Phone msg Scam: CREDIT

Hobbes · 03-05-2008 8:24am #1

Wife got a text message saying she got free credit and to respond with CREDIT to activate it. Not realising it is probably a scam she replied.

Next message back was to telling to send an SAE to some address within 7 days to get the credit. No mention of how much. This was followed up by loads of you have been subscribed to various things.

They managed to take 15 euros in one day. Now I've done STOP to all of the messages but they keep coming from other numbers. Day 2 and over 20 euros and more messages.

Going to throw away the chip. But will be contacting COMREG. Here are the following numbers if anyone else is hit by it.

50015 - Offering the Credit.
credit - the return message.
8007 - Sub messages
57030 - Sub messages
353863810425 - various junk messages that you have joined ....

57030 also couldn't be replied to directly to do a STOP. Not that it matters.

Sam Vimes · 03-05-2008 10:12am

That company is zamano according to comreg:
http://www.comreg.ie/numbering/

i know someone that used to work for zamano. one day a customer was having a problem and she made the mistake of using her own phone to test something. it took her weeks to get them to stop taking her credit. if she can't get them to stop, the rest of us have no hope

edit: and by sending an unsolicited text to your wife they broke the law

Davy · 03-05-2008 2:20pm

My Gf had the same problem months ago, i cant remember the number it was coming from but was the same info details etc. She was on vodafone at the time and had to abandon the number as she couldn't stop them by texting stop or vodafone wouldn't even do anything about it either.

She did take advantage of it since she couldn't stop them, she sent a lot of SAE to them, and came back to her with credit. i would say she got about €100 in different amounts over a 2-3 month period. In saying that she prob paid most back to them by receiving the texts. I suggest to send a good few SAE while your in the process of stopping the texts. keep us posted

Hobbes · 03-05-2008 4:57pm

aahh..

googling their name it appears they pull this sort of crap all the time.

http://www.grumbletext.co.uk/vt.php?p=21986

Doctor DooM · 03-05-2008 8:00pm

Keep pestering Regtel. They are supposed to look after this stuff.

Laws are being broken here.

Edit: Brain turned off today

emul · 03-05-2008 11:43pm

Get on to Regtel http://www.regtel.ie/ you can look up who owns the 5xxxx number and also see what your rights are in regard to getting the issue resolved.

Sam Vimes · 04-05-2008 2:56am

emul wrote: »

Get on to Regtel http://www.regtel.ie/ you can look up who owns the 5xxxx number

as i posted above, it belongs to zamano

mcaul · 04-05-2008 10:03pm

surely a couple of dozen small claim court actions will stop this company.

But in reality only if regtel really start biting and fining these companies €100,000 + for each breach will they stop. Until then Zamano & others will continue to thieve off people.

Hobbes · 05-05-2008 4:43am

Just to add further info, when you reply STOP or STOP ALL the SMS is also a premium number.

twanky · 05-05-2008 11:53pm

if you have text stop and still receive the messages you're defintly intitled to credit back, also 'legally they can only text you if you text them first have a read of the regtel website and then ring the company, you can get a contact number on the regtel site for the company involved too. If you have read up and know what your talking about they'll credit you back
and in relation to your network provider due to data protection laws they cant do anything except email the company and request a stop the only people who can credit u back is the company that are taking the credit

geffkane · 23-05-2008 12:57am

a few points. If Zamano get your number there is very little that you can do in Ireland. If you pester their Customer Service enough they might take you off their database, but you are unlikely to get a refund. The fact that they are sending you reverse charge texts without you signing up to anything may be technically illegal but there is in actuality absolutely nothing that you can do. The fact that their head offices are in the governments Digital Hub in Dublin may provide a clue as to how much support they have for their lucrative (they just bought a mobile porn company for €24million )but "technically" illegal reverse charge scams in Ireland

btw if you are wondering where they got you wifes number, they purchase lists of numbers from contacts in independent production companies that run shows like You're a Star. people that text to such shows are less likely to complain.

