Weird text from 420-1 ...Real or Not?

jrdakine · ‎07-17-2012

Received this text this morning....not sure if its real....I have a Iphone 3gs....why would they give me a new phone?

Anybody ever hear of this?

AT & T free message : As of 9/30 UR phone will not work. You need a new sim 2 keep UR current wireless service. Go 2 an AT & T store 4 a free replacement phone

wingrider01 · ‎05-26-2008

jrdakine wrote:

Received this text this morning....not sure if its real....I have a Iphone 3gs....why would they give me a new phone?

Anybody ever hear of this?

AT & T free message : As of 9/30 UR phone will not work. You need a new sim 2 keep UR current wireless service. Go 2 an AT & T store 4 a free replacement phone

hmm has UR instead of your, the Iphone 3GS is a 3G phone so the network infrastructure is supported, the only thing is possibly the SIM - and you will not get a new phone you will get a new sim. In general I would vote it off the island for being doubtful.

Go to a att corporate store and see.

Max69 · ‎06-19-2006

Agreed. If that's the exact text of the message, I'd write it off as spam. I'm pretty sure AT&T would use proper english in anything they'd send.

kimmynoodles · ‎07-17-2012

I received exactly the same txt just an hour ago..is this really true??

wingrider01 · ‎05-26-2008

kimmynoodles wrote:

I received exactly the same txt just an hour ago..is this really true??

doubtfull, the Iphone 3G and the 3GS are 3G phones, they may need the sim swapped out but the phone should work with little or no problem. Now the 2G i thought was edge, they could have problems with the edge network infrastructure being phased out.

Best bet - go to a corporate store and talk to them

kimmynoodles · ‎07-17-2012

ok..thanks a lot!!

jamileh · ‎06-20-2011

Good catch! That's definitely NOT a message from us.

You can report spam text messages by forwarding the message to 7726 from your phone. Here's more info: http://forums.att.com/t5/Data-Messaging-Features-Internet/Report-Spam-Text-Messages/td-p/3154731

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krosis3456 · ‎08-08-2012

I just got this txt again for the second time.

Message Details

Type: Text Message

From: 4201

Sent: 09:01, Aug 8

Received: 09:52, Aug 8

"AT&T Free Msg: As of 9/30 UR phone will not work. You need a new phone & SIM 2 keep UR current wireless service. Go 2 an AT&T store 4 a free replacement phone."

There are three reasons that I am cautious of disregarding this message:

1. These messages from 4201 (as well as my other "AT&T Free Msg"s) do not appear in my account history, while other incoming texts do.

2. This "spam" does not appear to try to phish any personal information or try to market any non-AT&T product.

3. My account/SIM is an old Cingular Prepaid Wireless account from about 2003 that was taken over AT&T and the SIM might reasonably need to be upgraded.

jamileh · ‎06-20-2011

This message is not legitimate and should be reported (see my post above on how) as spam.

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As of May 1st, I am no longer serving as the Community Manager for AT&T. This account will no longer be able to accept private messages. If you have an account related issue, please send a private message to ATTCustomerCare.

Did a post have a solution that worked for you? Help other people find solutions faster by marking posts that helped you as an "Accepted Solution". Learn about accepted solutions here.

I am an AT&T employee and the postings on this site are my own and don’t necessarily represent AT&T’s position, strategies or opinions.

themgnt · ‎08-10-2012

jamileh wrote:
This message is not legitimate and should be reported (see my post above on how) as spam.

Hmm. I called AT&T when this message appeared on both mine and my wife's phone within seconds of each other. I was put on hold for a while and was told this was a legitimate message. (to be fair, further questions from me would have pushed the service rep off script so I couldn't get an answer to anything else).

Like krosis3456 above, I am not getting charged for these messages and my phone is an ancient cingular phone from 2002, and my wife's is a couple years newer but not much. It's feasible that ATT would be dropping service for these older phones.

I've received five of these messages since 7/17. If this was widespread spam I would think this message board would be flooded with inquires, but there are only two threads about this. Since my wife and I are both getting the messages and we both have old phones makes me think we are targeted because of those phones. I agree that the txt speak of the message is odd, but the lack of being charged for the messages and that the ATT rep claimed it was legit is making me scratch my head.

I would like to get to the bottom of this because I know if I walk into an ATT store they're not going to have any idea what it's about even if it is legit.

wingrider01 · ‎05-26-2008

themgnt wrote:

jamileh wrote:

This message is not legitimate and should be reported (see my post above on how) as spam.

Hmm. I called AT&T when this message appeared on both mine and my wife's phone within seconds of each other. I was put on hold for a while and was told this was a legitimate message. (to be fair, further questions from me would have pushed the service rep off script so I couldn't get an answer to anything else).

