Mobile phone scam warning

I got this message sent round at uni, thought you should all be warned...

Distributed at the request of Denise Nelson, Telecommunications Manager:

I am circulating details of the latest mobile phone scam which has just been confirmed as legitimate by our mobile providers Vodafone.

If you receive a missed call on you mobile from a number starting with 0709, please do not call it back as there is some discrepancy with regards to the call charges, some have been as high as £50.00 per minute. Some mobile users have complained to Vodafone about their phone bills once they have realised the cost of the call, but apparently this is completely legal and you are liable for the cost. So please beware, do not call back numbers beginning with 0709.

Usually, telephone type scams like this aim for people to pass the information on via email (which is the actual scam) so we make a poilcy of checking each one we receive before passing on the legitimate ones and Vodafone and T Mobile have confirmed this one as true.

Please contact me if you require any further assistance.

I checked my missed call list and I had one of these calls a few weeks ago. I'm so glad I didn't call it back.

Sorry, I meant to post this in BCD.

:topic: :\oops:

Don't worry, post it in D and you won't need to use any of the black keys.

Channel4 has run this story

http://www.channel4.com/news/2004/02/week_3/18_mobile.html

Originally posted by DoN Channel4 has run this storyhttp://www.channel4.com/news/2004/02/week_3/18_mobile.html

That link is dead mate.

Originally posted by Chuck D Don't worry, post it in D and you won't need to use any of the black keys.

:D

Originally posted by Major Tarantino > Originally posted by DoN> Channel4 has run this story> > http://www.channel4.com/news/2004/02/week_3/18_mobile.html

That link is dead mate.

comes up on my machine

Mobile scam
Technology

Published: 18-Feb-2004 By: Channel 4 News

A new kind of mobile phone scam has emerged. This time it's not text messages, but missed calls, which can end up costing a fortune.

If you have a missed call from a number you don't recognise beginning '0709 020', beware of ringing back.

You could be connected to a marketing scheme promising fantastic prizes - but - the catch is you'll be charged at premium rates.

Victims are being charged premium rates after ringing back.

Paul Whiteing from the mobile regulator says more needs to be done to stop similar rip-offs.

This scam has been revealed just as a new report warns that "spam" e-mail messages are increasingly spreading to mobile phones and getting worse.

London-based technology firm Empower Interactive said 65 per cent of Europe's mobile phone users report receiving up to five unsolicited text messages a week on their handsets.

"We are certainly going to see a significant acceleration in the coming years," said Richard Shearer, CEO of Empower Interactive.

While most consumers have learned to live with e-mail spam, their threshold of acceptance is much lower with unwanted texts.

In the United Kingdom last year, the Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services (ICSTIS) -- the primary complaints body for mobile spam -- reported receiving over 10,000 complaints about mobile spam.

The growing nuisance will be painful for both mobile phone operators and their customers. It costs the operator as much £3 each time a consumer rings customer services to make a complaint, Shearer estimated.

Consumers who sign up for special mobile services such as musical ring tones, or news flashes are more susceptible to being spammed as their phone details are stored in a database with the content provider, Shearer said.

In some cases, an unsolicited mobile message can be quite tame, coming in the form of a promotion for a new service or a renewal notice from a content provider.

But more nefarious spammers exist who mine mobile phone numbers and send out message blasts to scores of customers at one time.

Cash-strapped mobile phone operators are investing larger and larger sums in network security features to limit the flow of spam and potential viruses.

Viruses have yet to surface on mobiles in a meaningful way, experts say.

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