I've just received one of those WAP Push text messages from an unknown number - the kind that invites you to click on a weblink in order to download a mysterious message which, for whatever reason, can't be conveyed via the normal text system.
Now, I never, ever give my email address or telephone numbers to anybody I don't know personally. Not anybody. Ever. That's official policy - it's the only surefire way to avoid being bombarded with junk texts and messages, and what's more, it actually works. I'm also registered with TPS so that I don't get telemarketing calls either, so thinking laterally, I assumed that whoever had sent the message must have been somebody I knew; maybe it was a colleague or a friend trying to send me a picture message via a web-based system. So I clicked the link. And you really would have thought that someone like me would have known better, wouldn't you...?
What I saw was something called MobileTube - a webpage cunningly crafted to resemble YouTube's official site, something which I should imagine their lawyers should be interested in! The dead giveaway was a copyright statement belonging to W2Mobile and instructions for opting out of the system by calling 0870 609 1795, otherwise I would be charged £1.50 every time I got a text from them.
Temporarily flummoxed, I rang the number, only to be presented with an automated system asking me to enter my mobile number in order to unsubscribe. The distinctive whiff of rats entered the room. There was no way I was going to entrust my mobile number to a computer, so I googled W2mobile and was presented with examples of fellow people being innocently scammed.
Next, I rang T-Mobile in order to ascertain whether I'd been charged, and they told me that this is, in fact perfectly legal; by signing up for a contract phone, I automatically permit my number to be used by anyone for the purposes of scam adverts. That's like walking around with extra big pockets so that thieves can help themselves to the contents!
There is, apparently, an optout, in order to comply with telecommunications law, but T-Mobile don't advertise this, presumably because they might lose revenue.
Having now opted out, I am looking forward to an end to these anonymous texts, and if you value your privacy and the privacy of others, then I plead with you to ask your provider to add you to the optout list, before someone helps themselves to £1.50 of your money whenever they feel like it.
Legal theft! Going on, right under our noses, while we all sit around eating pies. And this with half the world living on less than a dollar a day. How utterly, excrementally disgusting. I'm ashamed to be a member of the human race, sometimes.
More examples of W2's scams:
http://www.screamingwhisper.com/interactive/showthread.php?t=10965
Morgan, amusingly, is exacting revenge by draining bandwidth from W2's site - shame I didn't think of it first:
http://morgansfun.blogspot.com/2007/09/mobile-tube-w2mobile-scam.html
1 comment:
I've been borrowing a friend's phone and have received two of these spam WAP push messages in just one week. Apparently he gets them occasionally (I rang him up to double check he wasn't foolish enough to sign up to anything like this).
Anyway, I'll be digging around and seeing what I can find out about these scammers. So far I've come across a few interesting blog posts such as yours!
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