24 Protect Plus charged my VISA without authorization

24 Protect Plus charged my VISA without authorization

October 28, 2005

I see a number of people with similar complaints about this '24 Protect Plus' company, so I'll give you the info I have. Today, I found a $250 charge on my credit card that I never authorized, and from a company that came up as 'AP9*24PROTECT PLUS' on my bill. But my VISA bill had a phone number attached to the transaction: 800-211-9749. (They also have a web site, www.24protectplus-

program.com).

I phoned the 800 number, and was told that I had placed an order from my home phone in response to an informercial for some mysterious 30-day trial subscription. I have no idea what this is, certainly never

received

anything in the mail, and so after this suppposed '30 day trial period' which I knew nothing about I got whacked with this charge. Well the good news: the lady I spoke to at 800-211-9749 agreed to stop my "membership" in whatever-this-is, and refund the money. I will be watching my bill like a hawk to make sure the charge is removed. But this is disturbing, and I see a number of people have posted similar complaints. What are these people up to? By the way, I also see that a number of people found their problem related to AOL, but I have no association with AOL at all. Good luck getting your refunds,

Naomi Click this link to e-mail the message author: Email User

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I too had a charge on my account for 24 Protect Plus...I went to my back and got a different debit card...I suggest getting a new card number either debit or credit then they can't charge you.

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Maybe the most disturbing thing to me about this is that there are complaints going back to 2005 ... why is this allowed to continue?? I saw a charge from 24ProtectPlus on my online bank statement this morning. I called the # listed with the charge and had to ask for clarification 3 times as to what their services are. This is DEFINITELY not a service that I would use and I would never spend $24.99 a month on credit card info and retailer discounts!! I was told that I would receive a credit, although I could get very little other information except that I had signed up for this online. Believe me, I do not willingly give out my bank account information! I am outraged.

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We noticed the $17.95 charge on our card for the first time this past month. We traced it back for almost a year, and then saw it was previously a $14.95 charge for months prior. I called the 800 number and the people I spoke to were very, very receptive to my complaint. They automatically gave me their names and special 4 digit numbers attributed to them. I had to be specific about the fact that I was not only cancelling, but that I had not signed up for anything and wanted that money back.

I checked today (3 days later) and they have credited my credit card amount the entire amount. To all those who were afraid and angry to find out that they somehow got scammed, I offer the peace of mind that it can get fixed pretty easily (at least, in my experience).

They said my charges were somehow associated with signing up for a peoplelookup.com site, or something like that...and that it was a free trial period and that the automatically billed after that. I didn't sign up for anything like this.

My sense is that this 24 Protect Plus is somehow in the middle and facilitating this scam, but not necessarily responsible for it...and they definitely appear to know that there are scams taking place using their name.

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That exactly what happened to me today! But nobody promised to return my money. I contacted my bank and they assured me they would take care of my money, but it is not enough - somebody needs to stop the scam! Lidiya.

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I had a charge from this "24 protect plus" on my debit visa. I called the number you posted because the number that appeared on statement used the last four digits of my card number as the last four digits of the phone number to contact and that went to some carpet company. When I googled the company name I found this page and called the number you posted on here. I talked to someone who said I had been charged by this company in connection with intelius for a search on someone I had been researching. I did make the payment to intelius for the report but I DID NOT order any membership with 24 protect plus. This is some piece of work. This should be reported as credit card fraud. If anyone knows who this should be reported to, please post it here. The agent at 24 protect plus said he would credit back my card, but it is scary to think they are still sitting there with my card information. They even had my name and home address.

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I just noticed a charge on my visa check card from Home Protection and the phone number matches the one on the post above. I also have another charge for 19.95 to Intellius. The number listed is 877-974-1563. I did not authorize either one of these, but a couple weeks ago I got a name for a friend from intellius for $0.99. I will be getting this straightened out tomorrow!

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I just found a charge for 19.95 on my credit card from this 24 protect plus company. When I called they said my husband set up the account. He didn't they would not give me any info. My husband had made a purchase from Intellus, but not this 24 protect plus company. They did not refund the money, but they did cancel the subscription. Very noble of them, don't ya think. I am disgusted

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Also happened to me. Right after Christmas and my bank account unfortunately didn't have the funds to cover it causing four $35.00 over drafts (all for transactions under $5.00). I'm so upset. I just hung up with 24 protect and they said they would refund the 19.95 charges right away. The lady was very nice but she should be! I doubt my bank will waive the overdrafts. They said they would send me an email confirmation but have yet to see it. I can't believe they can do this to people. I agreed to a reverse number check for $9.95 originally from intelius. I feel so scammed.

