WARNING: Text Msgs to 81456 - is a scam!
I’ve just had a couple of text messages to my ‘3′ mobile phone saying:
FreeMsg: We have you listed as a In-active user, Please text ‘Live’ back to us on ‘81456‘ or your service will be suspended.
Notice the poor English “.. a In-active..” and “… user, Please..” a capital letter after a comma. In the from bar, they put your service provider like ‘3′. And because this is in your contacts as default, it’s easy to presume it’s from your mobile phone service provider. IT IS NOT.
Replying to this text will cost £3.50 each text, it is a premium rate text service. They will send a second message:
You are now Live! details have been forwarded to your email account, thankyou once again. Full T & C apply, please see your email for detials.
Again, very poor English grammar and poor spelling.
Then they send you another like the first saying that the user,
..must respond only to ‘81456‘ with the text ‘Live’ failure to do so..
So, in effect you are sending a second premium rate text to 81456. Now they have charged £7.00 to your mobile phone account bill.
If you have been a victim of this scam, you need to contact your phone’s service provider immediately. If you do get one then ask your provider for advice.