It’s strange, but this post on Love Calculator that I wrote months ago consistently gets a few views every day. It even seems to be growing.
It seems that our scamming friends are wandering the world. Just this week there have been a comment from the UK (a 14 year old girl) and a ‘contact me’ from Canada (a guy) from folk asking how to be removed. So I thought I’d dig in a little, find out more about these expensive love calculators and determine how to remove yourself from their services.
Meanwhile Google ads for these calculators are well in swing over here in Australia - Google, you are not doing yourselves any favours by taking money from people that scam 14 year old girls..
But first - not only are the lover calculators geographically spread, they also vary in look. The original look and feel (well when they started their dodgy NZ Google ads) was this:
Which has now turned into this, which is actually a big usability improvement for the primary goal of delivering expensive TXTs:
That purple bit is the T&C’s sentence stating how much this will charge your cell phone, and was emphasised no doubt because of the ASA finding. Purple on blue is better, I suppose, than blue on blue. White on blue would have been better.
You can also find this look in Canada (and elsewhere) - where about half of the text below the fold is highlighted, but the amount they charge you is lost in all the boldness and blue on blueness.
Here’s one from the USA. It’s a different look, but the same old scam:
and there is also this other look - this one from Australia
These looks are, I guess, constantly updated and are, I know, available at a mixture of domain names. I can’t find the UK offering.
So - below the fold is what I found - how much you get hit for and how to remove yourself by country. The worst is Australia, where you get whacked for $26.60 straight away.
I’m not linking to these sites as I refuse to give them the Google juice
<update - check the comments - all the number’s you need are there> Australia
thelovercalculator.com/AU/
thelovercalculator.com/au2/
www.showmelove.com.au/v2
How much? : $6.60 x 4 = $26.40 + $12.20 per week.
To Stop: text STOP to short code 19900107 or 19937339 or 19796977
Canada
thelovercalculator.com/ca2/
How much? : $1.25 per weekday
Terms are at http://crushcalculator.com/terms.html which is not found.
To Stop: text STOP to short code 33777
New Zealand
lovecalculator.co.nz/
How much? : $20 then $10 per week
To Stop: text STOP to 2228
USA
thelovercalculator.com/US/Site/
www.soulmatecalculator.com/
Different look and feel. Same scam.
How much? : $5.99 per week or $19.99 per month (depending on carrier)
To Stop: text STOP to short code 75557 or 98651
Thank you so much! This has been really useful. I’d already lost $13.20 from that stupid crush calculator.
Eliza
I already waste my money from this stupid love calculator.PLease no more message.
omg i dnt know wat i was doing help how do i stop it???
how do you remove yourself if you are from england?
Ela - what is the address of the website that you signed up with?
Thanks so much- my 13 year old daughter had no idea what she was in for- now it looks as if it’ll be her pocket money for the next few weeks!!!
Wow - Is this even ethically legal?? I’d be surprised if it were. Don’t you need to actually confirm authorization of any precise charges in a REALLY LUCID AND OBVIOUS manner?
I didn’t think it would hurt to give it a try, but thank God for this website. I’m finally officially removed.
I’m already financially unstable and completely in debt and now I’ve lost another bit unethically to the deceitful and exploitive scam of some random, scheming, socially-selfish/immoral and illegit “company”?
For the strong and much needed sake of principle, is there any way we can get our money back? And once again, HOW IS THIS EVEN ETHICALLY LEGAL?
THANKYOU SOOO MUCH!!
One of my friends must have signed me up to this and it has used up allll of my phone credit, that’s the stupid thing about these websites- anyone can sign you up to them!!
thankyou so much, this has been so helpful, i’m just worried that, when i recharge my phone with money that it will send me a text before i can sms it to stop!
hello
im from australia. i applyed for it and didn’t know it cost me money.its costing me heaps grrr.. how do i stop it? because i just recieved another message so more money.
thanks tim
Thanks for the info on how to stop these bloody messages. I was just like Tim Laurie and was about to pull my hair out the next time i got a stupid message. Just like Tim, I didn’t even know that I’d subscribed to it, let alone one that cost money (an arm and a leg). Thanks so much!
