identity theft

Joseph Menn FTC raps identity theft prevention firm LifeLock

March 10, 2010 12:25 am by Joseph Menn

The US Federal Trade Commission said on Tuesday that heavily promoted identity theft prevention company LifeLock agreed to pay it and 35 states $12m to settle their accusations that it deceived consumers with a bogus $1m “guarantee” that it would stop fraud in their names.

The FTC’s legal complaint is the latest in a series of embarrassments for the Arizona company, which charges $10 a month and seared itself into the public’s mind with ads featuring the likes of former Sen. Fred Thompson, Howard Stern and Rush Limbaugh. Read more

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Joseph Menn Gonzalez pleads guilty in largest-ever identity theft

December 29, 2009 11:34 pm by Joseph Menn

Albert Gonzalez, a onetime star informant for the US Secret Service, pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy charges in the largest known identity theft case to date. He stands to be sentenced to more than 15 years behind bars at hearing scheduled for March.

Mr Gonzalez formally entered the plea in US District Court in Boston in a case brought over the penetration of multiple retail chains and Heartland Payment Systems, a credit card and debit card processor that prosecutors said coughed up more than 130m records. Read more

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