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Texting SCAM ARTISTS "GAGACell IQ Fun Facts" 25870
Hi all,
I'm sure that this is not a new topic but felt I'd share in case these people start texting you.
Started receiving texts from "GAGACell IQ Fun Facts" whose short code is 25870
I texted back STOP, which to my understanding is the universal "take me off your list" msg but maybe I'm wrong
I think received a msg from 1111487101 stating that I have discontinued and will no longer receive messages or charges for the service from iq.gagacell.com.
First of all, I never signed up for it
This morning I got my bill and it was higher than usual so I took a look and discovered that I was getting a 9.99 charge for a monthly subscription. I called ATT and they removed the subscription and refunded the money but looking deeper into it, I discovered that the subscription was from these people and it STARTED on the day I texted STOP to get off their list.
Like I said, this is probably a pretty common story but its the first time this has happened to me and I wanted to share in case any of you are getting texts from these SCAM ARTISTS
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jamileh
Former Community Manager
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5.2K Messages
12 years ago
I agree, this is a very serious issue and we are actively working to prevent scammers and phishers from being able to prey on people.
One of the ways you can help is by reporting spam texts that can result in these subscriptions.
When you receive text spam, forward the whole message to short code "SPAM" (7726) from your phone. There is no charge to report mobile spam and messages forwarded to 7726 do not count toward your data usage or voice package.
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Dcookie
Expert
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20.5K Messages
12 years ago
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jamileh
Former Community Manager
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5.2K Messages
12 years ago
Great post, thanks for sharing!
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Thatsmyname
Scholar
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143 Messages
12 years ago
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jschiner
Contributor
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1 Message
12 years ago
I received one of these unsolicited texts also and did just as it said, text back STOP.. I don't text and do not have texting on my account. So I just paid AT&T money for these texts. I guess the only way that this scam works is with the full cooperation of AT&T. The scammers get paid by AT&T. All AT&T needs to do is ban these guys and it would not be happening. You have to wonder, how many people pay their bill and never realize that they have been scammed, just assume that it's an "overage". Also, a responsible business would never allow this issue to be an issue.
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kcphotog4u
Contributor
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1 Message
12 years ago
I got one of these back on Jan 12th...I didn't reply to anything, because working in the IT industry and past experience, that texting anything back to them means this is a valid number and account...To them that's an acknowledgement...
Didn't help in this case..today I got my phone bill and there was a $9.99 charge.I called the number and supposedly they cancelled my account...I asked the CS person, Why? How did this get on my phone, when I didn't even sign up for it...
The short answer, is my number was just picked at Random and because I didn't call right away, they charged my phone. I don't really understand how this is even possible....but unfortunately there isn't many laws preventing this from happenening!
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Killbomb
Tutor
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2 Messages
12 years ago
Same thing happened to me. I knew better than to reply to the message so I just ignored it but still got charged $9.99 twice since I didn't catch it until after they charged me again. Called AT&T customer service and they took off both charges but this should definitely not be happening. We were charged through no fault of our own.
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Romnjule
Contributor
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1 Message
12 years ago
This same thing happened to me. Responded STOP and they charged $9.99 to my cell bill. AT&T did reverse the charges, and I then signed up for their free PurchaseBlock program, but I am in shock that this can happen.
I filed a complaint with the FCC. I recommend you all do the same and hopefully they will put this scam company out of business! mblox or gagacell, whichever it is. They should be charged with theft for stealing from people. I'm sure there are alot of people that just pay it and don't even realize that they are being charged for something they didn't purchase.
Here is the web address for the FCC if you want to make a complaint.
http://esupport.fcc.gov/complaints.htm
Michelle
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boddies
Tutor
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7 Messages
12 years ago
I recently had similar issue with a $9.99 monthly charge on my wireless phone bill. I had received an unsolicited text message offering Love Genie Tips :>) I ignored the text message but within a couple of minutes I got another that said I'd subscribed to their service and it would cost $9.99 per month. I got no further texts so even if I did want the service its clearly a scam! After I got my bill I went to AT&T's site and found a form to fill in to cancel the monthly subscription and to be safe I also called the so-called Customer Care line - what a joke. The call center employee kept going on about how this can happen sometimes when you are playing games on your phone or accidentally accepting offers, etc - Who does she think I am - a teenager (not all teenager are bad so don't take this the wrong way kids)? I asked her to stop lecturing me and if there was an adult I could talk to who understood that this particular scammer was currently being investigaged . She just went silent - I held on for a few minutes but no response - what kind of customer care if this, should be ashamed to have this job title. Then, I found the AT&T fraud phone number, I called them and they said they didn't deal with this type of fraud. So, I'm wondering - is AT&T part of this scam? are they hoping that on the whole many people won't call to complain and when you do they just treat you like scum? They keep any money that is not specifically being requested by their customers to be refunded - what a great business model. Their CEO and execs must be laughing all the way to their wallets.
Flame off!! Good luck fellow wireless users.
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jamileh
Former Community Manager
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5.2K Messages
12 years ago
I'm sorry if you were offended by the representatives information regarding how subscriptions are commonly (accidentally) purchased. I assure you, AT&T is not part of any scam.
If you'd like, I highly recommend putting a purchase block on your phone to prevent things like this from occuring in the future.
Here is more information about Purchase Blocker: http://www.att.com/esupport/article.jsp?sid=60608#fbid=t9mjtZs2WYs
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