Android Telephone Billing Scam occuring in the UK ?
Scandal ! I had an unauthorized charge come through to my telephone account. This is the chain of events below. :mad:
I received a text saying:
" FreeMsg: Thank you for
subscribing to TAPVIDS for
£4.50 per week from TapVids
until you text STOP to 64055
HELP? 01183244333 "
I asked "Three UK" (mobile operator) about on a post at their Facebook page. I would post pictures here but I can't see how to do it in this forum.
This was the conversation:
(Me)
"Three what can I do about this?
I just got a text saying I subscribed to these people like the women in the article:
http://ift.tt/2d8ydd0 "
Three UK, responded:
"Hi, sorry to hear you've been subscribed to something you're unaware of. Can you please text 'STOP' to the number in the text and let us know how you get on >Lauren C".
(Me):
"Thanks.
I read on the internet that other people have texted stop and they've been charged £5 for the text.
How can I check if I will be charged?"
Three UK, responded:
"Unfortunately we can't say for sure, Kevin. We don't charge you for these services, so any charges that'd be applied would be decided by the company themselves.
If you'd like to check if you're going to be charged for the text, we'd suggest getting in touch with the company directly or checking their website for any pricing information. >Ian"
(Me)
"Thanks,
I don't know who the company is though. How can I find out?
What had happened was, I looked at a webpage about "Free Movies." A pop up came that said "[Cancel] and [OK]" and nothing else. I clicked cancel and then a text came through saying thanks for subscribing for £4.50 a week. I can't get through to the site now though. It won't appear on my screen.
I looked at my Bill since, and it appears there's another company that has been charging me too.
That's the site that supplied the original link. I went there after seeing an article about Android phone tweaks. Then I seen they had another article about free movies. I clicked on "VKFLIX", (6th one down in the list about free movies).
The VKFLIX site was the one where the pop-up was.
http://ift.tt/2d8xKrc "
(I would not click ↑ on anything at the links there given the circumstances)
Three UK, responded:
"Is there a 6 digit number attached to the text message you've received? If so, you can check the company details by entering the shortcode here, http://bit.ly/1kOdMBj. We hope this helps :) >Vicki"
(Me)
"Yes this was it here.
I'll put the number in."
(Attach green picture)
I'll put the number in
(picture online lookup charge)
"After I searched the helpline number in Google it came up as Txtnation " But in the online checker you gave me it comes up as "mGage."
(Attached picture below)
Three UK, responded:
"The company may have subsidiaries, so we'd recommend calling the helpline number in the text, as they'll be able to advise you if you're being charged. If you want to launch an investigation into what happened, we'd urge you to contact PhonepayPlus as they're the regulations for the industry and will be able to carry out an investigation http://bit.ly/1CU9tvo
. We'll do our best to provide you any information you may need during this process :) >Kimberley"
(Me):
"Thanks Three,
Yes I think I'll do that but they don't answer the phone according to one person that left a review on their Facebook page. Surprising seen as they have £15,000,000 in the Bank (company info link below "worth").
So many people on the internet are reporting that they have been scammed/tricked by them. One person reported that they have a business contract with EE.
And yes, there are many subsidiary companies linked to them. In particular "Surash Patel" whose closed companies are being reported to be years over due for tax files.
You can see the companies at the links here:
Ownership:
http://ift.tt/2d8x70P
Linkedin (see affiliated):
http://ift.tt/2cHMqiD
Facebook page (see reviews):
http://ift.tt/2cHMS0s "
Three UK, responded:
"That would be the best thing to do. As Kimberley mentioned, if you need any further information at all, please let us know and we'll do our best to get it for you. >Lucy "
(Me)
"Thank you,
Given the confusing nature of the multiple company names and services, I am unable to ascertain whether texting "STOP" would incur a £5 charge as others have reported on the internet forums.
Could you please find out if texting that number will incur a charge?
I'd also like to formally declare as a Three customer that these services and companies are rogue. I request as a duty of care to myself and other "Three" customers that "Three" look into this as soon as possible and do their utmost to block all services from them and their subsidiaries and individuals connected to them, on all the UK telecommunication networks."
*Another Facebook profile made the comment:
"I'm having the same issue and same company."*
No reply came from him when I asked what he had done about it.
I said to "Three UK" (mobile operator):
"This is fraud can you not help us with this? Three has facilitated the charge."
-----
End.
No reply came and that was several hours ago. I called Three and they said to call back tomorrow between 9 A.M & 5 P.M and they will initiate a "Three way call" with the companies in question.
I hope this has helped. I will endeavor to report back on my results.
The shortcode number was 64055.
