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By now,
most people are savvy about scams that involve giving
out personal information on the Internet. They know that
identity thieves may be lurking behind ostensibly free
offers, fake websites and phony e-mails.
But with
cell phones people are less cautious. They think they've
lost nothing if they give out one of their biggest
secrets, their cell phone numbers, in order to play an
online game on, say,
Facebook
. But they may be losing money because by failing to
read the fine print they may be signing up for a
"Premium SMS" service.
SMS
stands for short message service, better known as text
messaging. A premium service may charge a fee on
your cell phone bill in addition to your cell plan.
Readers
complain that the sign-up process for some games is
confusing, and that it's easy to sign up for a
$10
a month premium service without realizing it.
Some
readers have complained about a game offered through
SoLow.com; by texting the right number players can win
prizes. But to sign upor even to play the game for
"free" players must disclose their cell
phone numbers. SoLow promises not to charge for free
games.
Experts
say SoLow appears to play by the rules of online
marketing it requires the user to "opt in"
twice, and users can cancel the service by texting the
word "stop" to "23687." But those
who have been surprised to get a
$10
a month charge for SoLow say they didn't understand that
they were opting in and didn't know how to stop the
service once it started.
The
company that runs SoLow,
SendMe Inc.
of
San Francisco
, said it will give refunds to consumers who feel they
were misled. Call customer support at 877-373-6363.
SoLow is
available through several cell phone companies,
including
Verizon Wireless
,
Sprint
,
AT&T
and
T-Mobile
. Because readers who contacted me had used
Verizon
, I asked the firm about Premium SMS providers.
"We
advise customers to be aware to whom or to what they are
providing their mobile number," said spokeswoman
Karen Smith
. "We do support Premium SMS campaigns but work to
ensure they comply with all mobile marketing guidelines
(double opt-in, ability to stop/cancel at any time). If
we discover a company is not complying with these
guidelines, we reach out and try to resolve the issue.
Customers' refunds are considered on a case-by-case
basis, often providing credits where appropriate. But we
also offer the ability to block for free premium
messaging."
But
blocking may not be practical for corporate cell phone
users.
So it's
important to be as security-conscious with your cell
phone as you are with your computer.
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