Yes, the only solution to this problem is to have your premium messaging service blocked. This can be done by using My Verizon, emailing, or calling them. This will make it so you can't receive another premium message, or be charged for one.
**bleep**, i wanna know what reps you people are talking to!
They can provide the name and 5-digit shortcode for the premium message service. They can tell you what kinds of things they may be sending you. They can provide customer service email/numbers to contact the third party company.
**bleep** me off when reps don't do their job...
You're a lot nicer of a customer service person than i would be. I would have told him where to shove it and hung up after about three minutes.
She didn't really yell at the lady, she just told her she didn't know what the F she was talking about and slammed on the phone down.
LOL. i said. But it caught it in the word filter.
{word filter avoidance}
For Premium Text Message content VZW does in fact require a "double opt-in" where you have to confirm twice that you agree to be billed. If you did not infact sign up for this service then your text message records should show that you never sent the first or second opt-in and VZW will be able to view these records. I would use that as leverage to get the credit for the charges, because they are in fact invalid if you did not meet the opt-in requirements. If the rep won't do it for you ask to speak to a supervisor. Ultimately though, you do need to respond in text form to the number that's charging you. Only after the subscription has been cancelled can you apply the Premium text block. If the block is applied before you cancel the message, the subscription may keep billing you.
Call customer service, get your money back.
This has happened to me as well. A few months ago. The message hit me twice at 9.99 a pop. This also was the first time I'd ever heard of this. I called Verizon's customer no-service number. They were of no service. I was told that Verizon could do nothing to stop this fraud. I was told that I had to cancel the service and request a refund from the company. The company is: sms4gamecheats.com. Their toll free number is: 877 244 7035. Feel free to spam them. They are criminals and Verizon makes it possible for them to prey on Verizon customers.
I called the toll free number and they promised to refund the charges. They are liars and frauds. Verizon facilitates this by doing NOTHING to prevent it and then doing NOTHING to provide a remedy. Verizon does not care about customers if this is the way they provide service.
I had the premium service blocked. Today I have received numerous more attempts to access my premium text messaging. I have no doubt that if I hadn't had it blocked, I would have been charged for each attempt and Verizon would merely shrug. My contract expires in a little more than a month. Verizon is about to say goodbye to my family and all of my business lines. It is the only way I have to send a message.
as a last note, not only can vzw reps tell you where the charges are coming from, it can be verified whether or not it was initiated via text message or not.
A lot of these services are initiated via a website. (stupid Facebook) Watch anything online that pops up and wants you to enter your mobile # in order to verify results for something... it happens all the time, one of the common ones is an IQ test
In reply to Spanky, I just called my VZW rep and they pretty much repeated the stuff I already knew from the text message that was used to steal my money. Again, I explained that Verizon is acting as the middleman for crooks by TAKING my money and giving it to a crooked business. And then Verizon is shrugging as if they are clueless. I asked the rep for the identity of the crooks. She merely repeated that it was sms4gamecheats.com and that the toll free number was the same one that I already had. She had no idea what the mailing address was or anything else that would allow me to pay them a visit.
Customer no-service has lived up to its reputation again.
In case there's someone from clueless land (aka Verizon), I've managed to find out that the owner of the domain for sms4gamecheats.com is:
Narnin Aleksej Email: games@mail.ru Organization: Private person Address: nopli 18.1 City: Narva State: narva ZIP: 10475 Country: EE Phone: +372.56676899
It took me about 10 minutes of casual looking. So Verizon is facilitating some crook in Narva, Estonia by acting as his bagman for some internet fraud. Nice.
I have some suggestions on how to solve this situation if any of you clueless Verizon people are reading this.
malevolence wrote: In reply to Spanky, I just called my VZW rep and they pretty much repeated the stuff I already knew from the text message that was used to steal my money. Again, I explained that Verizon is acting as the middleman for crooks by TAKING my money and giving it to a crooked business. And then Verizon is shrugging as if they are clueless. I asked the rep for the identity of the crooks. She merely repeated that it was sms4gamecheats.com and that the toll free number was the same one that I already had. She had no idea what the mailing address was or anything else that would allow me to pay them a visit.Customer no-service has lived up to its reputation again.
