Filed under: Ripoffs and Scams

More news reports have surfaced about the apparent identity theft using the information of Todd Davis, the CEO of LifeLock. Why is his identity theft newsworthy? Because his Social Security number has been blasted in LifeLock’s advertising campaigns, in an attempt to give consumers the impression that the LifeLock service is so effective, he doesn’t care if anyone knows his social security number.

A couple of weeks ago I posted an article here questioning whether the service works, or if it’s really just a scam, bilking consumers out of their money and their trust.

The more recent news reports say that people have applied for driver’s licenses using Todd Davis’s Social Security number at least 20 times. And they say that Davis even admitted in an interview with The Associated Press that there have been at least 87 attempts to steal his identity, with one of them in Texas being successful. The conclusion that some draw from this? The LifeLock services don’t really protect consumers.

There’s tiny doubt that the CEO of the company can and should receive the best that LifeLock has to offer, yet his identity is still not safe. He counters that there’s no negative information on his credit report as a result of any identity theft, so the service clearly works.

And the company is getting mad. It sent out a press release today saying that Davis is confident in LifeLock’s services and that people are lying about the situation. Todd Davis is even going on the Today Show tomorrow morning to try to refute the claims made against the company.

The press release says in part: “Recent claims have recommended that Davis’ social security number has been used at least 20 times to obtain drivers licenses and other credit. Davis explained, “These claims are absolutely untrue and reflect total inexperience and lack of understanding of how credit files and identities work. While there have been more than 100 attempts to use my identity information, none of these recorded in the credit files resulted in any loss for me. However, a check cashing company failed to properly follow procedures and verify the identity of a thief in 2007, resulting in a person being able to cash a check for $500. Let’s be clear, there’s currently no form of identity protection that would prevent this from happening, but this is why LifeLock serves such an important protection for consumers. The LifeLock guarantee served me as it serves all LifeLock members, what identity theft LifeLock can’t prevent, it will fix at LifeLock’s expense up to one million dollars.”

Some consumers may read that statement and state, “See, the lawyers have it all wrong. LifeLock really is a good service.” I read it a little differently. To me, LifeLock is admitting here that its services can’t really protect your identity because there are so many types of financial transactions that happen outside of what it’s offering. That means its service is virtually worthless.

You should also know that class action lawyers don’t agree with the characterization of the LifeLock “guarantee.” They say that the guarantee is worthless too. While the company tries to make it sound very inclusive, the lawyers say the contract with LifeLock only guarantees to help consumer when an identity theft happens because of a “defect in the service.” They state that guarantee isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on.

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Bookkeeping, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.

Share This

Share This

Filed under: Ripoffs and Scams, Transportation

Huge doings here in the heartland yesterday. An 18-wheeler trucker was parked, lounging in the sleeper of his tractor-trailer when another big rig pulled alongside. A moment later, to his surprise, he heard the sound of his fuel tank being siphoned. After learning the cops had been called, the thief, Carl Wilson, attempted to flee the scene in his rig, but the victim jumped into the cab with him and wrestled for control of the vehicle.The truck ended up in the ditch, Wilson in jail.

Look for gas theft to become a more common occurrence as the prices continue to soar. Given this, are you protected? An inside release is marginally helpful, even though a crowbar can make short work of the hurdle, and costs a bit to replace. Better is a locking gas cap, which can be found in the $20 range. That’s five gallons of gasoline, which could be sucked out of your ride in a couple of minutes.

How hard would it be for someone to siphon your tank? This video shows just how easily you could be robbed of your amber gold.

.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Share This

Share This

Filed under: Ripoffs and Scams, Transportation

My brother called me today to tell me about an unfortunate incident at a gas station. Short on money at the moment, he told the attendant that he wanted $20 worth of gas and the clerk promptly filled the tank and told him he owed $60. My brother protested and the clerk was reasonably apologetic but told him there was nothing he could do. Being a heck of a nice guy, my brother paid the money and went on his way — short on cash for other expenses.

Of course there’s an argument to be made that this isn’t really a ripoff. He would have needed to fill the automobile up eventually and with gas prices rising daily, the clerk might have actually done him a favor. But consumers have a right to decide how much gas they want to purchase, and if you want $20 worth of gas, you shouldn’t have to purchase $60.

My brother’s a mensch so it’s no large deal but what are some other options he might had? As I see it, he could have done one of two things in this situation:

• Tell the clerk you don’t have the money and that your credit cards are all maxed out and your checking account is already overdrawn and that you’re sorry but all you can do is give him $25 in cash. Tell him that if he wants the gas back, he’s welcome to suck it out with a straw.
• Ask to speak with the manager and, if one isn’t available and you are really aggravated and have a lot of time on your hands, tell the clerk that you’re going to have to call the police to find out what to do. You can bet that his manager won’t be too happy to find out the cops were called to resolve a dispute over his error. He may be motivated to find a way to make it right.

Still, I think that letting it go and paying the $60 is the best way to handle it, karmically at least. Has anyone else had this experience? How did you handle it?

Share This

Share This