Mobile Messenger Fraud using Spam email to charge spurious services via T-Mobile Culver City California

Let me start off by saying, I do have personal experience with the study and legal action of scams including scam procedures with The Federal Trade Commission.  Am I an expert? No!  Am I a little more experienced than most?  Maybe. 

Okay so here goes.  Today I received a txt on the same number code that all of my messages from "humor hotline" come from.  This is a company that sends txt every month which include a callback number with a funny message.  For 2 years this company has never charged me a penny, but it does include optional advertisements.  The txt I received today read "Cool? Funny? Weird? Call 631-403-9*** for GANGNAM STYLE (most viral thing EVER!) and FWD on to entertain/annoy others ;)     *Augusta Animal Emergency, 706-303-****".

So I called the 631 number and it was singing some kind of song.  The message became distorted and then said "press 9 to sign up for services or press 8 for help".  I wanted to hear the message again because I just didn't see the humor in it the first time so I pressed 8.  I suddenly received a txt that said "welcome 2 mobilebidandwin.com 20bids/day&2Ringtones/mo@ $9.99/mo Reply help for help, stop to cancel 800-235-7*** msg&data rates may apply. pwd ****". I hit cancel and then received a message saying I was now unsubscribed and would no longer receive charges.  That told me that they had already charged me $9.99 even though I never pressed 9 to sign up for services.  I knew then I had been scammed and proceeded to call Mobile Messenger.  Most of these scam companies make money off of the ignorant and/or lazy, but those who know to call can get credited immediately (this was not the case with this company).  I had already decided to report this company regardless.

So the lady was not very forth coming about a credit.  She made me ask for it.  I was mad at that so requested a manager.  After going round and round with her (because the only manager was at lunch), she sent me to the "Floor Coordinator".  This lady told me that I could get a credit in the form of a mailed check.  I was not about to give them my personal address.  She also told me that in order to get charged I must have taken the pin number from the txt and entered it into their website box.  I told her that I had two co-workers sitting beside me who could verify to the contrary and if that had been the case I would not have wasted my precious time contacting her (after the call ended I actually looked at that pin number for the first time realizing that what she meant by "pin" was what had actually said "pwd" in the txt).  After going on for a few minutes she transfered me to the Help Desk.  This lady explained the same thing in a little more detail and transferred me to the vm of a manager.  The vm didn't even say a name or title (making it even more shady).  I did not leave a message.  I hung up the phone and called AT&T immediately (this is the phone provider they would be charging the $9.99 to.  AT&T was very familiar to the point of knowing the company and the amount before I even told them either piece of information.  She said I would receive the charge, but ATT would credit it immediately and then bill Mobile Messenger for the credit.  I was ok with this as I trust ATT.

I was on my way to contacting the correct gov't agencies when I decided to google this company and sure enough this informative gentleman had posted something in 2007 on this report.  I will be doing my part to cause this company more trouble than they have caused me and I will forward this information to every venue I can to help others who are scammed by this company. 

One thing that makes this company different from others:  Usually with other scams you are accepting a service that you are led to believe is free.  Here is an example.  There is 2 companies I have seen do this.  The first company is a huge company that offers a credit report for free. What you do not realize is somewhere in small print there is a charge for a monthly service that pretty much everyone has missed when doing this.  This scamm was pulled over on me when I was a 19 year old broke college student needing a college credit card.  I quickly realized it and cancelled the service. 

The other company was one that would give you free options when you went to book a flight.  My old boss got scammed with this one by the lady signing up for the service who handled his itenerary.  Being that I handled the books, I caught the monthly charge after 2 months and corrected it. 

But in the case of Mobile Messenger, I did not agree to a service (free or not).  I simply pressed "8" for help and was sworn in to the service.  And what makes it worse is the false claim that I went to a website and entered a pin.  10 minutes of my time means much more than $9.99 cash, but sometimes I have to stand for what I believe in. 

This is my first report on here and I hope it helps someone somewhere.

Mobile Messenger is an industry leading global Business to Business service provider of mobile entertainment products and Billing. Our primary services are to provide delivery and billing of mobile phone content for companies that wish to offer mobile entertainment products to consumers.

As part of our service offering we have also taken on the process of Customer Care for our clients. This provides the consumer with a reliable contact to manage any issues they may have. Our customer care service has been recognized as the best in the Industry.

