Recently I received one of those cheesy little messages on Facebook to take a movie quiz or something stupid and like a good sheep I filled it out to test my movie knowledge. At the end of the quiz I was asked for my cell phone number so they could "text" me the results of my quiz. I wasn't even thinking, I put my number in and waited for my results. Time passed and nothingg, no results, no nothin'. I'd forgotten about the quiz and didn't think about it again until I got a text message yesterday with "movie trivia." I thought, hmmmm....how did that happen. I immediately hit "reply" and typed in "stop." I got a confirmation that I was unsubscribed and I moved on. The very next day I got ANOTHER movie trivia quiz, I was pissed. I called the number on the text message and asked them how they got my number and they said "you opted in," likely through facebook. I then asked how much these text messages were costing me and he said $4.00. I hit the roof. I told the guy, "unsubscribe me right now, this is very deceptive and if I see another text from your company, I'm hiring an attorney." The guy agreed to cancel my subscription and refund my money.
If you use facebook, I highly suggest you don't do the movie quizzes, the music applications or any third party applications. I don't think they are all scams, but there are some that are just looking for ways to rob you of your money. This type of stuff is so maddening because it isn't legit, do these people really think there is a market for "inspirations quotes" that cost $4 a text? This whole practice is nothing short of criminal.
I like facebook, it's a fascinating application. Who doesn't like to hook up with old friends? However, they need to keep these scam artists OUT or they will run the risk of losing people who really enjoy the web site.
These text message scammers are the 2009 equivalent of "Sports Phone." For those of you who don't remember Sports Phone it was a 900 number that you called back in the 70's and early 80's for real time updates on your favorite teams scores. I called that number almost everyday to see how the Tiger's did and when the bill came, my parents hit the roof. I'd racked up $150 in 900 calls just to get the Tiger's scores. I was a kid, I had no clue, I wasn't reading the fine print that flashed on TV.
So, the moral of the story, text messaging is the newest facebook scam, read ALL the fine print and never give out your cell number. Yes, I am a moron!