Tim - have you tried texting STOP to short code 19900107 or 19937339 or 19796977?
thank you soo much!!
stupid company just sends you 4 texts at once, and then just assumes you have signed on to recieve weekly stupid fake msgs from them. And when you want to see the terms and conditions they dont even come up!!! it is the worst website and scam ever!!!
what is short code ? I am from canada, so I just need to type stop and send to 33777, is that right?
but i received sending failed when i sent the message to 33777
can anybody stop these imbeciles from messaging people with their dirty rubbish.i am sick of them
how do they charge you? i didn’t give any credit card information.
i phoned fido and found out that your phone number can be used to charge you. i can’t believe that!!! i am so naive. i am going to fight this. any suggestions for how i can best go about doing so would be appreciated.
thanks for this site. the stuff that is out there is shocking, and im not even sure if half of it is legal…. this site has help a load. thanks all.
icarusforde
Thanx soooooooooo much!
Dude, do you realize there is a big old google ad on the front of your site with a ad for one of the things your spilling all this crap about, dude…
People post this nonsence and have no idea they are advertising for them (ah duh, if you type all that crap
ah? the search engine is going to take your keywords and place a big old fat ad on the front of your site for one).
I fell off my chair laughing after reading this crap…
Yes, them sites like that are crap but there are some fun ones thats how the original idea started.
Like lemme search for a few, ah lovecalculator.com and looks like iwuvu.com has a few of the real ones… that
do what they are suppose to do.
I understand you are under no control of the ads on your site but that was funny reading… get to the bottom and there is a big old google ad for one, your not going to link to them but your advertising for them and don’t even know it.
Oops I missed the (2) on the top also… (haha, you made my night)
I think it’s time to run Adaware or Spybot
Looks like you removed your google ads (haha)what happened to the (2 at the top in blue and the big one in the center).
Now it looks better anyways, hard to talk about them and then advertise for them I think (much better).
Still good article much better without google ads atleast
on this page anyways.
Hmmmm/much better
Funny.
Actually I have no control over the presence of Google ads - that is all done by WordPress.com, where this is hosted.
That said, I had understood that nobody was seeing any ads on WordPress.com, so you either saw a trial (good on you), the blog was in a frame provided by the acquiring site (there lots of RSS grabbers out there) or you have some spyware (not so good).
See if you can recreate it - and let us know. Alternatively grab a screenshot and I’ll publish it here.
THANK YOU SOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!!!!!!!
u saved my life!!!!!!!!!
Thank you soo much for this i have no money on ph so wat will happen will they back date charges until i top it up
Well Emma - I’d assume no money, no charge. If not - then get a good lawyer to help.
I have just had my phone, which my daughter uses, removed from the service. I also now have an email address to share with you:-
melissa.hanes@mobilemessenger.com
Now if everyone was to send her their complaints…..
Now the fun part, as she is under 16 and did not get my permission so now I can ask them to reimburse me.
Keep up the fight,
Ian
—————————————————————–
The whole message reads:
Hi,
Customer on mobile service 61XXXXXXXXX has been successfully unsubscribed from Premium SMS services.
Case no: YYYYYYY
Thank you,
Melissa Hanes
Customer Service Agent
MOBILEMESSENGER
P: +1300 766 915
E: escalations@mobilemessenger.com.au
http://www.mobilemessenger.com
Mobile Messenger is one of the world’s leading Mobile Entertainment Enablers. Whether providing unique mobile content solutions or helping clients to mobilize existing content, Mobile Messenger delivers extremely effective tools and a variety of powerful, innovative, and “ready-to-go” revenue-generating solutions to help put our partners at the forefront of the emerging Mobile Industry.
This communication, including any attachments, is confidential and intended solely for the named addressee. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact me immediately by reply email, delete it from your system and destroy any copies. This email is subject to copyright. No part of it should be reproduced, adapted or transmitted without the prior written consent of the copyright owner. Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender and may not necessarily reflect the views of Mobile Messenger group companies.
