CEO of LifeLock Todd Davis Publicizes His Social Security Number

Though most people carefully guard their social security numbers to prevent identity theft, Todd Davis, CEO of LifeLock, actually hands his number out to strangers on busy streets, advertises it on television and even posts it on his company's website. "I know it seems a bit crazy; we all hear 'Don't give out your social security numbers,' but the reality is we give it out all the time: to our employers, doctor or dentist," Davis said via telephone. "I just do this to make people aware that it (your social security number) is out there already, if somebody wants it, but I may not recommend that everybody put it on the side of a billboard truck and drive around town like I do."

LifeLock, an Identity Theft Protection Firm, Makes Social Security Numbers Useless to Identity Thieves

When LifeLock began approximately 3 years ago, Davis said identity theft was the fastest growing crime. "I saw that there's nothing out there that actually stops this. I keep reading articles about data breaches, people losing information, about how identity theft was a real problem, but I noticed that I never saw any real solutions," he said. "So I got together a lot of smart people, including the vice-chairman of Bank of America, the former global chief information chairman for Visa and said 'Let's go be disruptive; let's go do something different.'"

LifeLock Takes Steps That Anyone Can Do

Once a client signs up with LifeLock, the company requests that all 3 major credit reporting bureaus place a "Fraud Alert" on the client's credit report. This alert, which needs to be renewed every 90 days, tells creditors that they must call a home or work number to ensure that a credit application is legitimate. "That's what I'm trying to do with this message, just get people to understand their rights and get them to understand what is a Fraud Alert; that everyone has the right to place one," Davis said.

Cleaning up After Identity Theft Can Take Time