Mamatrueby,
It IS a scam. You have been robbed. Anyone can put ANY cell phone number into one of those scam websites and the service provider will TAKE your money and you can't do anything about it except beg for a refund. Verizon is only one of many service providers who facilitate this kind of theft. The only way you can avoid it is to have the premium messaging service blocked.
The same thing happend to me. I didn't even know there WAS such a thing as premium messaging service. Like you, I sure didn't know that someone could steal money by charging my account and I sure didn't know that Verizon would help them do it.
Like you, when I called customer no-sevice, I was told almost nothing useful. I was informed that Verizon can do nothing to stop this predatory business model (liars) and that the only recourse I had was to call the crooks to demand a refund, LOL. Verizon told me they had no way to address the problem other than to block the premium messaging service.
OK, it's blocked. I called the crooks and they promised a refund. That was in January. I'm still waiting. And I'm still angry as hell.
My advice is to make sure the premium messaging service is blocked and then make a sport of pestering Verizon about this problem. They take the attitude that they have no responsibility and until they feel some pain they will never change.
I used to spam the crooks with repeated calls to their toll free number. I have learned that they will block these attempts after a while so I have to use different phone lines from time to time. I am becoming adept at understanding people who speak with an Indian accent. Cheers.
I'm glad Verizon said they'd credit your account. I suspect that they actually will do that. They have told me that they would note my request for a refund but no action yet.
The problem is that giving us a refund is not a solution and they know it. The solution is that WE should have to opt into services like this with informed consent. As it is, until we are victims of theft, many of us don't even know we have the service, much less use it. It just lies there like time bomb waiting for some internet scam artist to tell Verizon to give them some of our money. I suspect that Verizon derives some revenue from this and even if they don't, the losses of refunding a small fraction of victim's money will be passed on through fees or higher rates.
{keep it relevant}
I'm just hoping that sometime one of these crooks will show up on this side of the pond. I'd like to have a nice chat.
jannine wrote:We have the same problem with trying to get info from Verizon about a download, WSRUNNER. All they can/will tell me is that it is a third party and they have no idea who. Can I really get that info from a knowledgeable rep?
UPDATE TO ORIGINAL POST
I managed to finally get the charges reversed on my bill. On the Verizon Wireless website, they have a link to a "How are we doing?" type of survey, in which they ask whether or not I would recommend Verizon Wireless to a friend or family member. I responded by rating Verizon Wireless's service with a "zero" based on their stonewalling me on these charges, and pointedly noted that I would recommend NOT signing up with Verizon Wireless to anyone who might ask. I also said that since my contract was up I'd be switching carriers immediately. I was contacted by a representative a couple of days later who said that Verizon wanted to keep me as a customer, etc. I said I'd be delighted to renew if these charges were removed. The charges were removed, I renewed, and I now have a very nice new Verizon cellphone which I'm quite happy with. I don't know what Verizon's response would have been, however, had I not been up for renewal.
I'm baffled as to why Verizon perpetuates this scam by making it so difficult to remove these fake charges, when it causes them so much ill-will from long-time customers. Considering how much they charge per month, it would seem that their long-term contracts are their main profit center even if they make a lot of money on each one of these scam text messages. I've been a loyal customer of Verizon Wireless for over ten years. They've had their problems, but have generally provided good service at an affordable price over a broad coverage area. I've recommended Verizon in the past to people who asked me how I liked my cellphone plan. Had they not reversed the charges on my bill they might have made some significant percentage of $19.98 but they would have had a hostile ex-customer for life. Oh well, I guess that's capitalism . . .
mamatrueby and moriturus, I think I also just received credit for the fraudulent charges. Moriturus, I agree with you completely regarding Verizon's involvement and response to customers. Years of being a good customer is quickly forgotten if they think there's a quick profit today.
