LifeLock and Identity Theft: D’oh, it Didn’t Work!

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Hmmm… This is interesting. Remember that guy from LifeLock that was running around daring people to steal his identity? Guess what? apparently someone did.

For those of you that are unaware, LifeLock is a service that promises to protect you from identity theft — in return for a monthly subscription fee. For the past two years, Todd Davis (CEO of Lifelock) has been promoting the service by advertising his social security number and inviting would-be identity thieves to give it their best shot.

Well, after 87 attempts, someone appears to have succeeded. They got an online payday loan operation to give them a $500 loan in Davis’ name. Unfortunately for Davis and LifeLock, this revelation has spawned a series of lawsuits from unhappy customers for whom LifeLock didn’t work.

Customers in New Jersey, West Virginia, and Maryland are now suing Davis, claiming that his service didn’t work as promised, and that he knew it wouldn’t since the service had failed even him. Beyond the payday loan revelation, attorney David Paris claims to have found records of at least 20 other people applying for, and sometimes receiving, a driver’s license using Davis’ Social Security number.

Interestingly, LifeLock’s primary strategy is to set up fraud alerts with the various credit bureaus — in return for a $10 monthly subscription fee. But guess what? You can place a fraud alert on your credit record for free, and it only takes a few minutes.