Text Spam to VZW Access Manager - @ $.20 a pop

[Neander]

I was surprised when I booted up Access Manager today to find a "..Great Deal for Home Mortages.."   and I just found out it cost me 20 cents to receive it.    How that happened I don't know because I don't even know my Verizon USB modem number, much less given it out to anybody else.

Now this brings up several points:

1.  Why isn't/can't a technically savvy company like Verizon screening out these obvious spams?

2.  Why isn't blocking Text Messaging a do-it-yourself option in Access Manager itself?

3.  Why aren't they answering their <BLANK> 'ing 800 922 0202 phone number!   -the only way I've found on these forums to block text messaging.   (maybe because everybody is now trying to do exactly what I'm trying to do?)

Note: re-posted from another topic.

[Neander]

I was surprised when I booted up Access Manager today to find a "..Great Deal for Home Mortages.."   and I just found out it cost me 20 cents to receive it.    How that happened I don't know because I don't even know my Verizon USB modem number, much less given it out to anybody else.

Now this brings up several points:

1.  Why isn't/can't a technically savvy company like Verizon screening out these obvious spams?

2.  Why isn't blocking Text Messaging a do-it-yourself option in Access Manager itself?

3.  Why aren't they answering their <BLANK> 'ing 800 922 0202 phone number!   -the only way I've found on these forums to block text messaging.   (maybe because everybody is now trying to do exactly what I'm trying to do?)

[budone]

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Neander wrote:

I was surprised when I booted up Access Manager today to find a "..Great Deal for Home Mortages.."   and I just found out it cost me 20 cents to receive it.    How that happened I don't know because I don't even know my Verizon USB modem number, much less given it out to anybody else.

Now this brings up several points:

1.  Why isn't/can't a technically savvy company like Verizon screening out these obvious spams?

2.  Why isn't blocking Text Messaging a do-it-yourself option in Access Manager itself?

3.  Why aren't they answering their <BLANK> 'ing 800 922 0202 phone number!   -the only way I've found on these forums to block text messaging.   (maybe because everybody is now trying to do exactly what I'm trying to do?)  More likely because the number is 800-922-0204.

Note: re-posted from another topic.

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I thought unlimited texting was allowed with USB modems

[budone]

I was surprised when I booted up Access Manager today to find a "..Great Deal for Home Mortages.."   and I just found out it cost me 20 cents to receive it.    How that happened I don't know because I don't even know my Verizon USB modem number, much less given it out to anybody else.

Now this brings up several points:

1.  Why isn't/can't a technically savvy company like Verizon screening out these obvious spams?

2.  Why isn't blocking Text Messaging a do-it-yourself option in Access Manager itself?

3.  Why aren't they answering their <BLANK> 'ing 800 922 0202 phone number!   -the only way I've found on these forums to block text messaging.   (maybe because everybody is now trying to do exactly what I'm trying to do?)  More likely because the number is 800-922-0204.

[Neander]

This website is amazingly frustrating trying to find the details of my own plan.  To answer a few of my own points I must conclude it's deliberate on Verizon's part to keep us in the dark regarding one of the their income generators.

boilerplate:  http://support.vzw.com/terms/products/messaging.html

OK;  When I receive messages from Verizon they're listed as "A Free Message from Verizon".  Not the case with spam.  My account balance is keeping a count of my non-free messages -(haven't been billed yet)

Another "feature" offered is "Unlimited texting from mobile to mobile" - in other words from one Verizon number ONLY to another Verizon number.   If we were truely unlimited this "feature" would be redundant.

Lastly we (broadband users) are offered paid upgrades for additional texting loads.  Look over these plans:

https://ebillpay.verizonwireless.com/vzw/accountholder/services/viewFeatures.action

And a variety of complaints found with a simple search:

http://community.vzw.com/t5/Messaging-Text-Picture-IM-etc/20-cents-per-text-It-was-unlimited-texting...

http://community.vzw.com/t5/DROID-X-by-Motorola/Junk-SPAM-Text-Messages/m-p/401004#M19293

And most appropriatly where I got the "wrong" number:

http://community.vzw.com/t5/Broadband-Netbook-Devices/Charged-for-spam-text-message-to-broadband-mod...

[Neander · Accepted solution]

From "Your Accounts"  you can block 5 specific numbers.  You have to go through customer service to block all text messaging (Verizon's free texts allways go through)

UPDATE: went to the REAL customer service number and got the messaging service blocked & they credited me the $ .20 for good measure.   Calling in is the only way to do it.

Now if there are any skeptics out there regarding the $.20 / message rate,  please leave me your number and I'll forward all the thousands of messages in my "known spam" folder of my non-Verizon junk mail account.   It should make an interresting experiment.