Hey I didn’t even sign up to the thing and just got a message from it giving me my code or something. No one else ever uses my phone or anything. I called the company and the machine unsubscribed me, but tell me how can it send this crap when you don’t even subscribe?
And does calling the company and getting an unsubscribed SMS off them gurantee me I’m off the hook?
After a couple of civil emails to Melissa Hanes of MobileMessanger’s Customer Service department about me not being entitled to a refund for a “service” I did not subscribe to, it’s now time to contact the Telecommunications Ombudsman (www.tio.com.au).
This is one story which has a happy ending. MobileMessanger are refunding the money they charged me for their “service” I didn’t subscribe to. Now I have another telephone number and email to share:-
JoVette Curtindolph
Customer Service Agent
MOBILEMESSENGER
P: +1 800 416 6129
F: +1 310 496 2873
escalationsus@mobilemessenger.com
If you have been “got” by this lot, try emailling, faxing and calling these numbers and don’t forget to lodge a complaint with http://www.tio.com.au .
Thanks for the information. You really helped me out. My brother signed me up and eventually he admitted what he did and now I have fixed it up…it was driving me mad. THANKS….KEEP UP THE GOOD FIGHT!!
I signed up to this service in Australia and freaked out when i got my bill, i cost me $19.80! I called Telstra for more info, they explained that it wasn’t them doing the billing which was wierd as it was on my Telstra bill. they gave me another number to call which i did, 1300 767 306. I called these guys and they explained to me where i had signed up: http://www.thelovercalculator.com/au2/ (Which i did). They then explained that i received a PIN message with all the details including the price (i didnt read this text message but it was still on my phone- duh!!!) they explained that i then entered the PIN number into the site to confirm (i did) and got another message with all the details (i didnt read it, but looking through me messages, it is still there!)
They were pretty nice, but i still felt like a dumb ass after i got off the phone. They really just took advantage of me being to lazy to read me text messages. From the above comments, i would ask yourselves, are you pissed at the company or are you pissed at yourself for not reading the info like me?
Text STOP to 36036 and they will stop i think
i hope
i messaged STOP to two of the numbers everyone is talking about (Australian) but how do you know when youre off the scam all together?
do they send you a message?
…ugh
can we sue them? omg I’m so pissed. i swear they did not send me any msg regarding anything about the payment and all that shit. ARGH
hey i never went on and typed me name and they sent me a text am i still going to get charged.
Do you want this company to die for what it has done for you? So do I. Contact me at diemobilemessenger@yahoo.com.
May this evil company fall for once and for all.
this is stupid… i was wondering why my 3 account lost so many credit…..i didnt sign up …… this is sux……. i read from the web ” You may stop this subscription service at any time by sending a text message with STOP, to short code 19937339 “…. i hope this will stop this stupid credit eating machine…..i just msg the number.. it delivered… hope this stop…..
I was charged almost 40 CAD for that!!!!!!! I hate those people who made that website, why no one is doing anything from it? why isn’t this scam worldwide known? Gladly I phoned FIDO, and they paid me 1/2 of the money! Not completely satisfied , but well…they think it’s my fault.
NEXT TIME…just don’t use a cell phone hahahaha
I have somehow signed up with this love calculator and i live in Australia, does it matter which of the 3 numbers i send STOP to? They have already taken heaps of my money!
Thank you soo much!!!
i’ve been receiving msges from an unknown 19#. I have just received my phone bill and found out that i’ve been charged a total $54 in the past month for RECEIVING THESE MSGS!!! $4.50 each!! i sent STOP to one of the msges and they replied with a “you have been unsubscribed from you chance to win the JT experience on Nov13, don’t miss out reply WIN to keep you entry valid” … like WHAT!!! did i just get charged AGAIN for receiving THAT msg????
has anyone in aust been successful from texting STOP to short code 19900107 or 19937339 or 19796977??
my service provider gave me the contact no. of Mobile Messenger 1300 766 915 to dispute with them. my sp also said that if they do not refund the money, then they will dispute it on my behalf. which is good. i just want to be able to sort this out myself!
So, I felt bad about being so determined to achieve justice and then not doing anything. My first plan was a flop, so I just gave up. Anyway, I have a bunch of contact info that I wanted to share with everyone.
