LifeLock's chief executive printed his own Social Security number in the company's ads, daring thieves to try. Todd Davis meant it as proof that LifeLock's identity protection worked. Thieves took the dare, and his identity was stolen more than once. The stunt still made LifeLock famous. By the fall of 2012, the Arizona company had millions of paying members and was ready to sell shares to the public.

Selling Peace of Mind

Todd Davis and Robert Maynard Jr. started LifeLock in Tempe in 2005. Identity theft was in the news, and most people had no idea what to do about it. LifeLock charged a monthly fee to place fraud alerts, watch for new accounts opened in a member's name, and help clean up the damage. The pitch landed. The promises in its ads also drew the Federal Trade Commission, which in 2010 made LifeLock pay $12 million to settle charges of deceptive advertising.

Nine Dollars, Then Symantec

LifeLock priced its offering at $9 a share, below its $10 to $12 range, and began trading on the New York Stock Exchange as LOCK on October 3, 2012. The company kept growing its members, though regulators returned. In 2015 it paid $100 million to settle FTC claims that it broke the 2010 order. In 2016 Symantec agreed to buy LifeLock for $24 a share in cash, about $2.3 billion. The deal closed in February 2017.

Cover: The Angel with the Key of the Bottomless Pit, from The Apocalypse, Albrecht Dürer. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for an angel holding the key (lock and key).