Posted on 02/20/2008 4:16:24 PM PST by APRPEH
Credit bureau Experian is suing the identity theft prevention firm LifeLock, accusing it of deception and fraud in its familiar advertising campaign, which includes a spot in which CEO Todd Davis reveals his Social Security number and then brags about the effectiveness of the company’s protections.
In the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court on Feb. 13, Experian contends that LifeLock's advertising is misleading and that the firm is breaking federal law in the way it goes about protecting consumers.
Lifelock CEO Davis, in an interview with msnbc.com on Wednesday, called the lawsuit baseless and said that Experian is simply upset that his firm is challenging its business model.
"This lawsuit is not about helping consumers," he said. "They just want to make more money selling their data."
LifeLock’s ubiquitous marketing campaign has been stepped up in recent months, Davis said, thanks to a new infusion of investments in the company. In January, the firm announced it had raised $25.5 million in funding orchestrated by Goldman Sachs Group. The advertising has apparently paid off: Lifelock has 700,000 customers, each paying about $10 per month for the service.
Experian contends that LifeLock's chief ID theft prevention tool -- the placing of continuous fraud alerts on consumers' credit files – is illegal because, under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, fraud alerts can only be requested by the individual consumer or an individual acting on behalf of the consumer.
(Excerpt) Read more at redtape.msnbc.com ...
Yep, the Credit Bureaus should allow you to put a permanent fraud alert on your credit if you want one, but they don't so they can soak you for more money.
It's all about the money. They don't care about your credit at all.
I heard somewhere that Todd Davis of Lifelock has a shady past as scam artist.
its not Todd Davis but Robert Maynard, his former founding partner
Why ...
again, I ask
Why
can't (won't) the phone company provide a simple 4 digit lock for we whom have teenagers ????
This should get interesting. Are they gonna sue Obama too? After all his Hope speeches are another consumer fraud.
Well, duh, when you sign up with somebody like Lifelock aren't you in turn asking them to act on your behalf to request the fraud alert?
I suspect Experian is up to something here... not sure what it is...
Something smells odd here.
No, the REAL point is our social security numbers are being used for IDENTIFICATION and how many other things for which they are not intended. Thanks FDR, I may have to make a trip to New Hyde Park to empty my bladder.
It’s a shame our government has let it go so far that Americans have to buy Identity Insurance because Illegal Aliens are stealing our identity.
Everyone from the phone company to my insurance company insists on having my SS #, despite the fact that its is not to be used in this way. Where the heck is John Edwards when we really need him ?
I am surprised that neither Equifax nor Trans Union has weighed in on this.
Cheers!
Bull-shi’ite. I’m a subscriber and I can guess what’s really going on here.
Lifelock makes the credit reporting agencies (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion) run full credit reports and fraud alerts (re #13) for it’s customers every three months and send notification letters.
Lifelock’s business model is taking a bite out of Experian’s and Experian is going judge-shopping to stop it.
Cheers!
Whoops! That’s right. That must be why I feel so ronery when I open the mailbox these days...
If it wasn’t for the regular entreaties from the RNC and the various conservative magazines, I’d slit my wrists.
Yes, it makes opening a new line of credit more troublesome, but that is a good thing. Those "instant credit, save 10%" gimmicks at department stores--I can't qualify for those now. Good thing. I didn't need credit cards for Men's Wearhouse, Art Van, Victoria's Secret, or any other store, as it turns out. Now, I go shopping when I have money.
Clark also says that, though Lifelock does something you could do for yourself for free, they DO actually provide the service they promise.
...
I was a victim of identity theft a couple of years ago. My understanding from that experience is an individual can activate a fraud alert, but it only stays in effect for either 6 mos. or 90 days, something like that. But it definitely expires in less than a year and requires reactivation. You can get the fraud alert to stay activated for 5 years ONLY if there was a police report generated as a result of credit fraud against your SSN. Lifelock just does the reactivation for you automatically, and eliminates about 90% of the junk mail credit-offers.
LifeLock tells you straight up that what they do you can do yourself for free.
I am a paying customer primarily to cut down on the garbage credit solicitations. You won’t know until its too late if a credit card app mailed to you gets stolen and someone else fills it out.
Their site says every 90 days they will reinstate the fraud protection.
I don’t trust either the credit reporting companies or what are most likely their biggest customers, the credit card companies. Confidence game all around.
That is correct. I know plenty of people with outstanding character with bad credit. I know crooks with excellent credit. Your credit rating has less to do with your character than it does with others’ abilities to make money off of you. Pay off a big bill all at one and your credit rating will DROP.
No, and I’m heartened to see a few folks here not assuming the credit bureaus’ integrity as a given. Same thing goes for “bank fraud” - what about the fraud committed by the banks themselves, like ordering transactions to maximize overdraft damage regardless of order in which the checks are cashed, and holding your own money for 24 hours regardless of having never deposited a bad check.
It should not be a citizen’s responsibility to do this paper-pushing type of work to protect his good name when our nation and economy needs more real work (engineering, labor) and LESS paper pushing. Institute the death penalty for anyone caught committing fraud and make an example or two, and fraud will drop considerably.
Just so I understand you. You want a PIN so you can keep the kids off the phone?
ping for later
These folks deserve each other. There is a much better alternative to protecting your credit, and neither of these organizations want you to know about it because it resolves most of the potential problems with identity theft quickly and relatively cheaply. It’s called a credit freeze, and depending on where you live it will cost you a maximum of $30.00 to do one with all three credit reporting agencies. If you need to unfreeze your credit (to apply for a loan, credit card, etc.) you can do it, but there is a fee attached. In the long run it’s a lot cheaper than what one of these credit protection organizations charge, and a whole lot cheaper than dealing with identity theft. It will put a crimp in any impulse credit purchases you want to make, but that’s probably a good thing.
You can read more about it Clark Howard’s website. http://clarkhoward.com/topics/credit_freeze_states.html
Not anymore.
If you think about it, it's like me handing out your personal credit information and if I make a mistake it's your problem and your responsibility to fix it.
Oh, and I don't give you any way to stop me from doing that on a permanent basis because it would be too inconvenient for me.
Nice racket.
less than 30% of identity tyep fraud involves credit and therefore a credit report.
I concur, however the most egregious violator of individual privacy rights is the FEDGOV.
Good luck finding one person in that behomoth that will take responsibility for lost or stolen data.
it wouldn’t hurt my feelings a bit if the credit police took a hit.
then companies that traffic in such data for a profit would owe royalties to each person whose data they sell.
that would make them accountable. it might even induce them into another line of work.
Screw Experian.
They make their money selling people’s SSNs and credit history without their knowledge or permission. I hope this guy takes a huge bite out of their ill-gotten profits.
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