SCAM ALERT: Ever hear of "Premium texting"?

[Prince Valiant]

Ever hear of this? Basically, via facebook, or accessing new ringtones, things like that...you get signed up for some bizarre text service, in which you get a "joke of the day", "fun facts", etc, etc...

But here the thing...it could cost something like 9.99/text, 19.99, and I've even seen 29.99/text. Know how I know? Because I've got hit with this...my wife gets some 50-150/mo of text charges, despite having free unlimited texting.

Of course, the gist is, this is a service provided through texting...that I understand if I wanted to subscribe to a service (ESPN, WSJ, etc) for text to keep me informed. Not for a freekin' "joke of the day".

I guess this got started because my wife did one of those "What kind of *blank* are you" or "What's your IQ" type thing on facebook...where you enter your cell phone number to be able to access your results.

Has this ever happened to anyone else? What have you done?

Well, I called AT&T, and was surprised with the service I received...."Yes, sir...we'll remove the charges, credit your account, block all future charges, that if you wanted to be charged, you'll need to enter a PIN number, etc..."

Problem solved, right?

Not quite...I review my next bill and it's WORSE!

Working with AT&T again, and I'll see what can be resolved...but I'm hoping others have been through this and could give me some ideas of other ways to resolve this.

[84hurst]

I got hit with the exact same thing. A third party company told me that I had taken an IQ test on Facebook that I never took, yet they still billed me $9.99 for it. It took alot of digging but I was able to find the 800 number for the company responsible for billing me and chewed them out for billing me for a service I never used. I was able to get them to refund the money though. I've heard though that when you take an IQ test or whatever, you can put in pretty much any phone # you want and someone else will get the bill for it. I think that's what happend to me.

[Prince Valiant]

quick update:

Called customer service, and they figured out the problem...they put all the necessary stuff on MY line, not my wife's line, which is where all the offending charges were coming from.

Now they've gone through, put a purchase blocker on both lines, removed all offending charges again. I also had them removed some of the services that AT&T was giving me, including texting since on our phones since it's painfully slow to text (next phone I'll get a more text friendly phone) and my wife really never utilizes it.

Seems drastic...but I'd rather give up the convenience of texting than putting up w/ the possibility that more scammers will be able to get additional charges in.

It IS a scam too...most of the operations running this are out of the country, and use ridiculously easy methods to get you to unknowingly sign-up for the service, such as using facebook, etc.

If it ask for a phone number, don't use it. Otherwise you'll be paying 20/month to find out snails move 0.029 miles per hour, lol.

[Prince Valiant]

BTW, if it's really that easy to get your number billed like that, I'd recommend everyone calling their phone company and getting purchase blockers...in which you need to enter a PIN number b/f you can purchase or be billed by a third party.

[MoCkiN U]

Here is the deal. Its just like hotmail back in the day....they could use your name

johndoe1@hotmail.com
johndoe2@hotmail.com
johndoe3@hotmail.com

so on and on. We have all gotten spam msgs with those types of emails. NOW the trick is they are doing the same damn thing except with your mobile number cause they can email you there too. And blocking premium text doesnt always block those because they are coming through data network as email not through SMS as a text. Tricky little fuckers!!

xxx-xxx-xxxx@vtext.com
xxx-xxx-xxxx@attmsg.com

so on and on they put thousands of combniations in email form and send them out with script enablers that as soon as you open the msg it activates itself and VOILA!! starts billing ur ass.

The FCC is all about trying to block this aspect but until they find how to stop it they are recommending you the consumer have premium texting blocked but also going into your online service (verizon is www.vztext.com) and choose block emails in the options there.

P.S. if you text these damn shows for your favorite artist and shit they also sign you up for this shit. Look at the bottom of the screen

[MoCkiN U]

P.S. the actual term you can google is "Pre texting" this is the actual scam.

[TransAm12sec]

I get texts from the history channel every morning about the significance of the day. Today in 1958 a US nuclear submarine was the first to travel under the north pole.

And I text google a lot, at 46645(googl); mainly for weather or to get business numbers or an address. Sometimes I text facebook at 32665(fbook) also.

These services are free, facebook sometimes takes some time to respond.

This isn't related to scams, but nice things with texting.

[moels]

I must have done a survey or something on FB and now everyday at about noon I get a random fact texted to me by some company. I have never been billed for this, but I was suspecting I might at some point. Do I have to call my provider to block them or what?

[MoCkiN U]

YES^ but you must respond "STOP" to those messages. Open one of them and simply type stop and hit send. It will remove you from their list and then your carrier will block