My wife has just been scammed....

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Posted: Sat Dec 30, 2006 6:03 pm

The calling credit on my wife's Vodafone is being used up by a company that is sending her a reverse charge text.

1) My wife has never given these people her number.

2) She has never given them permission to send her reverse charge text

As soon as she puts credit on her phone they syphon it off, charging her �1.58 per text which they continue to send until all credit is used up.

So what can I do?
Vodafone say that there is nothing that they can do about it, and suggest that she buys a new sim card and re-registers the phone.

But then what if they get her new number..?

Surely this has to be totally illegal and there must be something that I can do to fight back....???

Posted: Sat Dec 30, 2006 6:07 pm

I think this is something you should take up with local law enforcement. Sounds illegal to me. I think she had best file an official complaint with the police and see what they advise her to do.

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

Simba, what country are you in?

If your are in the UK, you can contact:

www.icstis.org

They regulate the telephone industry and premium rate telephone services, or if you are elsewhere, there must be a similar organisation in your own country.

What is the phone number and company name of the people taking your wifes credit? If your wife is getting it, then others will be as well and they should be on Google showing the complaints on forums etc.

[edit]

Sorry, just saw it was �1.58 so the � sign puts you in the UK.

Have a look at Vodaphones text services on their website, there is probably a stop code you can send a text to if it is one of their premium services. But I have a feeling it's not one of theirs, it's usually about 20 pence per text sent to you for those sort of services.

Posted: Sat Dec 30, 2006 6:12 pm

I just found a website for these people...

http://www.gatecrasher.co.uk/nice/ringtones.html

Master Baiter Joined: 09 Jan 2007 Posts: 101

Hey, I heard not too long ago that, thieves were going into stores and writing all the info off all available cards like, gift cards etc. then, using them later. Dunno however, this could be something like that, you think?

Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2007 9:17 pm

^^^ The gift-card scam is also here, but this does not sound like a gift-card scam to me, but more like something else...
The people behind the website/service are Gatecrasher - I couldn't find any contact details for them on their site or in the WHOIS, but you could always twy calling their nightclub, which is here: 121, Eyre St, Sheffield, South Yorkshire S1 4QW; Tel: 0114 276 6777 Wink

Master Baiter Joined: 18 Dec 2006 Posts: 123 Location: UK

This sort of thing has been a problem for a while now - you get a text asking you to reply to find out who a mystery person is who likes you, or to pick up a message that has been left for you, something along those lines. Once you reply the company involved send you tons of messages that cost you money. http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/oyb/goods_services/mobiles_fraud.shtml

The best way to stop these is to reply "stop" or "stop all" to the number given.

If the company is legit and not involved in text scamming, there is a chance that someone else registered for the service and either they or the company made a mistake with the number that they used to register with - or it could have been malicious, it all depends. It's always a good idea to make an official complaint so that you can at least attempt to find out which of these situations is the case here.

Did your wife recieve any strange or unsolicited texts that she replied to? Do you have kids who may have used her phone to download a game or ringtone from that company without her knowledge?

Most companies who offer these services do so via a "membership" where the customer receives various texts throughout the membership period as a means to pay for the membership "fees". There was a big media scandal a little while ago where under 16's were signing up for these without knowing about the charges as they were mentioned little or not at all in the advertisements for the companies involved.

BTW As far as I know Gatecrasher is a trance/house/etc. company that hosts festivals and dance nights at various clubs - they have their own clubs also - http://www.neverstandstill.com/ - I don't know whether the website is offically affiliated with them or not though, I can't find anything related to mobile phone media on their official website...

Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2007 11:42 pm

Simba wrote:

Vodafone say that there is nothing that they can do about it

Nonsense...

I would suggest being rather more forceful with Mr. Vodafone, the mobile phone companies have a very strict code of practice to adhere to and if there is any dodgy shenenigans going on they are (at least partly) responsible, simply washing hands is not good enough.

and in addition to SP's link, http://www.ofcom.org.uk/ would also be very interested, particularly in Vodafone's shoulder shrugging attitude.

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