Text Message Fraud: Part 1 of 2

Posted by Dan on Feb 5, 2008 in Mobile Market | Comments | Share

My Sprint bill contained an odd new charge this month: SJA Mobile: Alerts – SJA Mobile Alerts – 01/03 $4.99

I had never heard of SJA Mobile, so I dug around on their website. It seems that all they do is offer refunds. But for what service?

It looks like SJA Mobile acquires lists of cell phone numbers, sends blank or meaningless text messages to each number, and then adds $4.99 or $9.99 to the customer’s bill each month until the ~~victim~~ customer figures it out and cancels.

They’re very good at issuing refunds, because it’s all they do.

While I never opted-in for SJA Mobile, through their agreement with Sprint they were apparently able to start charging me with no questions asked.

At Skydeck we believe that anyone should be able to send a text message to anyone else, but premium services should require ‘double opt-in’ before charging. I spoke with Sprint about the issue. While the conversation went well and ended with the service rep filing a fraud report against SJA Mobile, one of the first explanations I was given surprised me because it implied that their partners can bill for services on an opt-out basis: “SMS businesses under contract with Sprint can send text messages to Sprint’s customers, and begin charging them if the recipients don’t ‘opt-out’ of their service”. The only SMS I ever received from SJA’s short code (23907) contained the following message: ” … “. Seriously, that’s it. I was supposed to recognize that “…” meant I was now enrolling in a $4.99 per month service, and had to opt-out?

More details on SJA Mobile

The SJA Mobile website contains no information about their service. It only discusses how to cancel the “service” and get a refund.

I wanted to get to the bottom of this so I called their support line, which was no more than an automated message instructing me to email them if I was looking for a refund. The auto-reply from the email I sent them is below.

——-

Dear Dan Lewis

Thank you for contacting Mobile Support Services Help Desk. A help desk [sic]representive[sic] will review your request and respond shortly.

If you are trying to cancel service, please text STOP to the short code 23907.

If you are requesting a refund, please read the following carefully:

We offer a full, “no questions asked” refund to anybody who is unhappy with a service they signed up for within 180 days of signing up for the service. In order to request a refund, please make sure that your service request clearly provided the following information:

1) Name
2) Mailing Address
3) Mobile Phone Number
4) Wireless Carrier

Refunds will be issued via cashier’s check within 2 weeks of your refund request. Please be aware that we are offering the refund out of goodwill and are not recognizing any statutory duty by doing so.

——-

I wrote back to SJA expressing my suspicions, and they offered to pay me $5.00 in addition to the refund amount of $4.99, for any trouble this may have caused me.

Their last email claimed, “we are merely a gateway provider for mobile billing so we are unsure why one of our clients has billed you.” However, the mysterious text message “…” came from their short code, they could not identify which of their “clients” was responsible for the charges, and they don’t produce the names of any partners they work with anywhere on their site, etc.

What happened next … SJA Mobile Part 2.

——-

**Note**

We have received a few comments that mistakenly blame Skydeck for the charges appearing on people’s bills. We are not affiliated with with SJA Mobile in any way, and we ourselves have fallen victim to their fees. To get a refund you must contact SJA Mobile or your carrier directly, and to cancel the service you must text “STOP” to their short code, 23907. We will remove comments that imply Skydeck is responsible, to avoid being grouped with companies like SJA.

Thomas Hennessey

Stop
short code 23907
I never signed up for this service and would like it stopped.

Mark Hoffman

I had the same problem. I spent an hour on the phone with a Sprint customer service trying to figure out what had happened. The CSR was not able to explain why I had the charge, but removed it. I searched Google and found Dan's message.
I will contact the MA Attorney General and urge anyone else with this problem to contact their Attorney General.

M Wood

I also was charged this. Sprint took it off right away and blocked the company from re-signing me up. This ticks me off that companies get away with this. I like the idea about calling the attorney general.

Brad Reichel

I also was charged this on two separate lines. Called Sprint and they took the charges off and tried blacklist them from my account. What SJA in doing is called 'Cramming'. Big with the mafia so I hear. No govt. agency wants to touch it and most mobile CSR's dismiss your complaint as though you must have signed up so how. Be persistent and avoid contacting SJA directly. They are crooks. Interestingly, they are based out of my home state of CO so perhaps my AG can do something..

Dan

Good point, Brad. Here's an FCC overview of cramming, http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/cramming.html, and what we can do to report it.