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On December 29, 2008 I had an unauthorized charge of 19.95 from 24protect plus on my MC. I googled the name and found a phone number 800-211-9749 and called and spoke with Jaqueline ID# 3887. She advised me the charge was from a savings program and she had all of my personal information. I advised her I never ordered or authorized these charges and she agreed to remove them but could not advise me how the charges were authorized. This is theft and even when you call them they want you to give them your Credit Card number to locate your account??? Awful. I still have not received a refund and am concerned that they will try to charge me again. This company is an umbrella company for many other companies which has made it difficult to locate. I made a BBB complaint #300042543 and I am also making a complaint with State Attorney's office. They had all my personal information which just scares me, I should state that I am in the Army and just returned from Iraq only to have to deal with this type of theft, it just feels horrible.

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Today I found 2 charges on my bank statement for $1.00 each. Luckily, I had cancelled this "so called" membership a few days ago. I spoke with a very nice lady today at 800 211 9749 and I asked her why this charge was placed on my account. She proceeded to tell me why as she is instructed to do. I told her that I think she works for a scam artist. She agreed!!!

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Same thing just happened to me. Two chargers from 24 Protect Plus for $19.95. I called the number on my billing statement and they said they would refund me the charges and cancel the membership within two days. When I asked how they got or solicitated my information the representative told me Intelius.

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This company is a SCAM! The same thing is happening to me - as the rest of you. They charged me $19.95, I called - they reimbursed me - now they just charged me again...ASSHOLES!

I contacted them as well as the FBI for internet crimes.

Also - I called me bank - they won't stop charges OR block any future charges (nice) - but I can cancel my card and have another one issued...I will only be inconvenienced for 5 biz days. So...if you want it to stop - get your money back - then cancel your card and have a new one issued.

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I work at a class action law firm and we are investigating this issue with Intelius. I am interested in talking to people and hearing about their experiences. Please contact me at abby1100ny AT yahoo.com if you’ve had problems with Intelius or if you have any questions on this investigation. Thanks, Abigail.

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I am pissed to just find out that this very same company took 40 dollars from me on my visa card. i have no idea who they are and the phone number that I was given 800-211-9749 would not allow mw to contact them. Lets go after their asses. NOW

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PLEASE FOLKS. SEND IN YOUR COMPLAINTS TO FBI INTERNET CRIME COMPLAINT CENTER.

http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx

MORE THE COMPLAINT MORE HEAT FBI WILL PACK ON THESE SCUMS.

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I'm also having problems with this company. My account was charged $14.95 6/16 under passporttofun at 800-211-9749 and spoke w/a rep which canceled and refunded my money. Now i am dealing w/this again they charged my account $14.95 6/30 2 times under 24 Protect Plus - same # 800-211-9749. I called and they rep advised she could only refund 1 payment and that she could see where i canceled the pastpottofun account in June. I requested to spk w/a supervisor and the supervisor said as a courtesy she would refund both. I requested to cancel me out of the system because i do not know what this is not did i authorize them to charge my account. I also mentioned that i know they are all the same company and she admitted that they are. So this company is definitley running a scam. I also will be watching my account every month to make sure this doesn't happen again.

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I also used a people search service through Intelius and ever since then my card keeps getting charges $14.95. The month of June i was charged $14.95 under photopassport.com and i called and canceled now this month i was charged though this 24 Protect Plus - $14.95 on 6/27 and $14.95 6/30. I cannot get them to stop charging me.

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I finally under wife's advise started checking my online account activity and noticed a charge of $14.95 since jan. of this year every month ! from a company called AP9*24PROTECT PLUS never heard of them or ever called them.....when you call them they tell you that they will refund you..then they charge you again the following month! SOME BIG SCAM / FRAUD please someone do something...finally reported them to fraud bureau at my bank who will only refund me 2 month! scary that this can go on.....

