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LifeLock Inc. agreed today to pay $11 million to the Federal Trade Commission and $1 million to a group of 35 state attorneys general to settle charges that the company used false claims to promote its identity theft protection services.
The company widely advertised those services by displaying its chief executive's Social Security number on the side of a truck.
LifeLock and its principals will be barred from making deceptive claims and required to take more stringent measures to safeguard the personal information they collect from customers.
"While LifeLock promised consumers complete protection against all types of identity theft, in truth, the protection it actually provided left enough holes that you could drive a truck through it," said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz in a statement.
Since 2006, LifeLock's ads have claimed that it could prevent identity theft for consumers willing to sign up for its $10-a-month service. According to the FTC's complaint, LifeLock 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."
Other claims: "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...