Mobile Messenger Text 89623, Text 44999 IQ Test - This company preys on teens who have cell phones and who don't understand repet billing scams. Parents can control credit cards, but this company uses cell phones to scam unwary kids. INTERNET

You are the one who is responsible for teaching your child, who is using a piece of telecommunications equipment under your name, about the pitfalls of these "premium" type services, no one else's.

People, especially parents, need to stop relying on "someone else" to do the job they should be doing in the first place. Far too often, parents allow their kids to just "do their own thing" without taking an active role in what their kids are absorbing and doing when it comes to consumerism, and it needs to stop.

I ran into this situation just a few days ago, in fact. My youngster, who I've just given their own cell phone (pay as you go only), since they're becoming more socially active and spending more time out of the home, was watching TV behind me in the living room, when one of those ads came on for the same type of service. They run all the time on daytime TV when the kids are out of school.

Once the ad finished, I turned to the kid and explained how these "services" work, how they put a recurring charge on your cell phone bill and how they entice you with the word "free". I told my kid about that "fine print" they run at the bottom of the screen (and it does stay on long enough to catch that $10+/mo. fee they'll charge), taught them how to question something that seems too easy or good to be true and warned them about the consequences of not reading such things as fine print and contract details.

The talk took all of 5 minutes out of my life, insulated my kid against the temptation of "trying" such a service and gave them a valuable lesson in being a smart consumer and always looking beyond the surface of something offered.

You say; "The company preys on kids who don't have the savvy to understand an online agreement written in legalese", but the legalese you refer to isn't all that involved in the first place, and not to put too fine of a point on it, but why isn't your kid savvy in the first place? I'll tell you why: YOU.

Step up, take the responsibility... know what new marketing tricks are being trotted out on a regular basis, learn how they work, investigate them yourself and pass on your knowledge to your kid before they do something really stupid, like order a $1.95 "Free Grant Money Kit" from some shysters online.

Don't expect any other individual or government body to do the job you should already be doing and then wring your hands and whine about how no one is looking out for your kid and they fall for the sucker pitch.