Mobile Messenger
2700 Colorado Ave #450
Santa Monica, CA 90404
(310)425-7331
9343 Culver Blvd
Culver City, CA 90232
(310) 558-2100
Mobile Messenger
60 E 42nd Street
New York NY 10165
Tel: (212) 983-3580
Fax: (212) 983-3581
Email: steve.taylor@mobilemessenger.com.au
Website: http://www.mobilemessenger.us
MOBILEMESSENGER
Level 1, 225 Miller Street
North Sydney NSW 2060
P: +61 2 9900 3600 ext. 3643
M: 0431 546 069
F: +61 2 9900 3602
amy.dudman@mobilemessenger.com
melissa.hanes@mobilemessenger.com
escalations@mobilemessenger.com.au
stever.taylor@mobilemessenger.com.au
jovette.curtindolph@mobilemessenger.com
vanessa.hamilton@mobilemessenger.com.au
abi.tollington@mobilemessenger.com
venkatesh.kanchan@mobilemessenger.com (alternate emails: v_s_kanchan@hotmail.com and v_s_kanchan@yahoo.com) http://www.linkedin.com/in/vkanchan
hr.manager@mobilemessenger.com.au
support@mobilemessenger.com
sales@mobilemessenger.com.au
roy.ferman@mobilemessenger.com (AIM name is rfermanUSA)
Nyla.Mitchell@mobilemessenger.com
darcy.wedd@mobilemessenger.com (General Manager Internal Audit, linkedin.com profile)
aftab.Kassana@mobilemessenger.com
accounts@mobilemessenger.com.au
david.young@mobilemessenger.com.au
wilfried.schaffner@mobilemessenger.com.au
patrick.knight@mobilemessenger.com
cheney.yan@mobilemessenger.com.au
max.kraynov@mobilemessenger.com http://www.linkedin.com/in/maxkraynov
(A lot of them have linkedin.com profiles)
Also I just wanted to give you guys a heads up about other companies like Mobile Messenger. I was looking up complaints about Mobile Messenger and found this which listed other companies that scam people.
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/214/ripoff0214069.htm
Hope something here helps someone.
this thing is so annoyingggggggggggggggg
i alredy lost mre than 15 bux fuk this shyt they are assholes i swear
Has anyone thought about theft?
Misleading and decspetive conduct?
Unfair contract terms?
I am pretty sure that the law will provide protection for this kind of scam. Get in touch with the fair trading office in your state and also the ACCC plus tio. This site provides most of the contacts.
http://www.scamwatch.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/694011
Definitely mention that this site was misleading and deceptive, that you had no intention to sign up to any paying service and that the basic elements of a contract are not fulfilled (ie you did not read any ‘offer’ and did not accept any ‘offer’, you had no intention to create legal relations) and also ask who to contact on the fraud squad of your state.
I saw a company like this successfully sued but also taken down by the fraud squad who put the guy in prison.
Also - some states have unfair contract terms and this company, even if you ever read their crap, does not meet the basic requirements for a consumer contract. Fight the good fight!!!!
http://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/CA256EB5000644CE/page/Listing-Online-Make+a+complaint
the more people who complain here, the more likely this will get looked into by the authorities.
Good luck and the more that complain the more likely these clowns will get shut down.
Hey, I can’t stop their web page (lovecalculator.co.nz) from popping up each time i log onto the internet. I have added them to the restricted sites but it keeps coming up… Any ideas
If you are having problems contacting Mobile Messenger, they have now posted all their direct contact information on their website.
http://www.mobilemessenger.com/support.html
AUSTRALIA:
Email: escalationsau@sms-helpdesk.com
Phone: 1 300 766 915
Fax: 61 2 9475 0885
CANADA:
Email: escalationsca@sms-helpdesk.com
Phone: 1 800 416 6129
Fax: 1 310 496 2873
IRELAND:
Email: escalationsie@sms-helpdesk.com
Phone: 189 094 3028
Fax: 353 16 865 542
NEW ZEALAND:
Email: escalationsnz@sms-helpdesk.com
Phone: 0800 440 619
Fax: 64 9 353 1398
UK:
Email: escalationsuk@sms-helpdesk.com
Phone: 08 453 553 445
Fax: 44 207 504 3717
USA:
Email: escalationsus@sms-helpdesk.com
Phone: 1 800 416 6129
Fax: 1 310 496 2873
Michael is from mobile messenger. Welcome.