Its a bit dated. To your point, while it is addressed on this government site, it doesn't appear that any aggressive measures have been taken to stop this practice (e.g., significant penalties for involved parties)

Mark Hoffman

There is an extra comma at the end of the FCC URL that Dan gave.
Use
http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/cramming.html
They suggest that you fill out Form 2000B
https://esupport.fcc.gov/sform2000/formB!input....
Even if you have no trouble getting your money back, add your experience to this blog. If only a few people were effected, it might be legitimate accidental billings. If a lot of people were wrongly billed by SJA Mobile, they should be prosecuted.
If you file with the FCC or your state's Attorney General, give them the URL to this blog so they can get the most recent data.

Mark Hoffman

My link to form 2000B didn't work. "input.action" was not included as part of the URL, although it is on the screen. Copy and paste the whole URL into your web browser URL place.

Michael Pulhamus

Happened to me, now I wait for my refund. Glad to know where SJA is located so something can be done. I don't text messages and Sprint will block all future text messages so they can't do this again. I hope there's a class action lawsuit against these guys. Let me know if anyone pursues this further.

Terri England

I also called sprint and they blocked it. But my problem is I shouldn't have to police my cell phones for fraud. This is crazy. I don't know about anybody else but I get tired of calling Sprint. Your on hold then the last one I had I couldn't understand. And on hold forever. How can they get away with this??

cat

So I called Sprint to inquire about this charge. "Nothing we can do." I was told. I told Sprint I was irked and was going to close my account with them. "Oh, well we can try to dispute the charge."
I then found this website and see that this is FRAUD. I read what I could, filed my FCC complaint, then called Sprint back to see what kind of BS they were going to serve up.
"Who is SJA?" i asked the rep. "Oh, does that charge appear on your bill?" was his first question (hmm... how'd he know THAT?!) So he swore there was no affiliation, but I informed him that I'd been reading and had just myself filed an FCC complaint about this activity.
"Oh, I can give you a refund" he stated. Strange. Weird... and I submit... completely unethical.
I assured him that if my refund did not come through, that the legal action I would be pursuing would include my intentions to reclaim the early termination fee for cutting my contract with Sprint off immediately.
I do not intend to EVER do business with Sprint nor recommend them to anyone else.

Injustice frosts my pumpkin!

Nathan Reichel

I got the same charge, and dont have any text messages. That was the final straw with sprint .
I have at&t also, they said they dont have any deals with thiefs........... yet? F*** Those so called companies.
I droped sprint and their not getting another dollar from me.
I will file with the FCC

Ryan

Same thing, fraudelent charge from SJA Mobile Alerts, never used whatever service they claim to offer. On the phone right now with Sprint, hopefully they will take note if enough people have this problem!!

Kelly

Wow, I'm glad I found this information... this is the 2nd month in a row this charge pops up on my bill. When I called last month to ask Sprint what the charge was, the rep is like "oh well you must have signed up for something / you must have replied to a text"... as if it were my fault. And... no I didn't! Sprint is obviously a willing participant in this scam and is obviously lying when they say they've never heard of this. This has to be happening to thousands of people.

Tim

2 of my lines were charged $4.99 by SJA Mobile Alerts. Sprint customer service refused to credit me for these charges. They claim it is nothing to do with them.

I don't believe them. If I pay Sprint these charges, they are obviosly going to pay SJA, so they must have some agreement with them.

Well I am discusted with Sprint. I have 6 Sprint PCS phone numbers. They are going to lose all of them.

Jaclyn

I also recieved this charge. Never recieved whatever text message they claim. I spoke to Sprint, They said someone must of sent us a e-mail alert. Said I never got that alert. And asked how to prevent future charges like this one. They said to text message the word STOP to the number that messaged us. I reminded her that I never recieved a message in the first place. And there is no detailed record in my phone bill or online of any messages to my phone. Just a $4.99 fee. She told me to call technical support 887-345-7895
Then I found this site, and now it all makes sense. I'm going to drop Sprint.

Tim

I have now gone through this for 2 months in a row with Sprint. The first time they denied everything. Today they were very cooperative and able to block billing from this service, and not all text messages (though I rarely use them).

Even going to that SJA website to opt-out is a crock. I entered phone cellphone numbers being billed and get a "number not found" messages.

I sent them an e-mail threatening a federal class action lawsuit, just for kicks.

Tim

kevin

I had the same charge and will call Sprint tomorrow. Will report to attorney general and FCC, also. I may contact the news to see if they can let Sprint explain how they allow this garbage.

