As part of the settlement Lifelock, CEO Todd Davis and co founder Robert J. Maynard, Jr. are barred from ever making deceptive claims about its service again and must take measures in better protecting the data of any future customers.

According to the FTC’s complaint, LifeLock has claimed:

• “By now you’ve heard about individuals whose identities have been stolen by identity thieves . . . LifeLock protects against this ever happening to you. Guaranteed.”
• “Please know that we are the first company to prevent identity theft from occurring.”
• “Do you ever worry about identity theft? If so, it’s time you got to know LifeLock. We work to stop identity theft before it happens.”

All of the above statements were found to be false and misleading. All Lifelock did was place a free fraud alert on their customers file. A fraud alert can help prevent new accounts being opened in your name. This accounts for just 17% of all identity theft. A fraud alert cannot protect your existing accounts (the biggest type of identity theft) nor can it prevent medical identity theft or employment identity theft.

As well as their advertising claims, the FTC found Lifelock mislead customers with false information about the safety of their personal data submitted to Lifelock during the sales process.

Customers were told:

• “Only authorized employees of LifeLock will have access to the data that you provide to us, and that access is granted only on a ‘need to know’ basis.”
• “All stored personal data is electronically encrypted.”
• “LifeLock uses highly secure physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard the confidentiality and security of the data you provide to us.”

Again all statements were found to be false. Your information was freeley available to all staff members and not on a need to know basis.

Absolutely no data was electronically encrypted.

The software they used was known to be highly vulnerable to attack from hackers.

Basically they lied through their teeth to make the sale.

The FTC will be sending out letters to past and present cusomers who fell for the Lifelock scam to see if they qualify for a refund. If you were a victim of Lifelock’s false promises and claims you do not need to do anything, the FTC will contact you with details about how to claim a refund.

You can set up your own fraud alert, monitor your own credit file and remove yourself from mailing lists without spending anything.

We recommend you visit Identity Theft Deterrent and learn how to take proactive steps to protect your own identity instead of leaving it in the hands of a company like Lifelock. Click here for more details.

With the courts ruling the setting up of fraud alerts by Lifelock to be illegal, people are looking for the best ways of setting up their own and Identity Theft Deterrent fills that gap.

It shows in a step by step guide the exact steps you take with each of the 3 credit bureaus to set up your own fraud alerts. The courts rule you can set up your own alerts, you just can’t employ someone else to do it on your behalf.

Identity Theft Deterrent includes the toll free number to ring, what the automated message will say and which digit to press in response. It makes it child’s play and takes about 2 minutes in total.

You will also find in the package a free computer scan to make sure you haven’t been hacked. A report about Adware and its invasive activities and plenty more.

Check out Identity Theft Deterrent.

Attorneys want class-action status for lawsuits which say the Lifelock advertising is misleading and even lies about the service Lifelock offers.

Gerald Marks, an attorney in Red Bank, N.J., who is representing the plaintiffs said:

“The advertising is deceptive because it makes you think you are buying an insurance policy, you think that you’re totally protected. That is not the case.”

Not suprisingly, the CEO of Lifelock , Todd Davis (pictured above) claims the lawsuits are unfounded and the company stand by their advertising where he gives out his Social Security number on the grounds that he is protected by Lifelock so his details are of no use to anyone.

Anyone that is apart from the guy who watched the advert and then used that social security number to take out a payday loan in the name of Todd Davis.

The lawsuits are now starting to stack up for Lifelock but as they approach their 1 millionth sign up I’m guessing they can afford the odd court case.

For a fee of around $10 a month for presumably the rest of your life, Lifelock remove the customers name from mail lists and enroll them in the fraud alert system offered free by the 3 credit bureaus. Experian (one of the 3 bureaus) is suing Lifelock because it claims Lifelock is abusing the fraud alert system and wants the practice stopped. This court case is potentially huge for Lifelock as their entire business model is based around the fraud alert.

Lifelock are also being sued by an Arizona customer over their guarantee which its claimed is misleading. The small print says Lifelock will pay for any losses resulting from an identity theft up to the amount of $1 million, it is not a $1 million guarantee.

With some common sense (such as NOT showing your social security number on TV) and a couple of phone calls you can do everything that Lifelock does without the $120 a year price tag and if its their guarantee that’s tempting you, simply take out some insurance, its cheaper!