Regtel ( and also Comreg, Data Protection Commissioner etc) are actually worse that useless. They give the impression that they "regulate" but in actuality they do nothing of the sort. Regtel got 30,000 complaints last year in relation to premium texts from Zamano and similar companies. These all went straight in the bin. No action was taken, not one single fine was issued. (They did however succeed in blocking the DPP from taking a criminal prosecution against this company) Zamano is free to continue its illegal operations with impunity in Ireland and there is not a damn thing that you can do about it.

conner · 23-05-2008 10:35pm

Zamano has been 'fined' thousands of pounds by the regulators in the UK. http://www.phonepayplus.org.uk/consumers/adjudications/default.asp?AD=13%2F05%2F2008&SP=Zamano+Ltd&ST=&SpLookup=Search&Keywords=&cmd=2 The fines are payed by Zamano from revenue that the regulator instructs them to withhold from the content provider(Blinck eg). It can never exceed 10% of the total revenue. Needless to say the fines don't appear to be having much effect. UK revenue share: Government 17.5% (VAT). Mobile Network Operator 20% to 50%. Regulator 0.34% + fines. Zamano and 'content provider' share the rest.

geffkane · 26-05-2008 12:31am

conner wrote: »

Zamano has been 'fined' thousands of pounds by the regulators in the UK.

My previous post specifically referred to Ireland. Zamano have never been fined in Ireland even though there is overwhelming evidence that they illegally send large numbers of reverse charge spam texts. People who say "Oh, you should complain to Regtel" should be made aware that Regtel are part of the con and have taken no action despite having received thousands of complaints against Zamano.

btw although Zamano are repeatly fined it the UK they see this as a business expense . They are quite happy to pay the fines and they have had as far as I am aware had no impact as far as I can tell on their continuing to make millions on continuing to send out reverse charge texts to numbers that they purchase from third parties

geffkane · 06-06-2008 4:50pm

Phonepayplus is promising once again to clamp down on the trading and sale of lists of mobile phone numbers. yeah right. Believe it when it happens.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/06...lus_text_spam/

Doctor DooM · 06-06-2008 5:52pm

geffkane wrote: »

Phonepayplus is promising once again to clamp down on the trading and sale of lists of mobile phone numbers. yeah right. Believe it when it happens.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/06...lus_text_spam/

I wish.

You have no idea how frustrating this is for people who work in phone stores. We hear the horror stories but legally the networks are bound.

Possibly the best thing to do is to try to educate people to avoid signing up in the first place.

geffkane · 06-06-2008 7:36pm

SDooM wrote: »

I wish.

You have no idea how frustrating this is for people who work in phone stores. We hear the horror stories but legally the networks are bound.

Possibly the best thing to do is to try to educate people to avoid signing up in the first place.

Thats absolute rubbish. The networks are in on the scam and are handsomely rewarded (they get approx 40% of the revenue generated) Zamano and the other gangsters could not send out their premium reverse billed SMS messages from which they are making millions without the consent of the networks.FACT Zamano has contracts with Vodafone, O2 , Meteor and 3 whcih allows them to send unlimited numbers of reverse charge texts. I'm sure you can explain why the networks in Ireland refuse to allow customers to block premium sms messages even those that can clearly demonstrate that they never subscribed to zamano and have sent multiple stop message. T Mobile in the UK allow their subscribers to block texts from zamano on request. why don't the irish networks?. The fact is that the networks are making millions from their cut of Zamanos scams and should not be allowed to pretend that they are innocent or that they could not easily stop people being ripped off if they chose to do so

If you read all the info on Zamano you will also discover that a lot of their texts go to those who have never signed up to anything. Their are sent to numbers from lists that they purchase ( no opt in text, stop messages ignored)

conner · 08-06-2008 3:58pm

I will tell you the UK story and may be you will see a parallel story in your wonderful country.

Our mobile Network Operators paid our Government £22.4 billion for their operating licenses.
The EU Commission attempted to have all mobile phone accounts (e-wallets) subject to the same financial regulations and laws that bank credit/debit accounts are subject to.
The trade bodies for the Network Operators and Premium Rate Industry warned the Government that this would 'inhibit' future inward investment.

Today we have companies like Zamano plundering our mobile phone accounts while the regulators and government are turning a blind eye.

foggy_lad · 09-06-2008 10:40am

Hobbes wrote: »

Just to add further info, when you reply STOP or STOP ALL the SMS is also a premium number.

the message to stop these premium rate texts is supposed to be free i had thought??

Sam Vimes · 10-06-2008 11:29am

foggy_lad wrote: »

the message to stop these premium rate texts is supposed to be free i had thought??

i thought they were standard rate. I don't think they're premium anyway

Ste.phen · 10-06-2008 12:17pm

Sam Vimes wrote: »

i thought they were standard rate. I don't think they're premium anyway

I think it has to be free to receive, i.e if it costs you 9c or whatever to text in, that's OK:- but if they charge you for the reponse that's not.

conner · 10-06-2008 2:10pm

http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/articles/10736/att-nationwide-cell-fees-refunds.html
Cell Phone Carrier Settles Lawsuit
June 10, 2008. By Jane Mundy

Washington, DC: About 70 million current AT&T mobility customers will soon receive notification that they may be eligible for a refund as part of a class action lawsuit settlement. According to Jay Edelson, lead counsel for the plaintiffs, AT&T customers will soon be able to claim refunds on charges to their cell phones between January 1, 2004 and May 30, 2008.