Verizon, if you are reading this, be advised: The bitter taste of poor service (and in this case facilitating fraud) remains long after the sweetness of a discounted phone.
I also got burned with the 'premium text messaging' scam. I just received my first bill & it has $538.29 of premium text messaging charges on it. I didn't even know there was such a thing as premium text messaging. I spoke with customer service who told me Verizon couldn't do anything about the charges but gave me the 3rd party # to call & work it out with them (866-242-0384). I've tried several times & never get anything except an answering machine.
I would like to respond to the 'How Are We Doing?' survey but can't seem to find it on Verizon Wireless website. Can you be more specific as to how I get to the survey?
Lifesgreat, I did a reverse lookup and that number led to: http://www.Clubm8.tv
It looks like one of those adult texting websites and someone must be using your number fraudulently. Did you get the premium text messaging service blocked by Verizon?
I wish you luck at getting the Clubm8 people to give money back, but if I was in your place, I wouldn't bet the ranch on it.
I think Verizon may have in effect acted as an agent by making this kind of fraud possible and facilitating it. As I've written before, Verizon will get serious about this problem if they start to feel the pain as well. And the only way to make Verizon feel the pain is to make it cost them. Otherwise, this kind of fraud is just more profit for them.
As far as "how are we doing?", that kind of outlet is mostly to allow you to vent. The customer no-service people will probably not respond. You could write actual letters to the corporate officers, copies to FCC, BBB, consumer agencies, etc. That would be more likely to get a response.
WOW!! The anger! Just FYI: Yes, Verizon DOES care what you think. No, Verizon DOES NOT need the small percentage they would receive from your PSMS. Yes, most reps WANT you to be happy, healthy phone users. YOU pay their bills! By all means, block PSMS BEFORE problems arise, especially if you're in the habit of NOT reading the fine print. Finally, any rep at a call center has the ability to see the flow of the double opt-in requirements for these services, educate you as to how EXACTLY to opt out or unsub or cancel the subscription, and yes, they can even CREDIT you, but not indefinitely. The rep can, and will, process the cancellation for you, but you are ultimately responsible to cancel.
And please oh please, if you EVER hear the words "my supervisor will just tell you the same thing" ABSOLUTELY ask to hear the same thing from the supervisor. Chances are, they will go above and beyond to satisfy you, close contract end date or not.
OK, WendyM, rather than asking an individual responder who claimed something on behalf of Verizon if they actually represent Verizon, I will instead ask:
Are there any Verizon representatives willing to respond? Nothing personal in any of that.
I did read the fine print. I just read it again, at least the print in my contract. I saw nothing where Verizon notifies the customer that some slime can use our number to create bogus charges and Verizon will take our money with no questions asked. The reps I talked to mentioned nothing about double opt in conditions - and if they noticed that, in my case, there hadn't been a double opt in, that detail escaped their consideration while they were telling me that Verizon could do nothing but block the service at my request. In case this is confusing to you, I did not opt in even a single time and Verizon cannot produce any evidence of it. And, I didn't see the fine print that the only way I could get my money back was to beg the thieves for a refund, as I was told.
I can surmise from your message that the words, "my supervisor will just tell you the same thing", must be used frequently by Verizon's customer no-service people. I never heard it though. What I did hear was something that translates into, "Tough luck."
Like I mentioned in my previous message, the bitter taste of poor service remains long after the good feeling of a cheap phone has gone. Yes, I am angry.
This is not to say that Verizon cannot redeem itself. There are things they could do to fix this. And they could produce some prosecutions for fraud or larceny. I'd settle for a discreet , personal, private chat with some of the perps. I'm not holding my breath for any of it. Verizon, if you're listening....surprise me.
