ID Lifeguards charged thousands for unwanted protection, says lawsuit

A California company allegedly charged thousands of Illinois consumers for identity protection services they didn't sign up for, according to a lawsuit filed today by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan.

The lawsuit alleges that ID Lifeguards Inc., and its owner, Arthur Natanyan of Burbank, Calif., broke the state's consumer fraud law and duped consumers into buying identity protection for $12.95 a month after they responded to sales offers for other products on third-party websites. Between September 2009 and March 2010, the company charged $157,562 for services that showed up on the phone bills of 5,071 Illinois consumers under miscellaneous charges, court papers said.