Check your cellphone statements carefully!
I have just assisted a friend who could not find out why her MTN bill is always high, even in periods she considers to be low-use / off-peak, given the nature of her business.
It turns out that on every statement there's a "Content charge" that varies from R300 to R500 (per month). There is no further detail on the statement, nor does MTN's detailed billing page give anything else.
After some further checking and Googling, I found this:
Unscrupulous subscription services
Cellphone users need to be aware that unscrupulous Wasps (wireless application service providers ? the companies that typically provide much of the mobile content that people buy) can bill any SA cell number and can even detect and record your cellphone number if you browse their websites using your cellphone.
Unlike the desktop internet where credit card numbers need to be entered and orders need to be confirmed, on a mobile device all that is needed to bill you is your cellphone number.
A notorious one is Mobthumbs, which sends you an SMS saying you?re now subscribed to it, at a cost of R20 a day.
The Wasp Association advises sending ?Stop? in reply to a message received. The service should in most cases be stopped, or alternatively result in an error message which would contain details regarding how to properly unsubscribe from the service.
And again, you need to check your phone bills looking for charges you didn?t authorise or ongoing charges for subscription services that you didn?t realise weren?t one-offs.
You may say "Oh, but I'll never fall for this". The reality is that in my friend's case she was subscribed to this service without her knowledge or consent. Browsing her SMS inbox, I found a message that confirms the subscription. She did not respond to any cell no. phishing requests. No response is needed to activate the (fraudulent) subscription. They send you the SMS, and unless you opt out, they charge you R20 per day (for a service that does not give you anything in return)
She's probably lost at least R1000 this way. We're going to see what we can do via the WASPA. From Hellopeter, it does not seem like MTN cares a lot, even their have been many requests from customers to block or blacklist these fraudsters' services.
I have just assisted a friend who could not find out why her MTN bill is always high, even in periods she considers to be low-use / off-peak, given the nature of her business.
It turns out that on every statement there's a "Content charge" that varies from R300 to R500 (per month). There is no further detail on the statement, nor does MTN's detailed billing page give anything else.
After some further checking and Googling, I found this:
Unscrupulous subscription services
Cellphone users need to be aware that unscrupulous Wasps (wireless application service providers ? the companies that typically provide much of the mobile content that people buy) can bill any SA cell number and can even detect and record your cellphone number if you browse their websites using your cellphone.
Unlike the desktop internet where credit card numbers need to be entered and orders need to be confirmed, on a mobile device all that is needed to bill you is your cellphone number.
A notorious one is Mobthumbs, which sends you an SMS saying you?re now subscribed to it, at a cost of R20 a day.
The Wasp Association advises sending ?Stop? in reply to a message received. The service should in most cases be stopped, or alternatively result in an error message which would contain details regarding how to properly unsubscribe from the service.
And again, you need to check your phone bills looking for charges you didn?t authorise or ongoing charges for subscription services that you didn?t realise weren?t one-offs.
You may say "Oh, but I'll never fall for this". The reality is that in my friend's case she was subscribed to this service without her knowledge or consent. Browsing her SMS inbox, I found a message that confirms the subscription. She did not respond to any cell no. phishing requests. No response is needed to activate the (fraudulent) subscription. They send you the SMS, and unless you opt out, they charge you R20 per day (for a service that does not give you anything in return)
She's probably lost at least R1000 this way. We're going to see what we can do via the WASPA. From Hellopeter, it does not seem like MTN cares a lot, even their have been many requests from customers to block or blacklist these fraudsters' services.
