Scam: charge for received text messages

Sterlingtimes

For over a year, I have been receiving text messages as follows:
"For your latest in-home no dumbell workout and fitness ticket please visit http://1st.fitness. help@playmobilestar.com 02035144698"
The text number appears as 0065888 or 65888. I did block the number on my mobile phone.
Since November 2019, Three Mobile has charged may £126 via my bills. Three has put a cap on my number from today to prevent future charges.
Three has referred me to customercare.uk@oxygen8.com or telephone number 0333137900 to recover my money. The telephone number goes to an answering machine.
Does anyone please know how I can be charged £4.50 in respect of each text message sent to me? Is there anything that I could have done inadvertently to set up this arrangement? Does anyone know, please, how I can get redress?
 

ballyblack

I am on Tesco mobile. I phoned them up and requested a block on all premium rate content & messaging. That stopped it!

Sterlingtimes

Regarding short code number 65888. I have spent many hours investigating. This may help someone else in future.

You will receive the following message on your Three Mobile that you will probably adjudge to be spam: “For your latest in-home no dumbell [sic] workout and fitness ticket please visit http://1st.fitness. help@playmobilestar.com 02035144698”. We are taught not to click on any links in spam messages. I blocked mine on my ‘phone. Eventually, I realised that I had been charged £4.50 including VAT for each text.

I contacted Three Mobile who washed their hands of the matter completely and passed the buck to Oxygen8 on 0333137900 (but that number is broken). The text number 02035144698 leads to a company identified as Spontaneous Minds and the lady answering said this was a “cancellation company”. 

The company in Cyprus 1st.Fitness gives the following information at its website “We are Star Mobile Investments Ltd, trading as www.1st.fitness.  Star Mobile is a company registered in Cyprus under number HE358895 with a registered office at 5 GRIVA DIGENI, 4527 MOUTTAGIAKA, LIMASSOL.” That company is registered as dissolved by the Cyprus government registry. 

Oxygen8 (or its subsidiary Digital Mobile Billing) is a bona fide English company that collects money for the overseas company in exchange for a fee. The following names cropped up during my investigation 1stFitness, Play Mobile, Star Mobile, 1st Fitness, Kalistia. The Cyprus company did not allege that I had signed up for their service but merely that I received their texts and failed to cancel the text associated with their invitations to treat. This is not how contract is formed in England. Repeatedly charging £4.50 for nothing is a fraud. I have an agreement for the refund of all my money, but it has taken a few twists and turns to get there.

sdduk

Not sure about getting your money back but i can tell you how to block.
If you Log-in, then goto Your Account, Control your spending...There you can block going over your monthly bill set it to 0.
Also there is a bit for blocking Text/Calls on blocking premium numbers.
( I did this from my computer not sure if its the same on the phone.)

Sterlingtimes

sdduk said:

Not sure about getting your money back but i can tell you how to block.
If you Log-in, then goto Your Account, Control your spending...There you can block going over your monthly bill set it to 0.
Also there is a bit for blocking Text/Calls on blocking premium numbers.
( I did this from my computer not sure if its the same on the phone.)

Thank you. There are various methods of blocking/cancelling but I agree that the safe method is to limit extra monthly charges to zero. The regulator really needs to intervene on heavy charges being levied for incoming text messages. Fraudsters do appear to be harvesting mobile telephone numbers so that "suckers" can be targeted. Three Mobile and Oxygen8 are probably aware that many of these texts that are chargeable on arrival are sent by dubious overseas companies and individuals.

sdduk

Sterlingtimes said:

sdduk said:

Not sure about getting your money back but i can tell you how to block.
If you Log-in, then goto Your Account, Control your spending...There you can block going over your monthly bill set it to 0.
Also there is a bit for blocking Text/Calls on blocking premium numbers.
( I did this from my computer not sure if its the same on the phone.)

Thank you. There are various methods of blocking/cancelling but I agree that the safe method is to limit extra monthly charges to zero. The regulator really needs to intervene on heavy charges being levied for incoming text messages. Fraudsters do appear to be harvesting mobile telephone numbers so that "suckers" can be targeted. Three Mobile and Oxygen8 are probably aware that many of these texts that are chargeable on arrival are sent by dubious overseas companies and individuals.

Half of these scams that take money from you when clicking something is a revenue for the mobile companies and they don't like getting involved because they are making thousands of pounds out of it.
May be wrong but thats the way i think.