Tim

Just a quick follow-up to my previous posts.

I actually received a check today from SJA for $19.98 (2 phones by 2 months). Funny that the check also included their disclaimer about doing this out of the goodness of their heart, not for statutory reasons.

I also received a response to my e-mail threatening legal action. It was short and to the point "we'll remove your phone numbers." The check came in a matter of days.

The side deal is that I also got the refund from Sprint off my bills. Happy to keep it after all of the BS they are putting us through.

Kristen

I received the same text charge of course. After finding this website I decided to really check into things and call Sprint to see what their reaction would be instead of just paying this charge, trying to stop it myself and moving on. I have to say that although sometimes time consuming, Sprint usually helps out with everything. It's been that way with my account for, yes, 14 years. Until today. After 5 transfers and an hour and thirty-five minutes, I had Sprint not only admit that they receive a cut from SJA's service, but I also made them 3-way conference call me with this company (and a few others) to have me witness their unsubscribing me from the services. Now, they did tell me that this couldn't be blocked because it would stop all text messages, but I got all of the money refunded and will continue to use them as long as they do whatever I ask which so far is the case. I truly have been capable of fixing every single problem with them with A LOT of persistence. It's not the most pleasant thing, but it does work. Need advice on who to talk to in order to get some attention from Sprint? Ask for the RETENTION Department... that is where they will make deals with you in order to keep your business. Sorry to hear about everyone's frustration, I understand!

Dave

Hi All,
This happened to me also. I am not a big text message person so I was irked when I received a BS message from someone that clearly didn't know me. Then to see a charge show up on my bill....

I contacted SJA and they promptly sent me a check for 9.98 or whatever, I contacted Sprint and they removed the charge no questions asked (I am on a retention plan which didn't hurt)

I'll be keeping an eye out for more of this stuff from other companies in the future.

DAve

Jayme

I don't have sprint I have Verizon and the same BS happened to me and now verizon is giving me more BS about adding the charges back to my phone.

Debbie

I'm so glad I found this! Thanks for all the helpful info. I spoke to Sprint today and got the run-around. E-mailed SJA but of course don't expect much from them. I'll call Sprint back and ask for the retention dept. I think contacting the FCC and attorney gen are also great ideas. Thanks again. PS: I think it's interesting that everyone seems to be saying they've gotten this charge on their last two bills. Same here....

James Foster

I'm with Verizon n they got me to. the Verizon rep credited me and I sent a txt to the SJA site also. Not sure how the service got started but it was awful slick. Could have been embedded into another text message.

Bill

Just spoke with Verizon & was told to text END to 71381(shortcode on bill) sjamobile alerts. They are blocking all Premium Text Messages to all my lines. Have 4 charges of $4.99 for msg sent 3/13 @ 4:36PM per text $22.16 total. All the exact same time & Date. Hmmmmm

Tim

I had four $4.99 charges from SJA mobile on my last bill. All were charged on the same date. Just got off the phone with AT&T. After their service rep tried to convince me that I must have called an 800 number I saw on a TV add to download some ringtones, I was able to explain that I didn't call an 800 number at all. I also don't send text messages ever. These charges are completely bogus as far as I can tell. The CSR at AT&T was very friendly and understanding, but he said they couldn't remove the charges from my bill because it was for a third party.

I ended up filling out the refund request at the SJA Mobile website. I'll wait for their refund check I guess. Very frustrating. I also filled out the FCC complaint form linked in a previous post.

Jennifer

Thanks for the info! I just had three charges of $4.99 show up on my bill. I called T-mobile and they said they would review it and pull the charges off in a few months. They gave me a number to call for SJA mobile but it was disconnected. Go figure......

Debbie

Our Sprint bill just arrived with one charge for $29.97 for "3 SJA Mobil: alerts @ $9.99 each, another for $9.99 for "Flycell: ringers - acotel binary", and a third for $9.99 for "Mobile messenger: chat 44674 text chat" - a total of $49.95!!!

I called Sprint and they asked who used that phone & I told them it was my son. He very clearly suggested TWICE that my son was responsible for this & had done something he wasn't admitting! He explained they were "text messages from outside" sources & he could block them on all 4 of our phones if I liked. He also did credit us for those charges, as he accused my son again. I was on the phone with him for at least 15 minutes just to take care of this! This is very, very aggravating! Thank you all for providing more information on this, cause I had no idea this was going on.

amanda

yea this just happened to us and sprint DID take the charge off but still wont work with us on the rest of the problems we had been having with them, since our bill NEVER adds up always strange charges and stuff

SPRINT SUCKS

Sam

Many thanks! Reading what all of you said really helped.

