YouTube ripped me off

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4123 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#438210 11-Feb-2011 10:30

Looks like you only get a choice of Vodafone and Telecom on that scummy website, I wonder why 2 Degrees are not an option?

kiwipearls

431 posts

Ultimate Geek

#438211 11-Feb-2011 10:30

ty for that, am installing that right away.

"In the real world as in dreams, nothing is quite what it seems" - The Book of Counted Sorrows

Senility Guild

kiwipearls

431 posts

Ultimate Geek

#438213 11-Feb-2011 10:31

kiwitrc: Looks like you only get a choice of Vodafone and Telecom on that scummy website, I wonder why 2 Degrees are not an option?

Hrm Conspiracy theories...lol

"In the real world as in dreams, nothing is quite what it seems" - The Book of Counted Sorrows

Senility Guild

kiwitrc

4123 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#438214 11-Feb-2011 10:37

kiwipearls:
kiwitrc: Looks like you only get a choice of Vodafone and Telecom on that scummy website, I wonder why 2 Degrees are not an option?

Hrm Conspiracy theories...lol

Nope, just wondering if they dont allow Premium SMS services or the provider just doesnt care about 2 Deg.

mxpress

376 posts

Ultimate Geek

#438220 11-Feb-2011 10:46

freitasm:
kiwipearls: I typed www.youtube.com into FF.

A pop up box then said "It is You Tubes 6th Birthday"

Sorry, you didn't type YouTube back then. You typed it wrong in this discussion again, just look your reply above: www.youtbue.com. If you visit that page you will see it again.

I had EXACTLY the same thing several weeks ago when I mistyped facebook.com. Cost me $17 before I managed to opt out of it but I learnt my lession in a BIG hurry!

kiwipearls

431 posts

Ultimate Geek

#438223 11-Feb-2011 10:53

mxpress:
freitasm:
kiwipearls: I typed www.youtube.com into FF.

A pop up box then said "It is You Tubes 6th Birthday"

Sorry, you didn't type YouTube back then. You typed it wrong in this discussion again, just look your reply above: www.youtbue.com. If you visit that page you will see it again.

I had EXACTLY the same thing several weeks ago when I mistyped facebook.com. Cost me $17 before I managed to opt out of it but I learnt my lession in a BIG hurry!

Funnily enough I do have Facebook bookmarked in my FF links bar.

My routine in the morning is to open FF, click on NZ Herald, new Tab, click on FB icon, new Tab click on my gaming website icon...all by clicking on their bookmarked icons in my bar.

I just hadn't added youtube yet when I got my new computer at xmas. But I can assure everyone it is there now. SO all I have to do is clicky now. lol And yes, I did type it in correctly.

"In the real world as in dreams, nothing is quite what it seems" - The Book of Counted Sorrows

Senility Guild

Talkiet

4792 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#438226 11-Feb-2011 11:03

kiwipearls: [snip]
My routine in the morning is to open FF, click on NZ Herald, new Tab, click on FB icon, new Tab click on my gaming website icon...all by clicking on their bookmarked icons in my bar.

I just hadn't added youtube yet when I got my new computer at xmas. But I can assure everyone it is there now. SO all I have to do is clicky now. lol And yes, I did type it in correctly.

At the risk of being a little provocative...

Typing the wrong URL wasn't the cause of this.

Not even clicking on the links was the cause of this.

Unbelievably, typing in your cellphone number wasn't the cause of this.

However, REPLYING TO THE TEXT MESSAGE AUTHORISING THE CHARGES?!?! Yes, _THAT_ was the cause of this.

This was purely social engineering at work here. I'm NOT a fan of these Premium SMS services, but by the sound of it, these guys played by the LETTER of the rules.

Everyone please - repeat after me. "If something seems too good to be true..." well, you should know the rest.

Cheers -N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

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kiwipearls

431 posts

Ultimate Geek

#438229 11-Feb-2011 11:20

I didn't reply to the text message. I entered in the number I received from a text onto the website.

As I said, I didn't scroll my text message. My fault. But at the time, I still thought I was dealing with YouTube. I just assumed they were using mobile phones as your entry id - as I did tick to win and iphone.

The number was on the first part of the message and I entered it into the box on the "win an Iphone" page.

There is a first time for everything I guess and I will be even more vigilant in future.

"In the real world as in dreams, nothing is quite what it seems" - The Book of Counted Sorrows

Senility Guild

GH33

65 posts

Master Geek

#438242 11-Feb-2011 11:59

When it's too good to be true it's usually.... too good to be true. Welcome to the cyber world of scamming. We learn from experiences such as this, lucky that you ain't on postpaid account :S

wongtop

564 posts

Ultimate Geek

#438250 11-Feb-2011 12:20

Do any of the New Zealand mobile network operators offer premium SMS blocking? I recently acquired a Virgin Mobile SIM during a trip to Aussie, and there was a simple (and free) procedure to block premium SMS/MMS described in the material supplied with the SIM.

zafark

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#438251 11-Feb-2011 12:29

kiwipearls: Well it is odd that it went to a wrong URL - as all my url are autocompleted in FF and I go there almost daily. So I do not know how the mistyped one slipped in there. Am removing the typo one now so it does not happen again,

I guess yeah, my fault for not watching the URL properly. I will have to wait till I get paid next month to top up and then send a text to stop it. In the meantime I have no credit, so they are not making anymore money from them.

Guess I am just having a bad morning eh. And it can happen to the best of us.

Hopefully Youtube can get that domain shut down? Now that they are aware of it.

Just for future issues on something similar to this, the vodafone website has a list of all premium txt providers and their 0800 numbers where you can call to cancel it if you don't have enough credit to send the txt.

http://www.vodafone.co.nz/services/txt-and-pxt/premium-interactive-code-details.pdf

scheduler

264 posts

Ultimate Geek

#438256 11-Feb-2011 13:02

Hi I just a few questions on this. If you have no credit and then have to wait to send a stop text. When you top up will you not get a backlog of these texts coming in and get charged again? If you don't top up do undelivered texts get deleted after 72 hours? If these texts are sitting somewhere awaiting delivery do the stop regular texts from being delivered?

Thanks

kiwipearls

431 posts

Ultimate Geek

#438258 11-Feb-2011 13:04

Yes, I asked John this exact same questions in a private message. He has not read them yet, so I am eager to find out too.

"In the real world as in dreams, nothing is quite what it seems" - The Book of Counted Sorrows

Senility Guild

johnr

19282 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#438345 11-Feb-2011 16:33

Vodafone NZ has cotacted the company that owns the short code and asked for a please explain before we remove your service

I have given Kiwipearls a small credit onto the prepay account so she can stop these premium SMS on the condition that she does not enter her mobile number into another website again.

Thanks John

blakamin

4431 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#438346 11-Feb-2011 16:37

And who says Vodafone don't care! Well done, johnr!
Premium SMS bizzo should really be stopped, especially ones that are linked to scam-style sites like this one.

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