McAfee Inc. has been named in a class action suit accusing it of conspiring to defraud consumers by deceptively getting them to subscribe to a subscription service

McAfee sells its security software products and services on its Web site.  The plaintiffs claim that when consumers buy these products directly from McAfee, a misleading pop-up display on the site leads consumers to unwittingly enroll in subscription-based services offered by a third party, Arpu Inc.

The plaintiffs claim that McAfee transmits customer credit/debit card and billing information to Arpu and receives an undisclosed fee from Arpu for each customer enrolled.  The plaintiffs allege that McAfee transmits the confidential customer information without adequately disclosing the nature of the subscription services; the customer's commitment to pay the recurring cost of the service; the terms and conditions of the subscription service; the identity of the billing party; and the manner by which the customer may cancel the service.

The plaintiffs claim that the defendant's billing practices make the subscription charges difficult to detect, track and terminate.  The plaintiffs maintain that McAfee's business practices, by structure and design, have the capacity to deceive.

The plaintiffs seek to represent a class of all persons in the United States who have purchased products or services from McAfee Inc. and were subsequently charged by a third party for unused and unclaimed products and services after McAfee transferred their credit/debit card and other billing information to the third party.