First, I texted STOP to short code 23907 and received a return text confirming cancellation. Next I called Sprint Customer Care and explained the situation. The customer service rep blocked our phone from getting text messages from all short codes, but refused to refund the charges until I threatened to cancel my contract. Then he transfered me to the "business office", and I got someone that credited the charges immediately. He also put a note on my account in case charges appear again on my next statement. Only took 12 minutes from start to end...

Thanks again for the knowledge transfer.

acjc

this happened to us too...as i went to pay the bill tonight i saw that it was $20.00 higher than normal...when i called SPRINT, they said they didnt know what the charge was they had never heard of SJA Mobile Alerts and i needed to call back in an hour because their system was down....i decided to look it up myself on the net and i came accross this page...then after reading this page i called SPRINT back and they were closed....what a jerk he knew they would be closed when i called back and didnt bother to tell me...to be continued

Cindy

I also got nailed with $49.94 in charges and royally chewed out my 12-year-old son for subscribing to this service. He was in tears swearing that he didn't do this, so I Googled sjamobile and came across y'all. Thank you! I called Verizon to get the charges off, which they did, and also requested a refund. How can they do this? It's completely illegal.

Dave Sebastian

Finding this information was awesome.I was told by sprint there was nothing I could do about the charges except put a block on future billing from companies like SJA.The scary part is I wouldn't have given it a second thought,except the charges on my statement were $4.99 X 4 and were all within a 2 minute span.Sprint really dropped the ball on this one.What SJA is doing is illegal.The powers that be (FCC) are obligated, in my opinion, to do something.Thanks again.

jeremy

I got nailed for 9 months of this crap and AT&T/Cingular has been called at least three times about this.

Here is some other stuff for you:
They are located in Colorado and registered in Deleware.

They do not have a published telephone number.

The CO Attorney General complaint form:
http://www.ago.state.co.us/consline/complaint.pdf

The DE Attorney General complaint form:
http://attorneygeneral.delaware.gov/media/pdf/c...

I am trying to get an address for the company now.

Plaster the AG's office with this and lets get this company shut down

JEFF

I GOT MY CELL BILL AND SAW THAT I GOT CHARGED $20.00 WHICH WAS $4.99 ON THE SAME DAY I DID NOT GIVE MY NUMBER TO ANYONE BUT STILL GOT CHARGED, I SENT STOP TO 23907 AND IT SAID YOUR CHEAT MASTER MONTHLY SUBSCIPSION HAS BEEN STOPED,THAT WEBSITE WAS NOT ON THE BILL THE ON THAT WAS ON THE BILL WAS SJAMOBILE. I AM STILL AWATING A RESPONSE FROM THE COMPANY.

Charles

I was charged 4 times on my sons cell # via sprint. After 1 hour on the phone with a Sprint phone rep - who said it was my kids fault - I finnaly got the credit and had them block "3rd party" billing.It amazes me what Sprint and many other companies do,that customers are likey unaware of, that is just plan wrong.

Wendy

I also got $20 on one day on my Verizon bill two months in a row. They credited the first month's as being "accidental" since they all occurred at the exact same minute. They also put a block on "premium txt messaging." They still got three more through on the bill I just received. I was going to blame my kid for signing up for something but I know for sure that we never texted "opt-in" confirmation. I hope Verizon will be as understanding about the three that I just received on this months' bill as well. How unethical to charge unexpecting people. I wonder how many people just pay their bill without question!

Karen

Got my bill and on my son's phone was charged SJA Mobile $4.99 and Quios for $9.99 two times. My T-mobile rep told me my son gave them his phone number, yeah right. Why would he give them his number as he has no clue who these companies are. He is not computer saavy so I do not believe he has any knowledge on what to do if the message came on the phone. It is ridiculous that you have to go through your bill for charges that you did not subscribe to.

maureen

I have been billed by these people for 3 months and charged $50 in TOTAL! Verizon is my carrier and they are taking off the charges... yet again! When I noticed it was happening I called them immediately and they started issuing credits and told me they couldn't block the texts and that needed to go through an 866-784-7712 number and press # to "opt out". That didn't work because there were 3 new charges this month. I called again today and the Verizon CS told me she would block the number - don't figure!! Anyway, I am MOST definitely going to contact the FCC and the Attorney General about this. It is total bullshit that any tom, dick and harry can fraudulently charge directly to my cell phone bill. This needs to stop and it won't stop unless enough people contact the FCC or Consumer Affairs or their AG. So, if you're reading this and have had an issue with those dirtbags at SJA MOBILE ALERTS - you need to take action as well...