On June 6, the settlement received preliminary approval and a final approval hearing is scheduled for this December. Next up, Edelson is hopeful that other carriers, specifically Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile will settle.

AT&T, the nation's top phone company's wireless unit, has stepped up to the plate by recognizing that customers should not be charged for unauthorized third party services; in this case, mobile content providers. This is how it works: mobile content--from ringtones to weather reports; from games to sports scores-- is sold by countless small companies that provide mobile content to consumers through their cellular telephones. The charges for such products appear on the consumers' cell phone bills as separate line-item charges. The carrier, such as AT&T, keeps some of the fee and passes the rest to the content provider. Many mobile content providers do not obtain consent from the consumer.

AT&T now requires customers who sign up for third-party services with recurring fees to confirm by replying to a text message. It also requires the content providers to send monthly reminders with instructions on how to unsubscribe from such services.

Meanwhile, Canadians are mad as hell with telecommunications companies in general and some MPs aren't going to take it anymore. The government recently introduced a bill to abolish the system access fee charged by cellphone providers and enact more rights for customers of telecommunications companies in general. “We’re talking 21 years and billions of dollars in misleading payments. My bill will end fictitious surcharges on cellphones," said Liberal MP David McGuinty.

McGuintay first went on the cellphone warpath when his daughter's cellphone bill had more than $50 of extra charges for text messages—which she did not authorize. McGuintay then read the fine print and found the extra-charge provision in her contract and tried to end the service, to no avail. Instead, he discovered outrageous cancellation fees and on top of that, his daughter's expensive phone wouldn't work on another carrier's network. Does that sound familiar?

This Canadian bill, also known as the Telecommunications Clarity and Fairness Act, proposes the conditions of holding cellphone spectrum licences be changed "to include a prohibition against the levying of any additional fee or charge that is not part of the subscriber’s monthly fee or monthly plan rate." Cellphone providers would also be required to make available with each service contract a fact sheet that discloses every service being provided and any associated costs.
Sounds like the US might want to follow suit.

why are the governments and regulators in Ireland and the UK allowing this billing fraud?

geffkane · 10-06-2008 4:00pm

possibly because the regulatory body Regtel is actually representing the interests of these crooks, while effectively lying about how these companies operate. Its called "industry self regulation"

and one of the worst offenders Zamano/Blink which has been fined hundreds of thousands of pounds in the UK for illegally sending reverse charge texts have been provided with offices here at taxpayer expense at the governments Digital Hub

http://www.thedigitalhub.com/digital_hub/board.php

The man responsible for appointing the board which decides on tenants
http://www.greenparty.ie/en/people/eamon_ryan

LolaDub · 11-06-2008 4:28pm

Zamano started messaging me with random competitions and offers last year taking 2 euro off my account every time they spammed me. Texted stop, got nowhere. I never signed up to any of these ridiculous text offers as i had only just gotten the phone with the number they were spamming me on. I sent a mail to vodafone and to regtel and to zamano themselves. after about 20 emails zamano gave me a refund of 10 euro, an apology and i didn't receive anything else. I'd say the amount they took from me was more in the region of a hundred but it was so much effort to just get off the list i left it there!

conner · 11-06-2008 4:52pm

LolaDub wrote:

I sent a mail to vodafone and to regtel and to zamano themselves. after about 20 emails zamano gave me a refund of 10 euro, an apology and i didn't receive anything else. I'd say the amount they took from me was more in the region of a hundred but it was so much effort to just get off the list i left it there!

Unfortunately that's what these revenue sharing, government protected crooks depend on.
How did Zamano get your Vodafone number if you had just bought your phone and number?
In the UK Vodafone take 20% of the revenue before passing the rest on to Zamano.

What share do they take here?

LolaDub · 11-06-2008 4:59pm

I have absolutely no idea how they did. When i complained to vodafone they said they had nothing to do with zamano and couldn't refund me or take me off their spam list. I asked vodafone if they give numbers to zamano as thats the only way i see how they got it which they firmly denied. I literally had the phone 2 days when it started. Zamano calculated that the ten something euro was what they owed me, i think it was a fair bit more but i was happy to get off the list and to receive an apology.