As a followup on a couple of the replies:
1) I can no longer find the survey page on the Verizon site to which I previously responded. Perhaps Verizon was not receiving the reaction it was anticipating from its customers.
2) I should have been clearer as to the response I received from the Verizon representative when I called about the fraudulent charges on my bill. I asked to talk to someone who could help me with these false entries on my bill. I was told by that customer representative (who Verizon holds out on its website as the person who has authority to help me with my billing questions) that NO ONE above him could do anything about my problem.
3) While is true that Verizon SHOULD be interested in keeping its customers happy, what most people on this thread have been discussing is what Verizon DID to them. Just because a large corporation has a vested economic interest in keeping its customers happy does not mean that it will necessarily do so, and it is apparent that for some reason Verizon has been trying to ignore and downplay this problem. It may be that Verizon still has internal policies in place from when Verizon was making a lot more from these fraudulent text messages. I was told that previously the charges on these phony messages were $29.99, which is a lot of money to split between Verizon and the texting crooks.
4) Finally, it might make short-term internal economic sense for Verizon to try and stonewall its customers on these fake messages. While the long-term economic results are probably negative, it may be that certain profit goals need to met for purposes of realizing bonuses, stock options, etc., especially if these goals are not tied to any negative long-term feedback regarding lost customers. As news events have recently shown, large corporations can have internal economic goals and policies which are non-rational and extremely destructive towards the company as a whole.
So I understand that most people just plainly do not understand what premium messaging is and what contract they signed with vzw states so I am gonna help out.
In the customer agreement that everyone with vzw accepted via physical contract signing or accepting a contract term via automated system which holds same value as a paper contract it states: You agree to pay all access, usage and other charges and fees we bill you or that the user of your wireless phone accepted (read again, accepted!!!), even if you weren't the user of your wireless phone and didn't authorize its use.
Okay, It is a third parties subscription service that you have to double or even sometime triple opt-in! you have to accept the Terms & Conditions of that service before you start recieving charges for the service! They dont just appear out of thin air like most people think they do! People dont realize that verizon wireless and us as consumers have the ability to view what text message was sent and recieved, to whom, on what day and what side it was initiated on! So whenever you get a charge for premium messaging on the bill you should go to your my verizon account first and view the text usage on that day and that will prove to you that the charges are valid! Now I know that alot of people don't agree with third party subscription services but a lot of people depend on them day to day! Just little things such as weather bug updates, some schools send out school announcements via text now, also the ones that most people dispute the 9.99/month subscriptions. So they arn't all bad like most people think they are and if you do some reaserch vzw is the lowest charging carrier out of all carriers! The other ones range from $15-19/month and VZW is the one that contributes to the least amount of the third party subscription services out there as well! So I do want to make sure that people are aware that if you do block the premium services that you guys know that so of the little things you use day to day on your phone might stop as well. Just check things out before you make harsh assumptions.
You will get this PSMS issue with ANY provider. Yes, anyone that knows your cellphone number (friend, family, ex) can sign you up for these on the 3rd parties website. When you use the website, a text acceptance is not always needed.
Sure, your mad at VZW so you call them part of the scam. All providers allow 3rd party apps. Jamster is one of the most popular of these 3rd party PSMS providers.
I had this issue with AT&T a few years ago. My ex signed me up with 3 different 3rd party PSMS sites. Like most of ya'll I called my provider to try and get it rectified. They did nothing but tell me I need to contact the 3rd party for a refund.
I was able to get 1 of the 3 refunded. The other two just cancelled services.
Neko, I think you misunderstand what I have been saying on this forum. I did not sign up with any third-party provider. Nor did anyone in my family do it for me. These were unsolicited text messages. Moreoever, Verizon completely refused to help me in any way regarding the text messages. I was told by Verizon's representative that he could not even tell me who the text messages were from.
