Have You Ever Been Tricked Into Buying Premium Text Messages?

Saturday, 20 March 2010

Have You Ever Been Tricked Into Buying Premium Text Messages?
I'll admit it: I have. I wanted to find out who my soulmate was. Actually, I didn't really want to find out who my soulmate was. I was hoping that I already knew him and I wanted my cellphone to verify these suspicions, because, well, it was offering to. "Text 'Lovefest" to 55555," the television told me, "and we'll let you know who's been dreaming about you."
Yeah, that was a nice fit of stupidity I had, because, once I texted 55555, LoveFest Central started to charge me for "premium text messages": weekly horoscopes that, interestingly enough, didn't include the name of any dreamers.
If you've ever been curious about the services offered in those obnoxious commercials, I can tell you firsthand, you'd waste less money calling Ms. Cleo.
Premium text messaging is a variation on that old scam that gets college students to open credit cards and simultaneously start a magazine subscription. You are doing something a little frivolous, sure, but there can't really be any harm or foul. I mean, I didn't honestly think my cellphone could tell the future. I figured, at worst, my misguided quest for a sign from God would waste a few bucks and let me know to never consult LoveFest (or similar agents) again. I certainly didn't think that I was subscribing to anything that would show up on my monthly phone bill. I think the charge was around $19.95 a month. This doesn't sound too terrible if you forget that you are paying for pretty much nothing. Or you could unsubscribe easily. Which you can't. I jumped through several hoops to get rid of my decidedly lackluster horoscopes. I think I had to call Verizon directly because LoveFest was ignoring my "CANCEL THESE NOW" texts.
Similar "subscriptions" come with offers of "free ringtones," "pictures," and/or "wallpapers" so when you see those types of commercials, please change the channel. Not a lot of laws exist right now to protect you from the deceptive marketing and tiny fine print of premium text message scams. The best defense is to not fall for the draw in the first place.
Have you been suckered into similar cellphone scams? Where you able to get out of paying for your new "subscriptions"?

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