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may25, 2008

Thank you all for your posts. Just today I found a $19.95 charge that was posted to my credit card on may 21, 2008, by "24protectplus". The credit card is a card I have not used to purchase anything ,since last year, until ONE time this month, on May 13,2008 from Intelius. So I can pretty well make the connection between these 2 companies. I had paid Intelius $4.95 using that credit card for a phone number search, on May 13. Today, when checking my credit card statement online, I found the $19.95 was charged to my credit card on May 21, by"24protect plus" I have NEVER heard of this company until I did a google search today.

I have already tried calling that customer service 800 number for 24protectplus, and , also, the intelius number but evidently 24protect plus and also intelius have no one to answer phones on Sunday. I will be calling both of them after the weekend. Afer reading all of the bad reports on these companies, I called back my credit card company and I asked them to issue me a new card with new numbers. That is terrible what these companies are doing. I plan to pursue it farther. I want to hear what they both have to say when I call them after the weekend.

They should not be getting away with this.

Sandy

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Keep a close eye on your statement. I too was charged by this company in April, I called said I never had an account and they agreed to refund my $19.95. Here comes May, and they charged me again! I called and told the lady that I had already went through this last month and she said they have many different divisions, that it was another division of their company charging me. I said again, I do not want your service, any of them! Stop charging my card. She did agree to refund the money within 2 business days. So we'll see when June comes, if I get charged again.

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I wanted everyone on this website to know I have contacted the Better Business Bureau and this is my complain number #22157698. Feel free to go to http://welcome.bbb.org/

and file your own complaint on Intelius.com!!!!!!

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Sure is a ripoff I had $19.95 charged to my account I had used search engine for the number next to the charge and found all these comments and saved me questions and was able to get refund for this thanks alot.

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I just got off the phone with an agent from the same company, who said when I did a search on Intelius.com it automatically signed me up for a 7 day trial peroid for 19.95- which caused my account to be overdrafted. they said they will refund it within 2 business days but how to these people conduct business like this? what are they trying to pull? she was very nice and helpful but what the hell!

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I was also charged for $14.95 by this same company. When I called the 1-800 number the lady (who was very nice and helpful) said that the charge was related to a search that I had done on Intelius.com. She had the subscription cancelled and said that I would get my refund within 2 business days, but yet it is pretty scary that they were able to charge my card to begin with

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See my blog about these thieves and leave a comment there for others to see. http://24protectplus.blogspot.com

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I just got off the phone with the 24 Protect Plus people, as I saw a pending charge of $19.95 on my Visa online account. I know it must of all happened when I signed up for Intelius, because I remember their Ad kept invading my page when I tried to sign up for Intellius. Yes, shame on Intelius. Wondering if anyone has made a formal complaint to the BBB on the 24 Protect Plus, or to the entity/ government body that handles this sort of thing for computer communications.

At least the woman was nice and said she would cancel it and the charge would never go through. This all seems like the "Opt out" thing with credit cards. They have the right to sell your info, UNLESS you make the effort and take the initiative to contact them to cancel it/or opt out of it. Guess now anyone who wants can charge our credit cards and it is our responsibility to take the initiative to say NO, take it off.

What crap! What have we come to?!

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This happened to me to. They took 14.95 out of my account without authorization. I called. They said they would cancel my membership. I asked them how they can cancel something that I did not have and requested that they mail me all the information about my membership. They said they couldn't do that. Hummm go figure.

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They are still at it. I used your phone number for 24ProtectPlus and after a substantial wait, I got a person on the phone. I had to be firm and repeat what I wanted. I wanted all charges to be refunded within 3 business days, any "memberships" to be canceled, all of my personal information in their records to be deleted and no more charges to my account. I then stated that if this was not done that I would file a consumer complaint with our State Attorney General's Office. The person on the phone "Veronica, Employee no. 9564" then agreed to all of my stated requests. Good luck and DON'T purchase anything from Intellius.com!

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They're still at it...

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They got me too. This was almost a year ago.

2 charges of $14.95 after using peoplefinder.com

before I got to spend another $15.00 to stop payment on this

scam. Hasn't anything been done yet? I see they're still operating in full swing online. WTF?

This company is also affiliated with Bank of America.

So, Let's band together and close all BOA accounts and bank elsewhere.

Peace out good people.