As a company we pride ourselves on customer service. Mobile Messenger now has live Customer Call Centre locally in the US and Australia. These centres have been positioned within their respective consumer regions with a view to address consumer contact quality of service, speed of service, and efficient execution of service.

As a company Mobile Messenger and its clients adhere to the regulations set by the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) and all carriers across the US. The business model operated within the US for premium cell phone services is a highly regulated industry. Consumers must double opt-in, meaning they must verify they are the owner of the device and are accepting the chargers.

If a consumer would like to be unsubscribed from anyone of our clients campaigns, it is very simple, they can send in the word STOP to the shortcode eg33999, send an email to our contact centre escalationsus@smshelpdesk.com or call our USA Contact Centre on 1 800 416 6129. These instructions are also provided on all advertising material, the original welcome message and the billing reminder messages they receive each month.

Mobile Messenger is an industry leading global Business to Business service provider of mobile entertainment products and Billing. Our primary services are to provide delivery and billing of mobile phone content for companies that wish to offer mobile entertainment products to consumers.

As part of our service offering we have also taken on the process of Customer Care for our clients. This provides the consumer with a reliable contact to manage any issues they may have. Our customer care service has been recognized as the best in the Industry.

As a company we pride ourselves on customer service. Mobile Messenger now has live Customer Call Centre locally in the US and Australia. These centres have been positioned within their respective consumer regions with a view to address consumer contact quality of service, speed of service, and efficient execution of service.

As a company Mobile Messenger and its clients adhere to the regulations set by the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) and all carriers across the US. The business model operated within the US for premium cell phone services is a highly regulated industry. Consumers must double opt-in, meaning they must verify they are the owner of the device and are accepting the chargers.

If a consumer would like to be unsubscribed from anyone of our clients campaigns, it is very simple, they can send in the word STOP to the shortcode eg33999, send an email to our contact centre escalationsus@smshelpdesk.com or call our USA Contact Centre on 1 800 416 6129. These instructions are also provided on all advertising material, the original welcome message and the billing reminder messages they receive each month.

Mobile Messenger is an industry leading global Business to Business service provider of mobile entertainment products and Billing. Our primary services are to provide delivery and billing of mobile phone content for companies that wish to offer mobile entertainment products to consumers.

As part of our service offering we have also taken on the process of Customer Care for our clients. This provides the consumer with a reliable contact to manage any issues they may have. Our customer care service has been recognized as the best in the Industry.

As a company we pride ourselves on customer service. Mobile Messenger now has live Customer Call Centre locally in the US and Australia. These centres have been positioned within their respective consumer regions with a view to address consumer contact quality of service, speed of service, and efficient execution of service.

As a company Mobile Messenger and its clients adhere to the regulations set by the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) and all carriers across the US. The business model operated within the US for premium cell phone services is a highly regulated industry. Consumers must double opt-in, meaning they must verify they are the owner of the device and are accepting the chargers.

If a consumer would like to be unsubscribed from anyone of our clients campaigns, it is very simple, they can send in the word STOP to the shortcode eg33999, send an email to our contact centre escalationsus@smshelpdesk.com or call our USA Contact Centre on 1 800 416 6129. These instructions are also provided on all advertising material, the original welcome message and the billing reminder messages they receive each month.

Mobile Messenger is an industry leading global Business to Business service provider of mobile entertainment products and Billing. Our primary services are to provide delivery and billing of mobile phone content for companies that wish to offer mobile entertainment products to consumers.

As part of our service offering we have also taken on the process of Customer Care for our clients. This provides the consumer with a reliable contact to manage any issues they may have. Our customer care service has been recognized as the best in the Industry.

As a company we pride ourselves on customer service. Mobile Messenger now has live Customer Call Centre locally in the US and Australia. These centres have been positioned within their respective consumer regions with a view to address consumer contact quality of service, speed of service, and efficient execution of service.

As a company Mobile Messenger and its clients adhere to the regulations set by the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) and all carriers across the US. The business model operated within the US for premium cell phone services is a highly regulated industry. Consumers must double opt-in, meaning they must verify they are the owner of the device and are accepting the chargers.

If a consumer would like to be unsubscribed from anyone of our clients campaigns, it is very simple, they can send in the word STOP to the shortcode eg33999, send an email to our contact centre escalationsus@smshelpdesk.com or call our USA Contact Centre on 1 800 416 6129. These instructions are also provided on all advertising material, the original welcome message and the billing reminder messages they receive each month.