Also, the reason that Verizon Wireless is part of the scam is that it allows ANYONE to sign up one of its customers for one of these third-party websites, and then makes it as difficult as possble for the customer to reverse the charges, while pocketing part of the proceeds of the scam.
I can't seem to edit my previous posts, so this is a followup to the question regarding the Verizon Wireless customer satisfaction survey I was discussing and others were asking about. I found it:
https://www.survey.verizonwireless.com/vzwsurvey/
I hope some of Verizon's other abused customers on this thread can get some help from Verizon by using this.Please letus know how it goes.
Who said the person has to be in your family?
Allowing anyone to sign you up was done by the 3rd party companies, not VZW. VZW does not know that you did not intend to sign up until you call in, and even then, they do not know if you really did or didn't. That is where things get gooey.
Sadly, some people actually use these PSMS services. Why? I do not know but its been common amoung teens which is why they are not auto blocked. It is a way for both companies to make money. I see the dating, ringtone, and horiscope apps advertised on kid channels like The N all the time which is how teens (not seeing the fees) sign up.
The Premium block on your account should have worked. If it didn't, then someone did not set it up correctly and may have just put the text block.
Now I never said that you were in the wrong and did sign up, realized it was lame, and tried to get charges reversed. I was explaining how it could have happened, that it occurs on all providers, why it is not widely blocked, and why it is hard to tell who is at fault.
That is where the 3rd party companies got smart. If they would request a credit card number and not just a cell phone number, this wouldn't happen as often as it does.
Moriturus, I agree with your assessment. I too did not subscribe to any of these services. Nor have many, if any, of the other posters on this thread. No one in my family signed up. No one can tell me WHO signed up, or else they just don't want to tell me. The responses from people who seem to be speaking for Verizon are of a tone that seems to accuse us, the victims of this scam, of:
1. Being ignorant of the service and how it works, or
2. Being ignorant of our own actions, accusing us of signing up without even knowing or being unaware when someone else does it for us.
Both of these are consistent with an approach to this problem that blames the victim, sadly also consistent, I might add, with the idea that they really DO speak for Verizon.
I suggest that their unwillingness to acknowledge the role that Verizon plays in enabling these scams speaks of a more profound ignorance, one that assumes the above two qualities for the victims and then assumes victim guilt. If these individuals DO speak for Verizon, it is even clearer why Verizon claims to have no responsibility in these matters. If these responders DO speak for Verizon then it is clear that Verizon (and yes, other providers) don't merely view us as victims, but rather as 'chumps' who complain when we innocently get taken advantage of.
However, I am glad they have written in this manner. It is a document that can be used to demonstrate a corporate culture and atitude toward customers that will go far on the internet. Keep it coming, guys.
NekoSaru,
I understand that you are not making that accusation. However, you stated, "Sadly, some people actually use these PSMS services. Why? I do not know but its been common amoung teens which is why they are not auto blocked. It is a way for both companies to make money."
They are not autoblocked, indeed, in order to maximize profit. If we had to opt in rather than OUT, this would be less of a problem. It would be even better if in "the fine print" Verizon explained the risks of opting in. Those risks are not explicit and can only be learned by being victimized.
Since Verizon writes the contract and sets the terms, they are explicitly enabling this fraud...and after months, maybe years, of these incidents, Verizon cannot claim ignorance of the problem. Their failure to address this problem speaks very clearly. Their absence of action can be viewed as acquiescence to the thieves.
It would still be nice for someone from Verizon to actually state clearly that they speak for Verizon...you know: 'honesty', 'openness', 'honor', that sort of thing.
From another poster in another thread this is a comprehensive list of all the PSMS numbers and who they are. So if you can find out the 5 digit code you can look up the company yourself.
https://www.usshortcodes.com/csc/directory/directoryList.do?method=showDirectory&group=all
I would strongly urge anyone getting unwanted, unsolicited messages and charges file a complaint with the FTC.
https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/
Filing a complaint does work when a large number of people file complaints about issues like this. Some other good info here about fighting spam text messages:
http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs2a-cellcalls.htm#4
Also, I recommend everyone to use My Verizon because you can see the details of all calls and texts there on your account.