I don't know if vodafone receive anything?

conner · 11-06-2008 5:53pm

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=200711260701304474I
Zamano PLC
26 November 2007

4.3 zamano B2B Business

zamano's MMG platform offers a diverse range of functionality and communication
capabilities to the Company's business partners, providing connectivity between
applications, Mobile Operators (including in the UK and Australia) and
consumers.

zamano's applications can be used on a stand-alone basis or as part of an
integrated bespoke combination depending on client requirements. The MMG
platform identifies which device is requesting information or content and
delivers it in a suitable format for that particular device.

Over 80 business partners currently utilise zamano's MMG technology platform on
an ongoing basis, including mobile operators, media and marketing companies as
well as mobile content providers.

Revenues are predominantly generated through mobile operators' charges to
customers for every interaction which occurs. These transactions result in a
defined revenue share being paid to zamano. The amount of revenue retained by
zamano is dependent upon the extent to which the Group's B2B customers utilize
zamano's technology services on each transaction.

MMG= Mobile Messaging Gateway

"When i complained to vodafone they said they had nothing to do with zamano"

Ste.phen · 11-06-2008 8:11pm

conner wrote: »

Unfortunately that's what these revenue sharing, government protected crooks depend on.
How did Zamano get your Vodafone number if you had just bought your phone and number?
In the UK Vodafone take 20% of the revenue before passing the rest on to Zamano.

What share do they take here?

It depends on the network, the volume of messages per month on the number, and the price point of the number. After VAT is deducted and the network takes their cut, the service provider (e.g Zamano) typically gets 50-70% of the amount that comes off your credit.

geffkane · 12-06-2008 3:14pm

LolaDub wrote: »

I have absolutely no idea how they did. When i complained to vodafone they said they had nothing to do with zamano and couldn't refund me or take me off their spam list. I asked vodafone if they give numbers to zamano as thats the only way i see how they got it which they firmly denied. I literally had the phone 2 days when it started.

I would be very surprised if Vodafone sold your number to Zamano. The normal procedure would be for zamano to buy lists of mobile numbers from third party contacts e.g. those who work for reality shows.

What may have happened is that the previous owner was being sent premium sms messages by zamano and had given up this number for this reason. When Vodafone reissued and reactivated the number Zamano continues spamming it ( they probably didn't know or care about the change in ownership)

LolaDub · 12-06-2008 10:13pm

I had just bought a brand new phone and got a new number from vodafone. Is it possible someone had it before? I honestly don't know how they got my number, at the time i thought from vodafone because i had had the phone such a short time. Anyone else scammed by zamano?

conner · 13-06-2008 1:27pm

LolaDub wrote:

Is it possible someone had it before? I honestly don't know how they got my number,

a case from the UK

http://www.phonepayplus.org.uk/business/adjudications/search.asp?cmd=3&id=755
Content and/or promotion provided by Airwaves Telecom / JJ Trading Service provider responsible for
compliance under the Code of Practice Opera Telecom
3) The Panel considered the evidence before it and accepted, on a balance of probabilities, the evidence presented to it that 28,000 messages had been sent to unused SIMs and 78,000 undelivered attempts to invalid numbers. The Panel was of the view that such evidence was consistent with the use of a random number generator and that the texts had therefore been sent to mobile phones unsolicited. The Panel thereby concluded that a breach of paragraph 5.2 of the Code had occurred.
Decision: UPHELD

here's the bottom feeder from JJ trading

jaipal2004 wrote:

Good bit of investigating

We provide outsourced call handling for companies running SMS campaigns. We unfortunately have no control over content, services or regulatory issues. All we do is deal with queries and more often that not, irate customers!!

Technical problems do arise and on the flip side I have seen some companies we've worked with attempt to rip people off. I can go on record and say that in these instances I have been the first person to contact PPP and the powers that be and report any such matters.

Any queries, keep them coming!

Josh
.............
Just as an aside, it is important to note the difference between network provider, service provider and information provider - confusion will lead you to understand that JJ Trading were at fault whereas JJ Trading provided the send mechanism to another 3rd party information provider (who ultimately got fined! )

Tanla sold the shortcode number to Hot Chilli who in turn sold the shortcode number to JJ Trading who in turn has sold the number to Mr Hussein.

Opera Telecom also created a data base of mobile numbers it gathered from a charity text campaign it ran in Ireland. I think your Information Commissioner ordered it to be destroyed.

LolaDub wrote:

Anyone else scammed by zamano?

Oryx · 13-06-2008 1:33pm

LolaDub wrote: »

I had just bought a brand new phone and got a new number from vodafone. Is it possible someone had it before? I honestly don't know how they got my number, at the time i thought from vodafone because i had had the phone such a short time. Anyone else scammed by zamano?

Numbers do get recycled all the time, but it could have just been a random hit on your number.

Phone msg Scam: CREDIT

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