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Yep, I too have been a victim of 24 Protect Plus, and it was from me performing a search on Intelius. I had been getting charges for actually a very long time - each was $14.95 and by the time I caught it the charges had probably amounted to well over $100. I had to call the 1-800 number provided, but the lady and supervisor who assisted me were very nice and easily cooperated. I'm hoping that this was really as making a phone call to fix, but I guess we'll see in the next few weeks when I'd apparently receive another bill...

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The same thing happened to me. I never subscribed to protect plus. After using the intelius service which was no help at all, i seen a charge of $19.95 from 24protect plus. Just by clicking on a link that said recieve a $10 rebate, my card was charged without my authorization. This intelius site it a "RIP OFF", seriously. I was thankful to find this site that offered an 800 number so i could request a refund and cancel the membership that i mysteriously subscribed to, otherwise i would continue to have monthly charges taken from my Visa card.

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They got me too.

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Same thing happened to me. Apparantly, after you complete a transaction on Intelius. It will pop up a $10 dollar rebate ad. If you click that add, you enroll in this monthly charge. I did not fill out anything. These are just scams to get money out of people. I will now cancel my membership with Intelius as well.

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This happened to me too.

Shame on Intelius! I have used them for two years to do background checks for new employees at my company with no problems. Then this month I get two unauthorized charges on my credit card statement from PMIDENTITY and 24PROTECTIONPLUS for $19.95 each. I found on line that the two companies got my card number from Intelius. I called the 800# and could not speak with a live person. One prompt in the recorded message wanted me to enter my credit card number to access my account!

This is a total scam. I have emailed Intelius with my complaint and canceled my account but have not heard back. Fortunetley I will get a credit on my statement from the bank.

It looks like this has been going on for several years. Wonder how many out there have just paid their bill every month without checking?

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I was also charged for $14.95 by this same company. When I called the 1-800 number the lady (who was very nice and helpful) said that the charge was related to a search that I had done on Intelius.com. She had the subscription cancelled and said that I would get my refund within 2 business days, but yet it is pretty scary that they were able to charge my card to begin with

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Me Too! I used PeopleLookup.com one time in December and noticed I was charged $14.95 in January and February. I am calling their telephone number first thing in the morning to demand a refund. Funny thing is that the PeopleLookup.com website makes it very difficult to delete any credit card and account information. You need to call them up to have your account closed. what a hassle!

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Same thing happened to me...using this Intellius crap and now I have a $19.95 charge on my card which is my checking account.

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OMG!!!!

I used Intelius too recently and one week later, the charges started! Damn thieves. Thanks for the info. You solved the mystery.

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I have a paypal virtual debit card I used on intellius to find an address ONE TIME, I keep getting emails from paypal now telling me "AP9*24PROTECT PLUS 800-211-9749 CT on 021070" has attempted to use the number again, it's a one time one use # so they can't. I've been asking paypal to investigate, they won't. Is there a government agency that takes this sort of complaint? I'm not being charged, but obviously something fradulent is going on here. I don't have AOL either, but I noticed someone else has linked intellius to these frauds.

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Same thing happened to me! I called and they are going to give me a refund, but I will NEVER USE INTELIUS AGAIN.

This is the company I am most upset with. If not for making an authorized transaction with them, this 24 Protect Plus would not have my account information.

SHAME ON INTELIUS!

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This happened to me too -- I just saw a Ap9 24 Protect Plus unauthorized charge of 14.95 in my bank account and I didn't purchase anything nor authorize this -- WTF? You have GOT to be kidding me that this sort of criminal activity is LEGAL? I then went back through my account records and see another charge of 14.95 in November, coincidentally just after having purchased a 24 hour pass to People Finders.com

To say I'm livid is an understatement -- this is theft, dishonest, unethical and I could go on and on! Visa will refund me, but still, what a violation! If you look up "Ap9 24 Protect Plus" on aol search, you see entries for Ripoffreport.com but the links no longer work/take you to an error page -- so THANK YOU everyone who posted here -- it's the only way I could find out what this was all about!

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Thanks for the 800#. My husband and I had used inteluis to find some info on someone, but it was a while ago back in oct 07, and today I look at my account ang there is a charge for 14.95 from this company that I had never heard of. How illegal is this? Isnt this stealing? I nor my husband offered such a transaction. Thank youso much for being a caring person and jus not letting it slide. I see that you have helped so many people. I will call them tomorrow and see what happens from there.

