Foolproof way to prevent I.D. theft? Nope

Davis countersued Experian and insists LifeLock is “100 percent within the spirit of the law.”

LifeLock also faces consumer lawsuits in at least seven states. These complaints claim the company uses “fraudulent advertising,” and makes “false, deceptive and misleading statements.”

“LifeLock cannot provide the protection it says it provides,” says David Paris, the attorney who filed suit against LifeLock in Maryland, West Virginia, California, Texas, Florida, and New Jersey. “The company’s ads lull people into a false sense of security. They are paying for a service they are not getting.”

Attorney Leonard Aragon filed suit in Arizona because LifeLock is headquartered there. “There is no million dollar guarantee,” he insists because of all the fine print – restrictions, waivers and limitations – in the contract.

The terms and conditions clearly state LifeLock is only responsible to “cure the failure or defect in our service.” The company will not pay for lost wages or profits, loss of business, or lost opportunities. And it will not reimburse any fees you spend for professionals or other service providers “unless we choose those providers for your particular matter.”

Davis says his customers don’t need to worry about the fine print. He told me it’s only there to satisfy state and federal regulators. “It’s not about us trying to get out from our responsibilities,” he assured me. But as any lawyer will tell you, clauses are put into contracts for a reason. And when push comes to shove, it’s the contract not the advertising claims that count.

Davis says 329 people have invoked the guarantee so far and they have all been taken care of. “I do not have anybody suing me because I did not honor the guarantee,” he says.

My two cents
The courts will ultimately decide if LifeLock is operating within the law. But there’s no question Davis is being incredibly reckless by using his Social Security number in advertisements.

Here’s something the ads don’t tell you. LifeLock did not prevent Davis from becoming a victim of identity theft. In fact, a man in Texas got a $500 pay-day loan using Davis’ Social Security number. How could that happen? Davis says the loan company did not use one of the major credit bureaus, so they did not know about the fraud alert.

Davis says there have been almost 100 other unsuccessful attempts to steal his identity. He admits he can’t be sure someone hasn’t used his SSN to get a driver’s license or perform some other transaction that doesn’t require a credit check.

Fact: There is nothing you, LifeLock, or any other paid service can do to completely prevent identity theft. The best you can do is minimize your risk.

Is LifeLock worth the money? Not to me. I already told the Direct Marketing Industry I don’t want junk mail and I opted out of pre-approved credit card offers. That took less than five minutes and didn’t cost me a penny. Next, I plan to put a freeze on my credit file. I’ll have more on that in a future column.

More information

• Consumer Reports: Protecting your identity
• FTC: ID Theft
• ID Theft Resource Center
• Privacy Rights Clearinghouse: ID Theft Resources

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