The Helpline number given in the text came up as belonging to TxtNation :
01183244333 .
I made an online complaint through PhonePayPlus online, which was quite a lengthy process.
The next day, I called Three UK for the Three way telephone call that Three UK had suggested.
The first person at three was very helpful. In fact, they all were quite well meaning. Yet, after being first contact with Three, I was told by the customer service representative:
(Approximately):
"Stay on the line, I will be listening as you talk to the Third party. I won't be able to talk, but stay on the line when your call with them has ended and I will come on the line to talk with you about the results."
I was on hold for a little while and then the phone started ringing. I person answered from "PhonePayPlus" whom is a the regulator I previously mentioned.
I thought that perhaps the Three customer service representative had tried patching me through to the Third party company with no luck, and so put me through to make a complaint to PhonePayPlus.
So, I went through the details of what had happened and how I came about to be talking to the advisor. I also advised that the person from Three is listening in the background (as far as I knew).
To break a long conversation down:
They advised me that TxtNation own the phone number that I was texted from. She gave an email address, one of TxtNations email address'.. which was given to me as: help@txtnation.com .
She advised emailing TxtNation with details of my phone number, and the number I was texted from.
She advised me to ask:
1. How I came to be subscribed to the service.
2. How I may obtain a refund.
3. Proof of me actually having subscribed to the service.
She said to wait two business days and if I hear nothing, get back to PhonePayPlus.
At the end of the call, I said I need to hold the line so the person from Three comes back on. She said "I don't think they're there."
Which she was right about.
So, I called back Three UK and got through after listening to some music and putting all my details in again, and answering the security questions. AND after explaining the whole situation again, (plus another query I had regarding a charge) the very nice man said pretty much the same thing as his previous colleague.
He put us through to TxtNation.
A person named "Beverly" at TxtNation came on the line. The man from Three explained the situation, she asked to speak to me.
I gave her my details. She said "You will get a text confirming your unsubscription" and hung up the phone.
The man from Three was quite taken aback as was I.
We talked, he asked if he could help me further. I said, yes, as they didn't mention a refund at TxtNation. He said, let's call back.
I mentioned the other charge I wanted to talk about with regards to my account and said that, ~"If its the same company that's involved in the other charge, it might be best to check that first so we don't have to call TxtNation separately again."
For some reason, he did agree but then for some other reason the phone just started ringing at TxtNation again. The same person answered. I explained that I'd like to know about a refund and that no text had come through just yet notifying me of their "unsubscription" action.
"Beverly" at TxtNation then asked for my phone number. I said, well surely you must have it seen as I just spoke to you, gave you the number and am expecting a text from you.
Oh yes, what was your name again, (she said).
Argh. Anyway, she said I'd get a call in a couple of days, which I doubt.
The call ended. No person from Three UK was on the line. Just a dead line.
So, I was so annoyed, that I hadn't tried to record all these calls. I really wished I had the whole thing recorded. It was so ridiculous. I decided to call Three back YET AGAIN. But, before I did, I downloaded some call recording software. The first I tried didn't work (I tested it first on my voicemail) so, I did some Googling and testing and finally found one that worked.
I called Three back.
Got cut off from the queue.
I called back again. Waited for quite some time.
Got through. All the same rigmarole again. She said she doesn't know why her colleagues put me though to TxtNation ! She said its not much to do with them !
She was very helpful though. She also informed me I was due for "an upgrade."
I don't have the energy to type the whole thing so here it is on YouTube. Yes, I had to make an MP4 video and sign up and everything.
The salesman regarding the upgrade can be heard at the end. He doesn't think much of "GiffGaff" which you can hear him talk about. I edited the length of the audio from over an hour to something shorter that omits my personal information and all the music while on hold and waiting to talk to someone.
Here is the YouTube link:
https://youtu.be/0ajURe7WTOI
Also please find attached relevant screenshots.
I'm really upset about the whole thing and not even sure if I've spoken to the right people. I did receive a message from TxtNation later, that said I had been unsubscribed from services.
Whether that means all services they can find on the system to purge me somehow I don't know, as they didn't give details of which services they unsubscribed me from.
I have two more companies to chase up tomorrow about other charges I've just noticed on my account. Time now: 03.57 A.M.
Entry on Sun 18th September 2016:
I was advised to run a cURL test on the site to see what code is running on the webpage that I think originated the Billing request. Here is a link to a post on this page which has the cURL report.
Please do not click on any link within the report in case it takes you to an external site.
Here is the G+ link to the code that has been found so far:
Could someone that is careful and knowledgeable please help locate the potentially offending code? Or offer any other suggestions.