maureen

I just wanted to add this info for filing a complaint with the FCC:

Filing a Complaint

If neither the company sending you the bill nor the company that provided the service in question will remove charges from your telephone bill that you consider to be incorrect, you can file a complaint as follows:

with the FCC for charges related to telephone services between states or internationally,

with your state public service commission for telephone services within your state; and

with the FTC for non-telephone services on your telephone bill.

Filing a Complaint with the FCC

For charges related to telephone service between states or internationally, you can file your complaint with the FCC. There is no charge for filing a complaint. You can file your complaint using the on-line complaint Form 2000B found on the FCC Web site at www.fcc.gov/cgb/complaints.html. You can also file your complaint with the FCC’s Consumer Center by e-mailing fccinfo@fcc.gov; calling 1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322) voice or 1-888-TELL-FCC (1-888-835-5322) TTY; faxing 1-866-418-0232; or writing to:

Federal Communications Commission
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau
Consumer Inquiries and Complaints Division
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, D.C. 20554.

What to Include in Your Complaint

The best way to provide all the information the FCC needs to process your complaint is to complete fully the on-line complaint Form 2000B. If you do not use the on-line complaint Form 2000B, your complaint, at a minimum, should indicate:

your name, address, e-mail address, and phone number where you can be reached;

the telephone and account numbers that are the subject of your complaint;

the names and phone numbers of any companies involved with your complaint;

the amount of any disputed charges, whether you paid them, whether you received a refund or adjustment to your bill, the amount of any adjustment or refund you have received, an explanation if the disputed charges are related to services in addition to residence or business telephone services; and

the details of your complaint and any additional relevant information.

Filing a Complaint with Your State Public Service Commission or the FTC

For charges for telephone-related services provided within your state, contact your state public service commission. For contact information for your state public service commission, visit www.naruc.org/commissions.cfm or check the blue pages or government section of your local telephone directory.

For charges on your telephone bill for non-telephone services, file your complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). You can file a complaint with the FTC online at https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_OR.... You can also submit a complaint by calling the FTC toll-free at 1-877-382-4357 (voice) or 1-866-653-4261 (TTY), or writing to:

Federal Trade Commission
CRC-240
600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20580.

For More Information

For information about other telecommunications issues, visit the FCC's Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau Web site at www.fcc.gov/cgb, or contact the FCC's Consumer Center using the information provided for filing a complaint.

Stephen King

I have an interesting twist on SJA Mobile. I let a call go to my Verizon voicemail yesterday and when I listened to it later, it was SJA Mobile with an automated message telling me that I may have been charged incorrectly, and that to recoup my charges I needed to send an email to them - the same address listed above, asking for the same type of information.

There are two angles in this scam:

1. If you don't respond with an "opt-out", they will take that as an implicit acceptance of the service, whatever that service may be.

2. By emailing them your name, address, cell phone number, and carrier, you have provided them with correct, active account information they can then bill against, regardless if any service was ever provided.

The voice mail was very unprofessional, with improper grammar and low-quality audio fidelity. It sounded like something a teenager would use in a prank. I can't believe this has gone on this long. Hasn't anyone looked into it? The money must be going somewhere!!

abc

We were charged 19.99 on our sprint bill for sja game alerts. I called Sprint and they immediately took the charge off and stated they would block future charges. Hopefully we don't have to go through this again and next month's bill will be okay. Have to say though the representative we spoke with was very helpful and cooperative.

kennyand stephanie b

this is a load of crap i just check my alltel bill becaus i added my 2 kids phone lines and i have a charge from this scam of a compan on there took a look threw my previous bills and found that i have been getting charged multiple times from this company i guess its a good thing have almost every biull i have ever gotten for the past 2 years if anyone knowes more infor on putting this scam od a company in check leme know i got a pretty good amount of charges from them and im looking for some pay back

i also found another one that is probly the same thing just a diffrent company maby im going to do a little more resurch on it if anyone has ever see this one leme know its on my bill; like this

79288 mbill Alerts $9.99 charge

james

Same problem on my AT&T bill. no one seems to give a darn at the carriers that this goes on. Spent an hour with AT&T and got nowhere.

