Pathetic scam to grab your/yours hard earned $$$

[Bob38S]

There seems to be a rash of high quality card scratch-it games where you match the symbols and win exotic cars, cameras, TV's and or cash.

The catch is that when you try to collect your "prize" you are actually subscribing to a "subscription service" which then bites you to join the service and then sends you messages which range in costs of $4.50 to $10.00 per message per week or every few days.

This really is a form of predatory advertising designed to catch the young, elderly or those who neglect to read the fine print.

I was disgusted when I was told by someone who had "won a prize" and were thrilled to bits as they had never won anything in their life and I had to enlighten them with regards to what they had won when I read the fine print.

It may be legal but certainly not moral IMHO as I could imagine lots of people being caught and not becoming aware until they were faced with what could be substantial bills or no credit on their phones.

Please inform any people within your family of this method of raiding their wallets and that the old story of "If its too good to be true then it probably isn't" holds very true.

Caveat Emptor.

Regards,
Bob

[Batpig]

Dear Bob,

Is it some sort of Mobile-Phone-Game thing, or does it start out as an actual physical Scratchie-sort-of thing? (and if the latter, where are they selling them?)...

Best Wishes,
Batpig.

[bsrlee]

Sounds like a variant on the mobile phone 'game' scam. Cards are probably distributed as 'free' 'bonus' items if you buy something - like the fairly standard one these days 'WIN $XXXXX', where they give you a lottery ticket as the word 'chance' is in 6 point illegible font under a sticker.

[Master Splinter]

All types of gambling are just ways of separating statistically ignorant people from their money....

[Bob38S]

Dear Bob,

Is it some sort of Mobile-Phone-Game thing, or does it start out as an actual physical Scratchie-sort-of thing? (and if the latter, where are they selling them?)...

Best Wishes,
Batpig.

It is.

The "game card" was included as a free insert in a leading Womens magazine purchased at the supermarket.

It also states that
"This promotion is only available to Australian residents over 18 years of age who have a current Australian SMS/WAP enabled mobile telephone and service. Closing date 19/10/2009."

Judging from the closing date there are going to be quite a few more of the same and my original comments still hold true.

"I could imagine lots of people being caught and not becoming aware until they were faced with what could be substantial bills or no credit on their phones."

and

"This really is a form of predatory advertising designed to catch the young, elderly or those who neglect to read the fine print."

From what I can gather, the mobile phone industry has, in the main, a reputation which has to improve to be bad - I can't see this sort of advertising causing anyone to take them seriously apart from ensuring that they will continue to be regarded as money grubbers lacking in any moral ethics.

[Batpig]

Dear Bob,

So by the sounds of it, you don't even know what you've won - only that you've won something - until you SMS them or something, thereby giving them your phone number in the process as well as some type of implied agreement to start sending you these messages that cost somewhere from $4.50 to $10.00 per pop...

Just out of interest, what on earth could be in those messages that they might think that you might think might be worth that much per pop? There must be some way of opting out once the krap starts, surely! One big problem, though, is that nobody gets a paper Phone Bill anymore, so they wouldn't even know that the messages were the culprit for the somewhat higher phone bill (or more-frequent "top-ups")! Even when their Credit Card Statement turned up, they'd have to be pretty switched on to realise that the Phone Bill amount was starting to be consistently higher than it usually was a couple of months back (most people would probably just think that it was a one-off bad month of calls, and wouldn't do anything about it...)

Insidious alright...

Best Wishes,
Batpig.

[Bob38S]

Dear Bob,

So by the sounds of it, you don't even know what you've won - only that you've won something - until you SMS them or something, thereby giving them your phone number in the process as well as some type of implied agreement to start sending you these messages that cost somewhere from $4.50 to $10.00 per pop...

Just out of interest, what on earth could be in those messages that they might think that you might think might be worth that much per pop? There must be some way of opting out once the krap starts, surely! ..................)

Insidious alright...

Best Wishes,
Batpig.

You are 100% correct again.

Quote

"You can unsubscribe with STOP to 193xxx"

So yes you can get out of it but they already have bitten you severly for the original subscription + however many messages + it costs to get them to STOP. The STOP phone # is also a 19 number which, if I understand it correctly, is a premium cost phone number as well.

Imagine the $$$$ raked in by these parasites before people realise they have been caught.

I think the only real way they can be defeated is by making people aware of what is happening. If they then choose to subscribe then so be it - at least they are doing so from an informed position.

Regards,
Bob

[Batpig]

Dear Bob,

The Barstools must be breaking some law somewhere - surely! That's just quasi-not-quite-fully-illegal-yet-loophole R'sholery!

Day by day this country's just getting a little-bit worse all the time... The never-ending stream of new ways that the faceless Corporates (including some recently-privatised outfits) are finding to Screw and/or Con you out of your Hard-Earned is mind-boggling! But the amazing thing is, people keep finding some way of lining up for more of the same (I mean, they haven't all thrown away the biggest scam of all - their Credit Cards - have they?)

Yes, the Parasites will make $quillions alright, but it's still good of you to do your bit to try to warn folks, Bob...

Best Wishes,
Batpig.

[Bob38S]

Agree with your sentiments and will continue to keep my eyes open.

Thanks for your support.

Regards,
Bob

[rotten_66]

You have no chance.

Me, why in the last two weeks I have had an uncle die in Nigeria and leave me 10% of his 32 miilion dollar fortune, and a work partner die in Togo and leave me 20% of the money he had stashed away to hide from the UN.

Hmmmm must email off all my personal details so they can get the cash to me.

[Rossluck]

why in the last two weeks I have had an uncle die in Nigeria and leave me 10% of his 32 miilion dollar fortune, and a work partner die in Togo and leave me 20% of the money he had stashed away to hide from the UN.

Hey! There's a coincidence! Me too !

[Ashore]

You two must be related

[Ed Reiss]

You have no chance.

Me, why in the last two weeks I have had an uncle die in Nigeria and leave me 10% of his 32 miilion dollar fortune, and a work partner die in Togo and leave me 20% of the money he had stashed away to hide from the UN.

Hmmmm must email off all my personal details so they can get the cash to me.

Got the same stuff....didn't know that I was black!!