Like krosis3456 above, I am not getting charged for these messages and my phone is an ancient cingular phone from 2002, and my wife's is a couple years newer but not much. It's feasible that ATT would be dropping service for these older phones.

I've received five of these messages since 7/17. If this was widespread spam I would think this message board would be flooded with inquires, but there are only two threads about this. Since my wife and I are both getting the messages and we both have old phones makes me think we are targeted because of those phones. I agree that the txt speak of the message is odd, but the lack of being charged for the messages and that the ATT rep claimed it was legit is making me scratch my head.

I would like to get to the bottom of this because I know if I walk into an ATT store they're not going to have any idea what it's about even if it is legit.

the fastest way to resolve it is to go into the store - they will verify it right off the bat. The problem is the grammer of the message is off for a corporate communication - if anyone that works for me ever sent a text message with this type of short cutting in it they would be out on the street so fast there would be a sonic boom following them. It is unprofessional and tacky. That is why the doubt is being raised. I may have horrible spelling and type faster then I should, but I alway have people that proof read my official communications before it is sent out

"As of 9/30 UR phone will not work. You need a new phone & SIM 2 keep UR current wireless service. Go 2 an AT&T store 4 a free replacement phone."

themgnt · ‎08-10-2012

I just got off the phone with AT&T again. I spoke with Anne who was familiar with the message and CONFIRMED that this was an OFFICIAL MESSAGE (sorry for caps, just making it stand out) from their Technical Team / Engineering Dept, and noted this is a 'legal text message' coming from their servers.

She said I should take my phones, advising not to delete the messages, to an ATT store and they will exchange for a 3G sim and phone free of charge. She couldn't provide information on what phone I'd get.

She said some parts of the country have already dropped the pre-3G service.

We will be allowed to keep the same number.

I'll try to post again after this process has been completed. I definately will if I get hassled at the AT&T store!

themgnt · ‎08-10-2012

Just got back from ATT and they did, indeed, exchange my phone. The Asst Managers were aware of the process. They said ATT Blue was done about a year and a half ago and they must be doing ATT Orange now (i have an old cingular phone). It took about 30m and they transferred the data from my Sim to the new one.

It's a $20 credit towards a new 3G phone, and the cheapest phone is $20. But, note, I use Go Phone due to how little I actually use a cell phone so a proper phone might be different.

The receipt states "Pro 2G Trade-In No Return" if that helps anyone.

Please re-mark the Solution for this thread.

(and they let me keep my old phone! i love that thing. everyone marvels over it when ever i pull it out, even the staff at ATT)

wdsnls · ‎10-16-2006

Max69 wrote:
Agreed. If that's the exact text of the message, I'd write it off as spam. I'm pretty sure AT&T would use proper english in anything they'd send.

There were messages sent out by AT&T back in Arpil that read like this.

"On 4/18 data packages and auto renew will be only available with monthly plans. Pls move to monthly plan if you want 2 continue data package use."

So much for proper English.

crkcallie · ‎06-16-2012

This sounds to me like spam. If it was a real text message from AT&T Wireless, the spelling would not be liek that.

Max69 · ‎06-19-2006

wdsnls wrote:
Max69 wrote:
Agreed. If that's the exact text of the message, I'd write it off as spam. I'm pretty sure AT&T would use proper english in anything they'd send.
There were messages sent out by AT&T back in Arpil that read like this.
"On 4/18 data packages and auto renew will be only available with monthly plans. Pls move to monthly plan if you want 2 continue data package use."

So much for proper English.

And you accepted it as real? I wouldn't have.

wdsnls · ‎10-16-2006

Max69 wrote:
wdsnls wrote:
Max69 wrote:
Agreed. If that's the exact text of the message, I'd write it off as spam. I'm pretty sure AT&T would use proper english in anything they'd send.
There were messages sent out by AT&T back in Arpil that read like this.
"On 4/18 data packages and auto renew will be only available with monthly plans. Pls move to monthly plan if you want 2 continue data package use."

So much for proper English.
And you accepted it as real? I wouldn't have.

Sorry, but you're wrong. There was a long thread under "Prepaid" in Wireless Forums confirming this. There are two smartphones in my family which were both on the ten cent per minute plan with an additional monthly purchase for data. After confirming this text message with AT&T, I switched one phone to a monthly plan and left the second phone on the ten cent plan. At the end of April, all data in the latter phone's data went to zero. Presently, you can't buy a data package for a smartphone without being on a monthly plan. Do a search in the "Prepaid" forum of Wireless Forums and you can verify this change.

This text did come from AT&T and regardless of how it was written, it was legitimate.

jamesbath · ‎10-16-2012

Thanks for the post. Your information is good to know. I too have an old Cingular (purchased in 2003) and I recently received the same text message. The information you put in your post puts me at ease. I too use my phone only rarely. So... now I will pop into an AT&T store and show them the message and proceed from there.