is trying to spin this in a positive way, sending over a PR statement about how we should really pay attention to all the times his identity wasn't used fraudulently. Very convincing.

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Filed Under: identity fraud, todd davis
Companies: lifelock

26 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 19 May 2010 @ 12:46pm

"It's unfortunate he chose to conduct business in that way," [Albany police] spokeswoman Phyllis Banks said. "It's not fair to [AT&T] because they're losing a pretty substantial amount of money."

Why is our job to make sure it's not us me when we're not there?
They were robbed so punish the robber not everyone else for your lousy security procedures!
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Matt (profile), 19 May 2010 @ 12:56pm

Todd Davis absolutely promotes identity theft and reckless consumer behavior. His hubris knows no bounds. Check out this blog post from the Identity Theft Assistance Center that calls him the "Worst Person" ala Keith Olbermann:

http://itacidentityblog.com/
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Anonymous Coward, 19 May 2010 @ 1:19pm

Curious why "fraud" is being used in lieu of "theft".
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Todd Davis, 19 May 2010 @ 1:24pm

im spartacus
no really who am i
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Anonymous Coward, 19 May 2010 @ 1:40pm

Why are social security numbers still legally able to be used to access/change credit? This should have been blocked decades ago.
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Anonymous Coward, 19 May 2010 @ 1:42pm

Re: im spartacus
OH OH I know this one, Todd Davis?
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Brian, 19 May 2010 @ 1:47pm

LifeLock Class Action
It's amazing that this company is able to stay in business when the company's homepage has a link to the Federal Class Action Lawsuit against itself.

Federal settlement info:
http://ftc.gov/lifelock
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Mike, 19 May 2010 @ 1:54pm

Re:
No, I dont believe this would be "theft"... if someone hands you their bank card-- and you use it-- its not theft. He handed people the necessary information willfully. Its fraud because the people are in essense, lying about information (claiming to be this guy) when they sign up for loans/accounts.
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Anonymous Coward, 19 May 2010 @ 1:57pm

Re:
because "identity theft" is not accurate: your identity isn't being stolen, someone is just pretending to be you in order to get things therefore it is a deception made for personal gain, or fraud, and they are lying about their identity. So much like writing a bogus check is check fraud, this is identity fraud.
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Anonymous Coward, 19 May 2010 @ 2:04pm

oh i think i get it....they don't encrypt any of your private data nor restrict access because they're so good?
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Anonymous Coward, 19 May 2010 @ 2:10pm

Re: Re:
Quite some time ago this site referred to matters such as this as identity "theft". I am just wondering why "fraud" is now being used.

Personally, I believe "fraud" is more accurate a description of what is transpiring, but it does go against the current public usage of "stealing one's identity", "identity theft", etc.
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Anonymous Coward, 19 May 2010 @ 2:19pm

What shocks me
is that the banks, phone companies, and so on are accepting just a SS number to verify someone's identity. SS number should NEVER be used as a sole identifier of a person. If my identity is ever "stolen" I'll sue whoever fraudulently issued credit to someone pretending to be me. Yes the identity thief did something bad, but I blame the faulty security practices of the creditors.

Seriously, how hard is it to run a credit check on a number, which returns name and address, and then check someone's photo ID and compare the two?
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Lexi Fella, 19 May 2010 @ 3:02pm

Re:
"Fraud" is a posh word for theft....but they are the same thing
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bubba, 19 May 2010 @ 3:28pm

Re: What shocks me
yeah you do that, sue them, and get back to us on how that all works out for you...
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lux (profile), 19 May 2010 @ 3:52pm

Talk about unintended consequences!
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Anonymous Coward, 19 May 2010 @ 4:53pm

Re: Re:
No. They are clearly not the same thing and have legally important differences.
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Kerry (profile), 19 May 2010 @ 11:06pm

Todd is NOT the expert at ID Theft he THINKS he is.

http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=388730644&blogId=532 659819

http://www.USPrivacyAssociates.com
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Fungo Knubb (profile), 20 May 2010 @ 5:56am

Huh?
"Lifelock, as per usual, is trying to spin this in a positive way, sending over a PR statement about how we should really pay attention to all the times his identity wasn't used fraudulently. Very convincing."

Wow ... that means that they can tell you exactly how many times his identity wasn't used fraudulently. How is that done? Its like tracking how many people didn't walk into a store, but stayed home, or went to a baseball game. Have they developed the elusive "ANTICIPATOR"?
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abc gum, 20 May 2010 @ 6:31am

IANAL - but ...
I've heard the ads, and the whole thing sounds like an attempt to convince the unsuspecting public that it is indeed theft rather than fraud. The difference here is important.

If it is considered theft, then the lackadaisical handling of personal information (gathered with or without consent or knowledge) and the resulting monitary loss could be foisted upon the individual whilst the business makes money off the transaction.

If it is considered fraud, then the business is responsible for the loss because they were defrauded.

There is a problem area where irresponsible actions by an individual can be the cause for their own demise. Not sure how this can be proven, unless of course the individual has been very blatant about it - like posting their info on billboards and the like.
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Greg, 24 Jun 2010 @ 4:50pm

Lifelock's Bold Advertising
Hate them all you want, their bold advertising worked for them. Lifelock is the current market leader despite their services being substandard to competitors like TrustedID and Guard Dog ID, a new company that blows away lifelock in service features and price.

Todd Davis knows what they're doing and Lifelock's greatest strength is their marketing department. Look at the brand recognition they've built and they're at least 10 times larger than their nearest competitor.
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John Reb, 27 Aug 2010 @ 10:08pm

So I guess
So, presumably this guy doesn't mind giving out info on his Social Security Number. I sure would.
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aaron, 25 Jun 2012 @ 9:17am

"Lifelock, as per usual, is trying to spin this in a positive way, sending over a PR statement about how we should really pay attention to all the times his identity wasn't used fraudulently."

Yeah, because 13 times is still an acceptable amount of times to have your identity stolen.
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Anonymous Coward, 25 Jun 2012 @ 10:46am

Re: im spartacus
I don't know, is your SSN# 457-55-5462?
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Anonymous Coward, 25 Jun 2012 @ 10:47am

Re: What shocks me
Thank god photo IDs, unlike SSN numbers, are impossible to fake or use fraudulently!
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Anonymous Coward, 25 Jun 2012 @ 10:49am

Re: Huh?
It was a joint venture with the TSA.
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Grant, 25 Jun 2012 @ 2:54pm

that's a lot of times
population of the earth: 6,840,507,003
number of those people who stole his identity: 13

that means that Lifelock prevented his identity from being stolen 6,840,506,990 times!!.

with numbers like those, I'm signing up right away!!
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