Complaint alleges deceptive and misleading business practices
COSTA MESA, Calif., Feb. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Experian(R), a global
information services company, has filed suit against LifeLock, Inc. for
allegedly placing fraud alerts illegally on credit files maintained by
Experian. The suit also alleges that LifeLock's activities constitute false
and misleading advertising and fraud which have caused damage to both
Experian and consumers and threaten to degrade the effectiveness of fraud
alerts over time.
Experian's complaint alleges that LifeLock is engaging in deceptive and
fraudulent behavior by adding hundreds of thousands of fraud alerts every
90 days to Experian's consumer credit database in a manner that was not
intended by Congress when it implemented the federal Fair Credit Reporting
Act (FCRA). The complaint alleges that corporations are specifically
prohibited from adding fraud alerts to consumer credit files and that
LifeLock's service uses consumers' free yearly allocation of credit reports
without adequate disclosure.
By law, initial fraud alerts are available for free to consumers who
believe that fraud has occurred or is imminent and are temporary in nature
expiring at the end of 90 days. Fraud alerts are visible to all credit
grantors who access consumer files for the purpose of granting credit and
require creditors to confirm the identity of the person making a request
for credit.
Experian's complaint alleges that the long-term effects of LifeLock
adding four alerts per year for its 600,000 members to Experian's database
will degrade the effectiveness of legitimate fraud alerts over time. Credit
grantors will lose the ability to distinguish between fraud alerts added by
consumers who legitimately believe that identity theft is imminent and
those added by LifeLock. Experian's complaint alleges that credit grantors
will have reason to doubt the credibility of all fraud alerts and their
effectiveness for consumers legitimately impacted by fraud and identity
theft will be severely compromised.
The complaint against LifeLock was filed by Experian in the U.S.
District Court for the Central District of California.
About Experian
Experian(R) is a global leader in providing information, analytical and
marketing services to organizations and consumers to help manage the risk
and reward of commercial and financial decisions. Combining its unique
information tools and deep understanding of individuals, markets and
economies, Experian partners with organizations around the world to
establish and strengthen customer relationships and provide their
businesses with competitive advantage. For consumers, Experian delivers
critical information that enables them to make financial and purchasing
decisions with greater control and confidence. Clients include
organizations from financial services, retail and catalog,
telecommunications, utilities, media, insurance, automotive, leisure,
e-commerce, manufacturing, property and government sectors.
Experian Group Limited is listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN)
and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. It has corporate headquarters
in Dublin, Ireland, and operational headquarters in Costa Mesa, Calif., and
Nottingham, UK. Experian employs approximately 15,500 people in 36
countries worldwide, supporting clients in more than 65 countries. Annual
sales are in excess of $3.8 billion.
For more information, visit the Group's Web site on
http://www.experiangroup.com.
(C) 2008 Experian Information Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.
Experian and the marks used herein are service marks or registered
trademarks of Experian Information Solutions, Inc. Other product and
company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective
owners.
Contact: Donald Girard
Experian Public Relations
1 714 830 5647
Donald.girard@experian.com
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