Hi Michael
thanks for responding to the blog and the commenters.
At this stage I’m going to leave the names up there, as the depth of feeling on the blog is pretty strong, and clearly the publishing of the names has actually generated the first actions on your company’s part.
Instead I’d like you to join the conversation - work with the people that have commented to solve some of these issues that have been raised. It’s great, for example, to see that you have placed all of the CS numbers on your website and on the blog. What else are you doing to address the concerns above?
Lance
Lance
First let me say thanks for at least opening a dialog with on this topic.
Mobile Messenger is indeed very interested in resolving all complaints in a timely manner. Any consumer that makes contact with us via any of the methods listed is dealt with at a minimum 48 hours/2 business days. In fact most are done within hours if raised by email or immediately if via the phone. We are one of the very few, if not only Premium SMS providers with Customer Service departments located in locally with one in Sydney (takes are of AU, NZ and the UK) and the other in LA (takes care of US and CA).
With that said, please indulge me for a moment. I have spent considerable time over the past weeks searching and reading blogs and posting a similar response to the one that I posted on yours site yesterday. What I have seen though are typically a few people, with what would seam a genuine complaint but the most just providing misinformation and propaganda.
The mobile industry has become over the last 2 years an incredibly regulated industry, not only in NZ and Australia but also in the UK / Europe and the US and Canada. For us to operate in these geographies we need to be able to demonstrate adherence to all relevant codes of practice and regulatory requirements.
So in practice this means that for a subscription to be valid, the following must be typically (on average in most countries) adhered to (at a minimum):
1. Either a double opt in, meaning a user enters their mobile/cell in an website, then a unique 4 digit PIN is sent to the users mobile/cell (step 1), the user must then go back to the exact same PIN page and enter the PIN that was sent to their handset (step 2). This ensures that only the person in control of the handset can activate the subscription. Also of note is that the PIN page that opens after you enter your mobile/cell in directly linked to the PIN that is sent to your handset, so if you were to open say 2 browsers for the Love Calculator and put the PIN in the opposite page, IE put the PIN from page 1 into page 2 and the other way (even though it is a valid PIN) the page will not accept it.
2. A key word must be sent from the users handset to the advertised short code (this is called a Mobile Originator Opt in or MO opt in). Again this insures that the person must be in control of the handset to activate the subscription.
3. In all cases a Welcome message stating the terms and conditions, cost, frequency and how to find help and STOP must, and does immediately follow the subscription initiation.
So if we find any instance where these conditions have not been met we will in every instance offer the consumer a refund. BUT if we can prove that we have complied with the above then customer WILL NOT be offered a refund. If the issue is then escalated to the TIO or other regulatory body we will happily supply the logs (that are time stamped and not modifiable) which they accept and in 99% of cases close the investigation (allowing for 1% exceptions).
In summary please feel free to publish, this email as well as the contact details that I have already provided. Please note while will in every instance make every effort to resolve the complaint, for every 100 customers that contact us claiming an illegitimate subscription, less then 10 are actually entitled to any sort of refund. The only reason for this statement is to ensure that when consumers contact us they have a realistic expectation of the resolution of their complaint.
Thanks again, and I look forward to resolving any of your blog participants issues.
Michael Pajaczkowski
Global Contact Centre Operations Manager
MOBILEMESSENGER
http://www.mobilemessenger.com
Has any one found a way to remove the Love Calculator pop up which attaches it’s self to IE. I have tried 5 different anti spyware programmes so far to no avail. AVG no good. Turned of Windows System restore and went through the same procedures including removing every temp file I could find. My system is on the highest level of popup block & cookie block. The Love Calculator is still there.
Would love to know if any one has this same problem & if a solution is available.
