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==Public offering==
==Public offering==
On August 28, 2012, LifeLock announced its plans to take its identity theft protection business public and filed for an initial public offering worth up to $175 million dollars. The company would be listed on the [[New York Stock Exchange]] and would trade under the symbol LOCK, according to its U.S. [[Securities and Exchange Commission]] filing.<ref>{{cite web|title=LifeLock Files Registration Statement for Proposed Initial Public Offering|url=http://finance.yahoo.com/news/lifelock-files-registration-statement-proposed-213739146.html|publisher=Yahoo Finance|accessdate=29 August 2012}}</ref>
On August 28, 2012, LifeLock announced its plans to take its identity theft protection business public and filed for an initial public offering worth up to $175 million dollars. The company would be listed on the [[New York Stock Exchange]] and would trade under the symbol LOCK, according to its U.S. [[Securities and Exchange Commission]] filing.<ref>{{cite web|title=LifeLock Files Registration Statement for Proposed Initial Public Offering|url=http://finance.yahoo.com/news/lifelock-files-registration-statement-proposed-213739146.html|publisher=Yahoo Finance|accessdate=29 August 2012}}</ref> The company expects its initial public offering of 15.7 million common shares to price between $9.50 and $11.50 a share. <ref>{{cite web|title=Lifelock expects to price IPO at $9.50-$11.50|url=http://www.marketwatch.com/story/lifelock-expects-to-price-ipo-at-950-1150-2012-09-19|publisher=MarketWatch|accessdate=25 September 2012}}</ref>


==Controversy==
==Controversy==

Revision as of 19:08, 25 September 2012

LifeLock Inc.
Company typePrivately held
Founded2005
Headquarters
Tempe, Arizona
,
United States
Websitewww.lifelock.com

LifeLock Inc., founded in 2005, is an American identity theft protection company based in Tempe, Arizona. The company charges $10 a month for the LifeLock identity theft protection system intended to detect fraudulent applications for some forms of credit and non-credit related services. Lifelock provides a $1 million guarantee in the event of identity theft.[1] The guarantee is that Lifelock will spend up to $1,000,000 on restoring your identity; Lifelock does not cover the direct losses you incur from identity theft or pay restitution to you for money lost. [2]

In March 2010, LifeLock was fined $12 million by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for deceptive advertising. The FTC called their prior marketing claims misleading to consumers.[3] LifeLock has partnered with major banks, national corporations and has celebrity endorsers like Rush Limbaugh.

LifeLock's CEO Todd Davis was the victim of identity theft 13 times during 2007 and 2008, after he publicly posted his Social Security number on billboards and in TV commercials as part of a campaign to promote the company's identity theft protection services.[4] The company’s ex-cofounder, Robert Maynard, was accused in May 2007 of misrepresenting his story about identity theft, which resulted in his resignation in June 2007.[5] Robert Maynard no longer has any affiliation with LifeLock.

History

The company’s ex-cofounder, Robert J. Maynard, says that the idea for the company came to him after spending a week in a jail cell in 2003. He was serving for $16,000 in casino loans that he claims were made by someone who stole his identity. The story goes that he spent $20,000 and many phone calls to clear his name and thought of LifeLock as a way to help others from being victimized. Investigations later showed he was lying, video recordings showed that he was at the casino and a drivers license confirmed the debt was his.[6]

He started LifeLock in 2005, even as he himself was filing for bankruptcy for the third time. Biltmore Ventures group invested $6 million in seed funding. Amid hype for identity theft protection, the company grew quickly.[6]

In December 2008 LifeLock entered into an agreement with TransUnion, one of the three main credit bureaus, to automate the process of alerting customers of potential unauthorized access via their credit reports.[7] They also recently partnered with First Victoria bank in Texas [8] and acquired San Diego based ID Analytics Inc. in March of 2012. [9]

Product

LifeLock currently offers four different products: LifeLock identity theft protection, LifeLock Command Center, LifeLock Ultimate and LifeLock Credit Score Manager. LifeLock identity theft protection consists of identity threat detection technology based on information supplied by multiple vendors including ID Analytics. LifeLock Command Center is an expanded identity theft protection service that claims to monitor public records, and LifeLock Ultimate is their highest-tier protection service claiming to protect against bank account takeover fraud. LifeLock Credit Score Manager is a credit monitoring service. [10]

LifeLock also offers insurance, where it pays up to $1 million in costs related to identity theft in the event your identity is stolen.[1] This service was only used three times from 2005 - 2007.[6]

Marketing

LifeLock advertises heavily on the Internet and radio; its ads can be heard on Paul Harvey and Rush Limbaugh shows. Celebrity spokespersons for LifeLock have included Howard Stern, Paul Harvey, Mark Levin, and Rush Limbaugh. During the large sponsor exodus from the Rush Limbaugh radio program that followed the Sandra Fluke controversy, LifeLock was one of the few national advertisers to choose to remain with the program.[11] LifeLock is also active in many community groups including the National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA) and Junior Achievement.[12]

In June 2009, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and LifeLock entered into a multi-year marketing partnership to launch the first branded jersey in WNBA.[13] LifeLock also has an ongoing relationship with American Airlines via their AAdvantage program [14] as well as a partnership program with Northrop Grumman.[15]

Public offering

On August 28, 2012, LifeLock announced its plans to take its identity theft protection business public and filed for an initial public offering worth up to $175 million dollars. The company would be listed on the New York Stock Exchange and would trade under the symbol LOCK, according to its U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing.[16] The company expects its initial public offering of 15.7 million common shares to price between $9.50 and $11.50 a share. [17]

