You’ve no doubt seen the commercials over the years regarding a company called Lifelock. On March 9, 2010, LifeLock, which bills itself as “The Leader in Identity Theft Protection,” agreed to pay The United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 35 states $12 million to settle claims that the Lifelock’s commercials were misleading.

My initial investigations of this company three years ago led me to believe that some of Lifelock’s claims were not possible to verify or guarantee. Therefore, after having some initial discussion with the company regarding my possible endorsement of Lifelock, we made a decision that I would never personally endorse this company or its products in any of my radio advertisements.

At the Kim Komando Show, if I do not fully believe in a product, you will not hear me voicing an ad for it. 

LifeLock "guaranteed" to protect its customers against identity theft.  However, such a guarantee is not possible. No crime can be stopped entirely.

LifeLock also claimed to protect customers' data. For instance, Lifelock said its customers' data was encrypted. LifeLock further claimed that its employees saw customer data only on a “need-to-know” basis.

Investigations by the Federal Trade Commission and various state agencies verified my initial concerns and concluded that neither of Lifelock’s claims (as described above) were accurate.

If you are (or have ever been) a customer of Lifelock, I urge you to read the information provided by The Federal Trade Commission at this URL: ftc.gov/lifelock. You can also get information by calling 202-326-3757.

We understand that the FTC will send letters to people who may be eligible for refunds. Customers and former customers do not necessarily need to contact the FTC. The FTC has posted further information here: ftc.gov/opa/2010/03/lifelock.shtm

Kim Komando