Mobile phone and text message scam. EVERYBODY WITH A MOBILE PHONE PLEASE READ THIS!!!

[thunderpuss2k]

You can also forward sms spams/scams to 07TEXT 0SPAM (078398 07726), their website is at 07text0spam.com - Don't can it, zero spam it!.

[buzby]

Although it is only fair to point out normal SMS charges apply - the number provided by the network operator are free of charge.

[seylectric]

Originally Posted by okonski

I've just noticed this old thread, and whilst I'm sure the respondents meant well, much of the information contained therein was completely inaccurate, there has NEVER been any method of charging a mobile of fixed phone £20 per minute, Complaints about pricey content is handled by ICSTIS, not OFTEL, and that numbers commencing 070 are so-called Personal numbering ranges and are not premium or mobile numbers.

It is also worth remembering that spoof SMS messages can be sent to mobiles with fake return numbers, or indeed NO originating number. Each network has its own SMS Spam department which you can forward the messages you receive (for free) so they can investigate. Current advice is to forward and delete.

Sorry but it's your post that's misleading. In the very early days there were Premium rate numbers around that charged upwards of £5 a minute before the cap was put on it. Premium rate text message services can still cost £3 per incoming text, possibly more.

I actually complained to O2 about such a scam not that long ago, with one of those free scratchcards you get in junk mail and even popular TV listings magazines and so on. It asked to text in for your winning number. O2 said that there was not much they could do unless I actually had sent in the text and been charged but agreed to a refund if I tried it. I did and got SIXTEEN texts back at at cost of £3 each - a total of £48 in the space of a couple of minutes. Not an 090 number admittedly but the same thing.

As for 070 numbers I CANNOT EMPHASISE ENOUGH THAT THESE ARE NOT CHARGED AT STANDARD RATES!!! They may call them "Personal" numbers (but who cares what they're called?) but they are charged at much higher rates than normal calls and more importantly they LOOK like mobile numbers thus duping people into believing they can phone them as part of their inclusve minutes - not so.

Take this excerpt from Inweb Networks, one of the hundreds of service providers out there:

"How much will an 0700 number cost me?
Setting up an 0700 number is free, the caller will be charged 37.5ppm daytime, 25ppm evening and 12.5ppm weekend for dialling an 070063 number."

That's just one example but costs vary and may be much higher. You will find that if you look at service provider's websites they are often very cagey about 0700 number call charges, in many cases they are not given at all.

As for complaning, ICSTIS is merely an offshoot of Oftel and ther Oftel site is a good starting place for your complaint (ICSTIS can be accessed from the Oftel site). Furthermore, because 0700 numbers are not classed as premium rate numbers it is Ofcom and not ICSTIS that monitor 0700 numbers and charges - don't take my word for it, phone them and ask them!

Ofcom: 0845 456 3000 (local rate from your landline, may be chargeable from your mobile, if calling from your mobile using your inclusive minutes use 020 7981 3040 instead)
ICSTIS: 0800 500212 (free from a landline)

[seylectric]

I just phoned O2 to get the cost of phoning an 0700 number from my contract mobile.......75p per minute!

[thunderpuss2k]

Just to pick up on something.. ICSTIS is not an offshoot of OFTEL (or OFCOM for that matter), it's an independent organisation funded by the telecoms industry.

[thunderpuss2k]

Originally Posted by seylectric

I just phoned O2 to get the cost of phoning an 0700 number from my contract mobile.......75p per minute!

Really? Tariff sheets say it's 50p/min. Special Numbers - Tariffs - Mobiles & Tariffs - O2

[seylectric]

Interesting, although O2 have recently increased prices to some numbers so it's possible that the website hasn't been updated yet.

However the important point I'm trying to get across is that phoning 0700 numbers will invariably cost you considerably more than ringing most other numbers - just don't phone them!

[thunderpuss2k]

Totally agree with you. 0700 numbers are spawn of the devil. Seems to be big business though, with every man and his dog offering a service.

[buzby]

I'm afraid that this will decend into a slanging match - there is absolutely nothing 'misleading' about the information I provided and what you go on to describe was not what I was commenting on. I hold historical copies of BT's Price List and can assure you no code used or accessed by them was EVER charged at £5/minute. These special numbers used codes in the 08xxx range, and there were also special rate numbers that were available on numbers (not codes) that could only be dialled in soecific 'Director' areas operated by Post Office Telephones/BT. Again, no charge of £5/min applied to these. If you wish to continue in this assertion, provide examples.

As to your reference to text messages, this was not mentioned in my original posting and whilst you mention charges of up to £3 per message and possibly more - I fully agree, and this is the telecomms equivalent of a DDM and totally removes any control the subscriber has over their bill. However, there is little point in berating me for this when I wasn't referring specifically to them.

Now moving onto Personal Numbers - emphasise all you like, but who suggested these rates were 'standard'? Not me. They are charged at whatever the originating network wants to charge for them, they are by definition NOT 'Premium', they were launched PRIOR to mobile numbers joining the new '07' code originally charged at BT's 'm' rate, however as these codes fragmented and network alliances were formed, these charges shifted, the important thing to remember is that the call recipient does not benefit from any call revenue, the costs of delivering the call to its destination only are met by the caller. So, instead of your assertion that Personal Numbers were made to look like mobile, it was the other way around, Personal Numbering commenced over 18 months before the mobile networks added a '7' to join them.

For some reason you think that the description of an 070 'personal' number describes some type of charge. Not so - a personal number is a recognised Oftel/Ofcom description for the way this number range is used. Sorry if you don't like it, but you appear to be the only person making an issue of it.

You then move onto saying companies that provide 0700 numbers are 'cagey' about giving out charges - too right, how can they? The price is set by the originating network - that is, the network the caller calls from. A number is graded as to the cost of delivering it to the destination network, it will be different for every network used - can you not understand this?

Messages on this site complained of Premium Rated numbes - that is, calls that commence 09xx and are licenced and controlled by ICSTIS. This is NOT 'an ofshoot' of OFCOM - whatever that is supposed to mean. They are the Regulator for Premium Rated calls - a complaint to Ofcom will not be acted upon, and just referred on.

As to OFCOM 'monitoring 0700 numbers' what tosh! No revenue share is possible for these codes (having been outlawed years ago) and as it is the originating network that decides the fee, asking OFCOM isn't going to give you an answer.

It is said a little information is a dangerous thing. You've certainly proved it by making rash assertions and suppositions which have no basis in fact. Your sentiments re customers losing control of their bills due to devious practices I fully support, but don't accuse me of not knowing an industry I've spent almost 30 years working in.

Finally, having now checked the latest BT Price List for calls to numbers commencing 0700, these vary as BT lists no less than forty (Yes, 40!) different call charges within this number range alone - due to the different charges requested by the networks completing the call, these rates vary depending on the digits dialled after 0700, but can be anything from BT's k, j, pn3 to 'National' rate. None of them are classed as premium.