Controversy

Robert J. Maynard, Jr., one of the co-founders of the company, resigned in June 2007 amid questions about his past.[18] Maynard spent several days in a Maricopa County jail in 2003 because of an alleged unpaid $16,000 casino marker from The Mirage. Under Nevada law, casino markers are considered the same as checks. Maynard came up with the plan for LifeLock while in his jail cell. An investigation by the Phoenix New Times verified the $16,000 casino marker actually was his. The Mirage had gotten a copy of his Arizona driver's license when it made him the loan, and charges were dropped after Maynard repaid the marker. The Phoenix New Times also found that Maynard had been banned for life from the credit-repair industry after an agency he owned was shut down for numerous deceptive practices. It also found evidence that he ordered an American Express card in his father's name and accumulated $150,000 in fraudulent charges.[6]

In 2007, it was reported that the founder and CEO of LifeLock, Todd Davis, became the victim of fraud when someone used his published social security number to obtain a $500 loan.[19] LifeLock apparently investigated the crime and found the alleged criminal. In an agreement with LifeLock, the alleged identity thief agreed on camera to perform community service to avoid prosecution.

Late in 2007, the Phoenix New Times reported that the services LifeLock provides are actually available for free with a few phone calls.[20] These findings were confirmed in 2008 by KGO-TV in San Francisco.[21][22] Since 2007 the service has significantly changed. LifeLock claims to protect against identity theft with an alert system that is proactive instead of reactionary.

In February 2008, the credit information company Experian sued LifeLock for fraud and false advertising. Experian alleged that LifeLock placed false fraud alerts on behalf of its clients, thus keeping LifeLock clients' files in a constant state of alert. It also charged that LifeLock used false and misleading advertising.[19][23] As part of a 2009 settlement, LifeLock set up a new proprietary service that does not rely on setting fraud alerts.[24]

In March 2010 LifeLock was fined $12 million by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), "to settle charges that the company used false claims to promote its identity theft protection services, which it widely advertised by displaying the CEO's Social Security number on the side of a truck."[3] FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz, referring to the LifeLock TV ad showing the truck, said that "the protection they provided left such a large hole ... that you could drive that truck through it."[25] LifeLock will pay $12 million to settle charges, by the FTC and 35 states, that the company's identity theft prevention and data security claims were false.[26]

In May 2010 the Phoenix New Times reported that LifeLock CEO Todd Davis has been a victim of identity theft at least 13 times since 2007, which is 12 more times than previously known.[25][27][28]

Official website

References

  1. ^ a b Zetter, Kim (2006-02-16). "LifeLock Helps Guard Your ID". Wired.
  2. ^ http://www.nextadvisor.com/blog/2008/06/16/lifelocks-1-million-guarantee-separating-fact-from-fiction/
  3. ^ a b Federal Trade Commission, Plaintiff, v. LifeLock, Inc., a corporation; Robert J. Maynard, Jr., individually and as an officer of LifeLock, Inc.; and Richard Todd Davis, individually and as an officer of LifeLock, Inc., Defendants (March 8, 2010)
  4. ^ http://www.pcworld.com/article/196638/lifelock_ceo_victim_of_identity_theft_13_times.html
  5. ^ Zetter, Kim (2007-06-11). "LifeLock Founder Resigns Amid Controversy". Wired.
  6. ^ a b c d http://web.archive.org/web/20080515054659/http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2007-05-31/news/what-happened-in-vegas/
  7. ^ O'Grady, Patrick (2008-12-17). "LifeLock, TransUnion team to fight identity theft". Retrieved 2008-12-18.
  8. ^ Hansen, Kristena (2012-07-10). "LifeLock teams with First Victoria bank in Texas".
  9. ^ O'Grady, Patrick (2012-03-14). "LifeLock gets $100 million investment, purchases ID Analytics".
  10. ^ "LifeLock Services". Retrieved 2012-09-16.
  11. ^ "Rush Limbaugh Sponsor LifeLock: Why We're Sticking With Rush". March 5, 2012. Retrieved 2012-03-23.
  12. ^ "LifeLock Community". Retrieved 2012-08-27.
  13. ^ "Mercury, LifeLock Break New Ground with Partnership". Retrieved 2012-08-03.
  14. ^ "LifeLock AAdvantage". Retrieved 2012-07-30.
  15. ^ "LifeLock". Retrieved 2012-08-22.
  16. ^ "LifeLock Files Registration Statement for Proposed Initial Public Offering". Yahoo Finance. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  17. ^ "Lifelock expects to price IPO at $9.50-$11.50". MarketWatch. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  18. ^ Casacchia, Chris (2007-06-12). "LifeLock founder resigns amid questions about his past". bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2007-06-19.
  19. ^ a b "Fraud-prevention pitchman becomes ID theft victim". Archived from the original on 2008-05-26. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
  20. ^ Stern, Ray. Money for Nothing. Phoenix New Times, 2007-07-19.
  21. ^ LifeLock still can't protect the identity of CEO, [[KGO-TV, May 18, 2010]
  22. ^ Theft protection CEO has identity stolen, [[KGO-TV, March 31, 2008]
  23. ^ "Experian Sues LifeLock For 'Abusing' Fraud Alert System". Retrieved 2012-09-11.
  24. ^ "LifeLock, Experian settle case over alerts". Retrieved 2009-10-23.
  25. ^ a b CEO’s Identity Stolen 13 Times
  26. ^ LifeLock Will Pay $12 Million to Settle Charges by the FTC and 35 States That Identity Theft Prevention and Data Security Claims Were False (FTC news release, 03/09/2010)
  27. ^ LifeLock CEO said to be victim of identity theft 13 times (ComputerWorld, May 19, 2010)
  28. ^ CEO Has Identity Stolen 13 Times, Raises Concern Over LifeLock's Legitimacy – TMCnet, 5/19/10
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