Cheers Ed
help!!!! I have wasted so much money and the website has been texting me everyday!! it is annoying!!! stop it!!!
GRRRRR!!!! you are wasting my money on my mobile!!!!!! take all your texts off now!!!
i hope that this love calculator will be stopped sending me any messages..in fact i haven’t registered my hp no for that purpose, and i was surprised when i received a lot of messages and also my bill mobile hp no for this month increased.
OMG! I am only 13 and I got in so much trouble when my parents got the cell phone bill I am so glad I found this site!! Whoever made this should be sued! Is it even legal? I didn’t even realize what I was doing until my parents got the bill! Thanks so much to the person who made this!
i cant remove the pop ups on my computer tried many anti spyware and antivirus programs - tried deleting temp files, turning off system restore, and searched registry - but no luck yet in removing — Please help.
i have a 11 yr old and 14 yr old girl no own ups from them - dont know how it even got on the computer.
any help really appreciated.
Kev - my 2c.
1: complete reinstall of windows
2: never ever use Internet Explorer - use Firefox
3: get a mac. I’m not joking - this stuff just goes away.
Well after a long sordid affair, I worked out that the pop ups on are because of a nasty spyware program called virtumonde, I used (the nasty advertiser :{ of love crush - LOL ) google to search for info and ended up at a fairdinkum site http://www.atribune.org/content/view/24/2/ which had a fix called Vundofix.exe it worked a treat after 2 restarts and no more problems with the love crush pop ups.
I hope this helps someone else here - I am glad I found your site Lance - True about Mac’s, unfortunatly I also running 2003 server and all the software(expensive) for windows - in for a penny in for a pound, maybe thousands :).
Michael - please explain why your company uses spyware/malware to distribute its advertisements ?? this is the lowest of low acts!
It seems to be a predatory behaviour aimed at school age children.
Shame Shame Shame.
sum1 in school sent me an email n open up a rl i did n i wrote the names of my crushes n now she knows all of them thats awful!!!!
Michael,
Wow, thanks for joining the conversation and confirming that you and your company are, indeed, the lowest of the low!
Sincerely,
Mark
To Chloe in Australia, call 1300 766 915, if the hold music runs out, hang up and dial again; they hope you’ll give up and they can get some more cash out of you, but you’ll eventually get through. Make them block all their premium services to your number and get a receipt number for this. Then if you get anymore they have to do something about it.
To Michael Pajaczkowski
Global Contact Centre Operations Manager
MOBILEMESSENGER
Yes Michael, it’s all legal and above board of course, we’re all just stupid dummies for signing up to it and not reading the fine print - of course! I’m such a stupid person, how silly i feel… NOT!!!!
Michael, the websites you use are intentionally deceptive. Take perfectlover (.com.au) for instance. Any normal computer screen will not show the information at the bottom of the page that has the costs and what the scam is actually going to do if you follow the instructions, you have to scroll down to see this information and there is nothing to indicate on the visible page that you need to do this. By the time you get to the page where you have to type in the code to accept all this legally binding agreement, you have a clock timer telling you to submit the code within 2 minutes. This is the first time that a terms and conditions link is visible on the page using a standard screen. The check box to accept the t&C is already checked (surprise surprise). The T&C will come up in a small window if you click on the link, they are 7 A4 pages long! We’re supposed to read that in the 2 minutes I suppose?
This is not misinformation or false propaganda, it’s the facts, and the facts point to an unscrupulous and exploitative company - well, nothing new there. Mobile Messenger and James Hardie CEO’s probably have lunch together all the time. So what union covers your call center workers Michael? Bugger the TIO and the ACCC, the phone companies taking their cut and all the other capitalist dirt bags making money out of this scam. Let’s take it to the workers. It was the ACTU campaign that made Hardies pay (not that they’ve paid enough yet, but it’s a start), let’s get the unions in on this, then maybe we’ll get some satisfaction.
that worked … thxs !
Thankyou Heidi!
they were my exact moral problems with this foul scam.
How that Mobile Messenger guy sleeps at night is anyones guess.
I texted “stop” but how do you know if it works?