Help is very much appreciated:
http://ift.tt/2cHMG1a
I received a text saying:
" FreeMsg: Thank you for
subscribing to TAPVIDS for
£4.50 per week from TapVids
until you text STOP to 64055
HELP? 01183244333 "
I asked "Three UK" (mobile operator) about on a post at their Facebook page. I would post pictures here but I can't see how to do it in this forum.
This was the conversation:
(Me)
"Three what can I do about this?
I just got a text saying I subscribed to these people like the women in the article:
http://ift.tt/2d8ydd0 "
Three UK, responded:
"Hi, sorry to hear you've been subscribed to something you're unaware of. Can you please text 'STOP' to the number in the text and let us know how you get on >Lauren C".
(Me):
"Thanks.
I read on the internet that other people have texted stop and they've been charged £5 for the text.
How can I check if I will be charged?"
Three UK, responded:
"Unfortunately we can't say for sure, Kevin. We don't charge you for these services, so any charges that'd be applied would be decided by the company themselves.
If you'd like to check if you're going to be charged for the text, we'd suggest getting in touch with the company directly or checking their website for any pricing information. >Ian"
(Me)
"Thanks,
I don't know who the company is though. How can I find out?
What had happened was, I looked at a webpage about "Free Movies." A pop up came that said "[Cancel] and [OK]" and nothing else. I clicked cancel and then a text came through saying thanks for subscribing for £4.50 a week. I can't get through to the site now though. It won't appear on my screen.
I looked at my Bill since, and it appears there's another company that has been charging me too.
That's the site that supplied the original link. I went there after seeing an article about Android phone tweaks. Then I seen they had another article about free movies. I clicked on "VKFLIX", (6th one down in the list about free movies).
The VKFLIX site was the one where the pop-up was.
http://ift.tt/2d8xKrc "
(I would not click ↑ on anything at the links there given the circumstances)
Three UK, responded:
"Is there a 6 digit number attached to the text message you've received? If so, you can check the company details by entering the shortcode here, http://bit.ly/1kOdMBj. We hope this helps :) >Vicki"
(Me)
"Yes this was it here.
I'll put the number in."
(Attach green picture)
I'll put the number in
(picture online lookup charge)
"After I searched the helpline number in Google it came up as Txtnation " But in the online checker you gave me it comes up as "mGage."
(Attached picture below)
Three UK, responded:
"The company may have subsidiaries, so we'd recommend calling the helpline number in the text, as they'll be able to advise you if you're being charged. If you want to launch an investigation into what happened, we'd urge you to contact PhonepayPlus as they're the regulations for the industry and will be able to carry out an investigation http://bit.ly/1CU9tvo
. We'll do our best to provide you any information you may need during this process :) >Kimberley"
(Me):
"Thanks Three,
Yes I think I'll do that but they don't answer the phone according to one person that left a review on their Facebook page. Surprising seen as they have £15,000,000 in the Bank (company info link below "worth").
So many people on the internet are reporting that they have been scammed/tricked by them. One person reported that they have a business contract with EE.
And yes, there are many subsidiary companies linked to them. In particular "Surash Patel" whose closed companies are being reported to be years over due for tax files.
You can see the companies at the links here:
Ownership:
http://ift.tt/2d8x70P
Linkedin (see affiliated):
http://ift.tt/2cHMqiD
Facebook page (see reviews):
http://ift.tt/2cHMS0s "
Three UK, responded:
"That would be the best thing to do. As Kimberley mentioned, if you need any further information at all, please let us know and we'll do our best to get it for you. >Lucy "
(Me)
"Thank you,
Given the confusing nature of the multiple company names and services, I am unable to ascertain whether texting "STOP" would incur a £5 charge as others have reported on the internet forums.
Could you please find out if texting that number will incur a charge?
I'd also like to formally declare as a Three customer that these services and companies are rogue. I request as a duty of care to myself and other "Three" customers that "Three" look into this as soon as possible and do their utmost to block all services from them and their subsidiaries and individuals connected to them, on all the UK telecommunication networks."
*Another Facebook profile made the comment:
"I'm having the same issue and same company."*
No reply came from him when I asked what he had done about it.
I said to "Three UK" (mobile operator):
"This is fraud can you not help us with this? Three has facilitated the charge."
-----
End.
No reply came and that was several hours ago. I called Three and they said to call back tomorrow between 9 A.M & 5 P.M and they will initiate a "Three way call" with the companies in question.
I hope this has helped. I will endeavor to report back on my results.
The shortcode number was 64055.
The Helpline number given in the text came up as belonging to TxtNation :
01183244333 .
I made an online complaint through PhonePayPlus online, which was quite a lengthy process.
