The Charleston Gazette

For a time, the ads were everywhere on TV and radio, the ones with the head of a security company brazenly challenging would-be thieves to try to steal his identity. Richard Todd Davis, CEO of LifeLock Inc., was so confident in his company’s ability to protect his identity that he publicly revealed his Social Security number: 457-55-5462.

But according to a new class-action lawsuit filed last week in Jackson County, LifeLock’s identity theft protection services were so inept that Davis’ personal information was stolen repeatedly. “While LifeLock has only publicly acknowledged that Davis’ identity was compromised on one occasion, there are more than 20 driver’s licenses that have been fraudulently obtained [using his personal information],” the suit states. “Furthermore, a simple background check performed using Davis’ Social Security number reveals that his entire personal profile has been compromised to the extent that the birth date associated with his Social Security number is Nov. 2, 1940, which would [inaccurately] make Davis 67 years old.” “Through its advertisements, LifeLock misrepresents and assures consumers that it can protect against all types of fraud including, without limitation, computer hacking, password theft and other noncredit-related theft,” the suit reads.

“This is a service that you pay for and it kind of lays dormant,” said David Paris, an attorney with the New Jersey firm Marks & Klein who is heading the case against LifeLock. “So no one knows that they’re not getting what they paid for, because they don’t know what to look for.”