So this Friday I was going trough my phone bill as it seemed a little high and surprise surprise I find out I was a victim of an sms scam, I've received sms from a premium number and I was charged �2.50 for each. A little research and a few phone calls to Vodafone UK and they give me the number, a google search and it turns out it was from a company called 2ERGO, and they seem to be making iphone apps for some big companies(pixxa express, at&t, national geographic, fox news) . If you read their website it's quite scary.
I don't know how they got my number but I now managed to get Vodafone to block all internet sms and premium numbers and I also set up my BB Firewall to block all sms that come from non contacts. Also I ticked the boxes to reject any anonymous and advertisement sms. I will still keep an eye on my bills from now on.
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Last edited by belfastdispatcher; 09-11-11 at 10:28 AM.
"This is where mobile marketing comes in. Through mobile websites, SMS campaigns, mobile websites, and apps, marketers now have tools to "pull" information from customers and develop a relationship with them. If you give customers the opportunity to interact with your brand through a simple rewarding text or a mobile voucher, you move past their information barriers and are able to communicate directly with your customers.
Using both "push" and "pull" marketing techniques can help your brand build customer loyalty campaigns and develop more interactive ways for customers to interact with your products. What mix of push and pull marketing are you currently using to reach your audience?"
Last edited by belfastdispatcher; 09-11-11 at 10:36 AM.
With verizon one can use the portal to block premium sms. The only way I would unblock premium SMS is if they *paid* me a dollar for the privilege.
It took 3 calls to vodafone customer services to make them realize they could block premium numbers. It's the apps I would be worried about though, they'll be stealing any information they can.
It took 3 calls to vodafone customer services to make them realize they could block premium numbers. It's the apps I would be worried about though, they'll be stealing any information they can.
Quite right. On iphone I don't know how you can restrict this. On BB the app permissions are detailed.
Shouldn't this be titled a little warning for ALL smartphone users.......and NOT pointed at iPhone users?
To a certain extent yes but 2ergo only make iphone apps as far as I can see. I can't believe these scamers made iphone apps for such high profile companies.
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And thanks...not that I would even think about using an app like that..
I use fox new all the time and NEVER have been charged anything via sms
Maybe that's the problem, it doesn't hit you but it gets the mobile numbers from your contacts and it hits them. The sms scam is widespread, I've read about all networks, contract or prepay.
I never signed up for anything via sms, I don't even use sms much, but somehow they got my number and they hit me yes.
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Shouldn't this be titled a little warning for ALL smartphone users.......and NOT pointed at iPhone users?
Originally Posted by belfastdispatcher
But they don't make apps for Blackberry, just Iphone, not even Android.
I understand. The above is what I was responding to. While the warning about SMS can be a general warning, you were talking about something specific and I was adding a point that attempted to discuss that BB has more granular security than iphone anyway. lol.
I understand. The above is what I was responding to. While the warning about SMS can be a general warning, you were talking about something specific and I was adding a point that attempted to discuss that BB has more granular security than iphone anyway. lol.
I doubt apps from 2ergo would ever be aproved by Rim anyway
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Weird then Belfast how do you know it was them or how did you get hit by it? I know Facebook has some weird stuff like the IQ test which is the classic scam for hitting your wireless bill.
And with Apples app policy how in the world did that get overlooked?
Okay now that I read more they develop apps for companies (primarily UK and Australia) but they are not charging folks that I saw anywhere. The subscriber of the App would pay but it's not like they are secretly charging folks. Not that I read any way.
PRIMARY abuser the Guardian UK........
Last edited by Accidental Post; 09-11-11 at 01:12 PM.
Weird then Belfast how do you know it was them or how did you get hit by it? I know Facebook has some weird stuff like the IQ test which is the classic scam for hitting your wireless bill.
It took 2 calls to vodafone customer service to get them to tell me the number(on the bill it just said premium number)
I then googled the number and a lot of complaints turned up in the search. Some people actually got a refund from them. A number came up to call to get them to stop texting you but that also turned out to be a scam, they were charging �1.50 a minute. Eventually somebody found out the local number alternative (apparently all premium numbers have a local number alternative).
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
Weird then Belfast how do you know it was them or how did you get hit by it? I know Facebook has some weird stuff like the IQ test which is the classic scam for hitting your wireless bill.
And with Apples app policy how in the world did that get overlooked?
Okay now that I read more they develop apps for companies (primarily UK and Australia) but they are not charging folks that I saw anywhere. The subscriber of the App would pay but it's not like they are secretly charging folks. Not that I read any way.
PRIMARY abuser the Guardian UK........
Did you not read the part where they brag about "pulling" customer information from apps?
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I understand that a lot of APPS pull customer info as a matter of fact more pull it than you think.......what the company does with it is another story.......
