RunOnFriday.com Blog » FTC http://blog.runonfriday.com Fighting viruses and spyware through education Mon, 07 Nov 2011 16:21:02 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Identity theft “protection” — does it work? http://blog.runonfriday.com/2010/06/identity-theft-protection-does-it-work/ http://blog.runonfriday.com/2010/06/identity-theft-protection-does-it-work/#comments Fri, 04 Jun 2010 14:51:48 +0000 admin http://blog.runonfriday.com/?p=28 You’ve probably seen the ads.  ”My name is Todd Davis.  This is my Social Security Number…”  It’s from the CEO of LifeLock, a company that offers “identity theft protection”.  The service must be pretty darn good if the CEO is announcing his Social Security Number to the world, with a “just try to steal my identity” arrogance.

Well, you’d be wrong.

According to a recent Wired.com article:

LifeLock CEO Todd Davis, whose number is displayed in the company’s ubiquitous advertisements, has by now learned that lesson.

He’s been a victim of identity theft at least 13 times, according to the Phoenix New Times.

The article also goes on to point out:

The company was fined $12 million in March by the Federal Trade Commission for deceptive advertising.

Lifelock promised in ads that its $10 monthly service would protect consumers from identity theft. The company also offered a $1 million guarantee to compensate customers for losses incurred if they became a victim after signing up for the service. The FTC called the claims bogus and accused LifeLock of operating a scam.

So, what does this mean to you?  Pretty much what we’ve been saying all along about identity theft, spyware, viruses, and so on…  Educate yourself.  Do your homework.  If a service comes with a “$1 million guarantee”, read the fine print.

If the company can’t even protect price cialis it’s own CEO’s identity, what does that say about the service you would be getting?

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