{keep it relevant} This is a Consumer Protection issue in my opinion. My daughter ran up $50 worth of Premium Text Messaging charges and subscribed to five different monthly services, all by simply performing an online IQ test five times.
First, there was no confirmation required from the phone to accept these charges. Also, the fact that these charges all originated from the same web site, and resulted in five unique charges and subscriptions services constitutes fraud on the part of the Premium Service provider.
{edit}
I believe that the Consumer Protection Agency should make it a requirement that all mobile phone service providers BLOCK Premium Text Messaging services for all minor users. And that they may only be unblocked by the named adult on the account, and only after they sign a waiver indicating that their kids can go to randum web sites, and enter their personal information (a phone number) and pass along thousands of dollars in frudulent charges to you, the adult. (man who would agree to that...)
Also, the treatment that I received by the Verizon support people was "beyond poor". Not only did they not recognize the fraud taking place, but they only agreed to waive 3 of 5 charges, until I threatened to cancel my Verizon Family Plan.
And then, as soon as the agent stated that I had to contact each of the fraudlent service providers to receive a credit, I asked for the supervisor. Then, I was forced to play hard ball with the supervisor to get the entire amount credited without having to chase a bunch of fraudulent agencies.
I should'nt have had to do that with a Verizon agent. So much for "Customer Service". Who ever said, "the customer is always right", did not live in today's greedy corporate atmosphere (directed at Verizon). It was going to cost me a $135 in cancelation charges, but I would have paid it to get both monkeys off my back.
{keep it courteous} Shame Shame.
TheWitness
Again, its not just Verizon. This happens with ALL providers.
Here is some information I found on SmartMoney. While it is for 2008, this still applies.
The Mobile Marketing Association requires premium content providers to offer so-called double opt-in — meaning the customer must request the service and then confirm their interest again before they can be charged anything. You might think that downloading that new Tetris game, for example, won't result in any extra charges. However, if you receive an "Are you sure?" message before the transaction is complete it's highly likely that a charge above and beyond your wireless service provider's usual text message or web-usage fee is forthcoming, says Edgar Dworsky, founder of Consumer World, a consumer advocate. Responding "no" should be enough to cancel a pending charge — although you won't get to download that game you want, either.
Initiate carrier protections
"None of the providers really like these third-party companies because they have to deal with the customer service headache," says Joe Farren, a spokesman for trade group CTIA-The Wireless Association. Ask your provider what options it offers to keep such charges off your bill. In January, Verizon began allowing consumers to block premium SMS content providers from sending or subscribing them to content. AT&T offers controls that allow parents to keep their child from using a wireless phone to purchase any premium content, including ringtones, games and graphics.
You can find more on how to "Protect Yourself" here. Just like all other accounts, we should take the initiative and not expect our provide to do so for us. If they did, things like credit fraud and identity theft wouldn't be an issue.
http://www.smartmoney.com/spending/deals/third-party-service-fees-sneaking-onto-wireless-bills-22687/
1) It should be the LAW to block these services by default for minors that hold mobile phones, or people who are not responsible for the bill.
2) Verizon and all other providers should act as the subscribers advocate by immediately crediting such charges and forwarding the "fraud" in our case to the government and/or Verizons internal fraud department (yea right) as opposed to how I was handled.
The Witness,
I am completely sympathetic. Please give us some details on what the services were and the phone numbers associated with them.
I concur with your thoughts on a solution. And we are not the only ones who have proposed this. Verizon is arrogant and does not have to do anything. But congratulations on badgering the supervisor into a refund. Good Job.
I'm getting RID of these verizon THIEVES!
Getting a Sprint wireless account.
Will post my complaint with ALL online consumer websites such as http://ripoffreport.com
