Scams - 69999

Ever heard of FlyCell?  Ever get a text from a number you don't recognize, like perhaps, 69999?  This is unbelievable, but true.  I keep an eye on my bills, being on my "meager retirement income" now, and noticed that my Verizon Wireless bill was higher than it should have been.  At first I thought it was the texting I've been forced to use in order to communicate with my nieces and nephews (as they don't use phone or email any longer).  However, this month, I stopped long enough to look at the bill and saw a charge for $9.99 for "Premium Messaging."  I contacted Verizon by email --- isn't interesting that companies hide their phone numbers and you are forced to email?  I must say, that I got a very nice response back from "Will."

Will's message to me:  

"I hope you are having a wonderful day. My name is Will and I will be more than happy to address your concerns. I know unexpected charges can make an impact on your billing. I have a little sister and she is always giving me surprises on my bill. I want to make sure that you are not paying for services that you do not want or use. I am completely on the same page with you.

Premium Messaging is a subscription service from a 3rd party company that will send monthly messages to your wireless phone. The service is called "Flycell Tones" and provides downloadable mobile entertainment content, such as ringtones, games, graphics, news and other information data via a text message. Other examples of Premium Messaging programs are:

Interactive voting during TV shows

Weather alerts, sports score alerts, daily jokes, horoscopes, etc.

Trivia subscriptions

Subscriptions that enable the download of a certain amount of content each month, such as the ability to download 10 ringtones or wallpapers per month. "

While I appreciated the tone of Will's message and the speed at which it arrived, I have no memory of any of the activities he provided that would have netted me FlyCell Premium Messaging.  Now, of course, my memory is not that great, but I also did a little checking with my friend, Google.  

It seems that this scam has been going on for several years--complaints go back to 2006. I found complaints from 2006 and in just about every language...just not stupid Americans fell for this scam.  It also seems that FlyCell and their ilk can text you and if you DON'T respond, they ASSUME you want the service and start charging you $9.99 a month until you notice the added cost.  You can then text 69999 with the word STOP or CANCEL and supposedly they will stop charging you.  However, until that time or for those who don't notice, they are netting $9.99 a month for NOTHING!  Apparently this is legal, but is it ethical?

As a consumer, you can block these third parties, Will explained:

"If this is a service that you do not want, we do offer a free block that we can place on the account to prevent this from happening in the future. Please reply to this email or contact Customer Service at (800) 922-0204, if you would like the block to be added."

So, buyers beware.  Please share this post with others so they don't fall into this trap.  If you have older relatives with cell phones, you might want to check on them also.