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I used Intelius.com a couple of weeks ago and found myself to be charged $14.95 two days ago. I had never heard of 24 Protect Plus. I did call however and the gentleman on the phone quickly offered to cancel and refund the money they charged me. He did also say that Intelius had signed me up for us.

How is this even legal for a company to do that?

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Be careful with them...They charged me once (a month ago) and then charged me yesterday, after I had cancelled and got refunded the first time....Now I had to do it all over again, because thos idiots tried charging me again.

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I had a similar experience. Found that I was subscribed for a "free 7 day trial" when I used a service called Intelius to get some public records information that they'd collected from county records (I was trying to get mailing address and phone number of a guy with an unlisted number). Intelius gave me the requested info (for which I paid $7.95), but they also subscribed me to 24ProtectPlus.

No more business to Intelius!

I talked to supervisor at 24ProtectPlus and got "membership" terminated, and a refund of fees paid.

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Yes, same here. I bought NetDetective and got the AP9*24PROTECT PLUS $14.95 charge. Thankfully I always use a real credit card online so I have protection, not use my checking account. Thanks for the info to track this.

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The same thing happened to me yesterday. These people are scammers and should not get away with these unauthorized charges. Maybe a class action law suit is in order.

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This isn't the only site discussing this company using credit card information without authorization; http://www.ripoffreport.com also has many complaints regarding 24protectplus and Intelius. I used Intelius and a few days short of a month later, I see 14.95 out of my checking acct. I did research, called the company, complained and the girl (chloe) in a pleasant manner said it would be refunded, but first tried to talk me into a year's worth of the service (the service I still have no clue what it does) yada yad, to which I replied, 'I'm telling you I want my money refunded, as I never authorized this sale. Why the hell would I now want a year added?!'

So, supposedly in 2 days I receive my refund; however, I'm going to the bank and explaining there has been fraudulent activity on my acct, and that I wish to file a dispute and demand that they assist me in accordance with Federal Regulation E.

After that (if I am not refunded) we'll see if I wish to take it a step further with Illinois and Washington State Attorney's Office etc.

I'd really enjoy feedback from others to know if you have been refunded.

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The same thing happened to me this morning. I checked my bank account statement this morning and saw this random 14.95 charge from 24 Protect Plus.

I knew I had not signed up for anything and used that 800 number. The lady was very polite and canceled my membership right away and said that the money will be refunded within 2 days. It better be. She said that I had clicked on a $ 10 dollar rebate from an Intelleus website and they automatically signed me up for this service.

I just can't believe a company can charge my card without my consent. That is so wrong.

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More info on 24protect Plus: Their parent company based in Nebraska has an unsatisfactory rating with the BBB. To make a long story short, they e-mailed me a confirmation after I canceled my membership through their automated phone system at 800-211-9749. They said I clicked on their free trial membership offer when I (stupidly) bought one of those "find your classmates" services online. Here is their final response (which includes their e-mail address):

This email confirms that a refund/credit of $44.85 was processed for your 24Protect Plus membership. Please note that you will see your refund on one of your next two statements, depending on your billing cycle.

We thank you for your interest in 24Protect Plus, and we hope your membership experience was a positive one [ha ha - me].

If you have any comments or suggestions that might help us better serve our members, please feel free to email us at membershipservices AT 24ProtectPlus123.com.

Sincerely,

24Protect Plus

Member Savings

I believe they will make good on this offer, because they seem to be a pretty big operation operating under a variety of names, and would want to stay clear of litigation and regulatory complaints. Hope this information helps somebody.

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I found out that my "membership" was enrolled via Intellius information services. I've since had this canceled and the $49.95 was refunded within 3 business days. The 800 number was a huge help, thanks.

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Have you recently purchased either LifeLock or NetDetective online? I did business with both of these entities on the same day that the AP9*24ProtectPlus appeared on my bank account. Thanks for 1-800 number; all three of these entities will be hearing from me today.

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The same thing happened to me 10-01-07. I have never even heard of this company and googled it as well. Thanks again for the 800 #.

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I found a charge from this AP9"24 Protect Plus on my bank account today. I had to Google it to find out what it was. I'm grateful for the post above because I used the 800 number to call the company.

What a rip off. When I called, the woman (Diana) offered me more services!

I'll be waiting and watching for the money to be returned.