flickering pictures

Remember those ads for Lifelock, an identity theft prevention company, where the firm’s CEO plasters his social security number on the sides of buses to illustrate the effectiveness of his protection services? Enter the inevitable:

From the New York Times:

Attorney David Paris said he found records of other people applying for or receiving driver’s licenses at least 20 times using Davis’ Social Security number, though some of the applications may have been rejected because data in them didn’t match what the Social Security Administration had on file.

Davis acknowledged in an interview with The Associated Press that his stunt has led to at least 87 instances in which people have tried to steal his identity, and one succeeded: a guy in Texas who duped an online payday loan operation last year into giving him $500 using Davis’ Social Security number.

Paris said the fact Davis’ records were compromised at all supports the claim that Tempe, Ariz.-based LifeLock doesn’t provide the comprehensive protection its advertisements say it does.

Now comes the blogger’s eternal quandary: I don’t know whether to file this under irony, hilarity or hubris.

Via Boing Boing.

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