Hi all,
If you have had a bad experience with Mobile Messenger please report them. Visit this website: http://www.ic3.gov/
In terms of entering the information about the business, here is an example of what you could write.
Business Name: Mobile Messenger
optional (First Name: Michael)
optionasl (Last Name: Pajaczkowski)
optional Gender: male
Address: 2700 Colorado Ave #450, Santa Monica, CA 90404 (or any of the above addresses)
Phone number: the 800 number, (310)425-7331, or any other number you have for MM
web site: mobilemessenger.com or the site that you visited when “signing up” for the “service”
If you have had a bad experience with Mobile Messenger please report them. Visit this website: http://www.ic3.gov/
In terms of entering the information about the business, here is an example of what you could write.
Business Name: Mobile Messenger
optional (First Name: Michael)
optionasl (Last Name: Pajaczkowski)
optional Gender: male
Address: 2700 Colorado Ave #450, Santa Monica, CA 90404 (or any of the above addresses)
Phone number: the 800 number, (310)425-7331, or any other number you have for MM
web site: mobilemessenger.com or the site that you visited when “signing up” for the “service”
People there is one lesson I hope you all learned here.
You will never get something for nothing, NEVER. And no website will tell you your lovers name, if you believe in will you deserve to be ripped off.
I just saw this extremely scammy thing pop up and did a search for it, finding your site. It is quite ingenious in its evil deceptiveness. Obviously quite smart people were involved in its creation.
My version has, on black on dark blue type, the following:
“Prediction subscription sent to your cell for as low as $5.99/wk
See carrier spcific pricing in T&C below”
This text was barely readable on the upper right side of my screen, the side nobody look at. When you scroll down to the end you see terms and conditions in retina-scarring light blue on blue type. They clearly realize that if the people visiting their site understood the terms and conditions, nobody would sign up!
You click on your sex and then are asked to enter your cellphone number. At that point, I stopped since I knew that I might be initiating a bill.
Since the site is obviously deceptive in nature, it should be very easy to get the charges removed from your phone bill. I would do two things:
* Send the unsubscribe text message as outlined previously.
* Call your phone company or cellphone carrier. You have a relationship with them and they don’t want to make you angry. So don’t be afraid to call your phone company’s billing department on scams like this. Explain that you were scammed and accidentally activated this service. They will look at your previous billing records and if they are clean the charges will be reversed and - best of all - they will withhold payment to the people providing the service. If enough people do this it will become unprofitable for your phone company to do the billing, and they will unceremoniously throw this evil company right on the street.
I do have a question for you folks who did do this. What did you expect to receive? The information on the site is maddeningly vague about what you get for “as little as $5.99/wk” which of course is $24 or more per month. So I’d love to knww what you folks got for your money. Could you spill the beans?
Thanks for creating this page and for warning us about the scam. I understood it was a scam from the start but it’s interesting to learn more about it and hear from people who were deceivedl
I am running Vundofix now. Hopefully it will find that evil spyware thing, which has been impossible to remove so far, and return back some sanity to my Windows computer.
I’m very glad my main computing platform is a Mac! No problems there, just as everyone else said :-). Unfortunately, I have to use Windows so I can see what IE does to mangle my web sites :-(.
D
im so glad that info was achieveid. my mum said my fone was 4 emergenceis then i signed up for the stuipid scam., my mum would’ve killed me!
THANX
wow i typed the number that was sending me this on a hunch into google and got this site- really helpful! they never tell you WHAT word to txt to be removed, nor removal instructions… i sent a msg saying “stop sending these messages” and still got it. i guess it’s a charecter recognition thing? anyway hopefully the annoying thing will stop now. never giving my mobile number to a website again!!!!
If you have charges on your cell phone bill for mobile content subscriptions and service (i.e., ringtones, text alerts, horoscopes, etc.) that you never authorized or ordered, you are surely not alone:
http://classactionconnect.com/cell_phone_issues/
There are tons of similar complaints there. You can share your stories there, too..
Lance, great post.
Could somebody find out where Michael Pajaczkowski lives and I will organise a visit for him and his family. Please put it up on this site
if it doesn’t come within 5 minutes does that mean it doesn’t come