The next day, I called Three UK for the Three way telephone call that Three UK had suggested.
The first person at three was very helpful. In fact, they all were quite well meaning. Yet, after being first contact with Three, I was told by the customer service representative:
(Approximately):
"Stay on the line, I will be listening as you talk to the Third party. I won't be able to talk, but stay on the line when your call with them has ended and I will come on the line to talk with you about the results."
I was on hold for a little while and then the phone started ringing. I person answered from "PhonePayPlus" whom is a the regulator I previously mentioned.
I thought that perhaps the Three customer service representative had tried patching me through to the Third party company with no luck, and so put me through to make a complaint to PhonePayPlus.
So, I went through the details of what had happened and how I came about to be talking to the advisor. I also advised that the person from Three is listening in the background (as far as I knew).
To break a long conversation down:
They advised me that TxtNation own the phone number that I was texted from. She gave an email address, one of TxtNations email address'.. which was given to me as: help@txtnation.com .
She advised emailing TxtNation with details of my phone number, and the number I was texted from.
She advised me to ask:
1. How I came to be subscribed to the service.
2. How I may obtain a refund.
3. Proof of me actually having subscribed to the service.
She said to wait two business days and if I hear nothing, get back to PhonePayPlus.
At the end of the call, I said I need to hold the line so the person from Three comes back on. She said "I don't think they're there."
Which she was right about.
So, I called back Three UK and got through after listening to some music and putting all my details in again, and answering the security questions. AND after explaining the whole situation again, (plus another query I had regarding a charge) the very nice man said pretty much the same thing as his previous colleague.
He put us through to TxtNation.
A person named "Beverly" at TxtNation came on the line. The man from Three explained the situation, she asked to speak to me.
I gave her my details. She said "You will get a text confirming your unsubscription" and hung up the phone.
The man from Three was quite taken aback as was I.
We talked, he asked if he could help me further. I said, yes, as they didn't mention a refund at TxtNation. He said, let's call back.
I mentioned the other charge I wanted to talk about with regards to my account and said that, ~"If its the same company that's involved in the other charge, it might be best to check that first so we don't have to call TxtNation separately again."
For some reason, he did agree but then for some other reason the phone just started ringing at TxtNation again. The same person answered. I explained that I'd like to know about a refund and that no text had come through just yet notifying me of their "unsubscription" action.
"Beverly" at TxtNation then asked for my phone number. I said, well surely you must have it seen as I just spoke to you, gave you the number and am expecting a text from you.
Oh yes, what was your name again, (she said).
Argh. Anyway, she said I'd get a call in a couple of days, which I doubt.
The call ended. No person from Three UK was on the line. Just a dead line.
So, I was so annoyed, that I hadn't tried to record all these calls. I really wished I had the whole thing recorded. It was so ridiculous. I decided to call Three back YET AGAIN. But, before I did, I downloaded some call recording software. The first I tried didn't work (I tested it first on my voicemail) so, I did some Googling and testing and finally found one that worked.
I called Three back.
Got cut off from the queue.
I called back again. Waited for quite some time.
Got through. All the same rigmarole again. She said she doesn't know why her colleagues put me though to TxtNation ! She said its not much to do with them !
She was very helpful though. She also informed me I was due for "an upgrade."
I don't have the energy to type the whole thing so here it is on YouTube. Yes, I had to make an MP4 video and sign up and everything.
The salesman regarding the upgrade can be heard at the end. He doesn't think much of "GiffGaff" which you can hear him talk about. I edited the length of the audio from over an hour to something shorter that omits my personal information and all the music while on hold and waiting to talk to someone.
Here is the YouTube link:
https://youtu.be/0ajURe7WTOI
Also please find attached relevant screenshots.
I'm really upset about the whole thing and not even sure if I've spoken to the right people. I did receive a message from TxtNation later, that said I had been unsubscribed from services.
Whether that means all services they can find on the system to purge me somehow I don't know, as they didn't give details of which services they unsubscribed me from.
I have two more companies to chase up tomorrow about other charges I've just noticed on my account. Time now: 03.57 A.M.
Entry on Sun 18th September 2016:
I was advised to run a cURL test on the site to see what code is running on the webpage that I think originated the Billing request. Here is a link to a post on this page which has the cURL report.
Please do not click on any link within the report in case it takes you to an external site.
Here is the G+ link to the code that has been found so far:
Could someone that is careful and knowledgeable please help locate the potentially offending code? Or offer any other suggestions.
Help is very much appreciated:
http://ift.tt/2cHMG1a
from xda-developers http://ift.tt/2d8yMDx
via IFTTT
posted by kjnb @ September 18, 2016
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