Tim

I have received 2 automated messages from 1-800-559-9313. Message says this is SJA Mobile and contents of message are the same as "Steven King" entry on 6/25/08.
I have AT&T. Any suggestions besides checking my billing statements?

Julie

I received 3 charges from SJA Mobile in May. I called TMobile and they stated they were not responsible for outside providers. I demand a supervisor .....spoke to a higher level rep. explained it was not fair or right to me....that I only pay TMobile and expect TMobile to protect or detect outside providers...The supervisor has submitted a credit to my account. Here it is July, I received another charge 4.99 from SJA Mobile Alert....This is getting frustrating....I am still awaiting a credit from TMobile and need to contact SJA directly. I have been in Banking from many years, this is a form of FRAUD..and an Unauthorzied charge. Cell phone companies should protect their customers and have a block against this provider.
ANY SUGGESTIONS????

Richard Gregg

Yes, I have been a victim of this SJA Mobile crap as well. Apparently I never noticed these charges until I had a phone bill that was 524.00 for one month. 214 of it was from SJA Mobile. I tried numerous attempts of emailing them I just keep getting the meaningless automated email saying how happy they are that I contacted them. Then when I called the number they give, of all things it says to email them! Verizon keeps talking to me like "well you MUST have signed up for it". They credited me 79.00 for it but I actually dont even know how much they took me for overall. I just knew I was getting nearly 100.00 in "data" charges a month and assumed it was from texting and so forth. They blew their cover when they hit me with 214.00 though. Greedy pigs these guys are. I stopped it and put SMS blocking on my phone. Still trying to get my money back though. I opened a ticket online with SJA Mobile 6 days ago and got an email saying someone will review it shortly but it still has yet to be looked at by anyone because it says "pending" on it. When you look at their chart online "pending" means it is just sitting there.

Lisa Wells

I am grateful for this site. I just received a text from mBill Game Cheats, saying "Ur subscribed to mBill Game Cheats. This service will now run on 79288. $9.99/mth (max 5 msg/mth). Txt HELP for help, STOP to stop to 79288."

The statement above that says "This service will now run on 79288" tells me that they have done this under other numbers that may have been removed for some reason. I have never signed up for any service with them; I don't even know how they got my cellular number. My children play online and have looked up cheat codes, but not with mBill or SJA, and not anywhere they have to enter any information other than the name of the game for the cheat they want.

I just scrolled thru my old text messages and found one from June 17 '08, from cheats999.com, saying that I stopped by and registered, which is completely untrue, I haven't even HEARD of them. There are five messages total; two with a four-digit password for the site; two welcoming me to the service I never signed up for, much less HEARD of; and one cancelling the service for me (I texted STOP in reply to one of the messages). The messages get buried in the weather alerts I get (two regular ones a day plus any storm alerts, which we've had numerous ones of for the past month); but I will be vigilantly watching from now on!! I may just have to change my cell number and keep a record of who gets it, so I can try and trace back to the origin of the fraudulent subscriptions.

Perry Hillman

Thanks to Lisa for the information on cheats999.com. I had forgotten all about them until I read her response. The problem I ran into was Alltel kicked back the text message saying the number had to be a 10 digit number. I had to go to the website and unsubscribe there. Geez these companies are making a ton of money with these small extras aren't they? And thanks to the rest of you for chiming in on the SJA scam, I will be checking my cell bill from now on to make sure there are no extra charges that I did not authorize.

JULIE WHITE

IN REFERENCE TO THE SPAM TEXT MESSAGES FROM SJA MOBILE; I ALSO REC'D THESE TEXT AND WAS CHARGED 19.99 PER MONTH. I SENT THE COMPANY AN EMAIL AND DID THE SHORT CODE TEXT. ADDITIONALLY I ALSO FILED A REPORT WITH THE FCC USING FORM 1088. I SUGGGEST EVERYONE TRY THIS.SJA MOBILE IS BASED OUT OF DELAWARE, WE SHOULD ALL FLOOD THE AG'S OFFICE IN THAT STATE WITH CALLS INSTEAD OF OUR HOME STATES.

kasey

i have been charged almost $40 every month foe the last three months by at&t. i have one charge for $19.99 and two others for $9.99 each. they each have these codes by them. i cannot find out what these charges are for or what is going on. at&t has credited my acct but i cannot get through to any 800 number to speak to anyone. i am really angry and dont know what else to do.

TJ

I am a tech support agen with Sprint and I wanted to clear a few things up with the short codes you may be receiving charges and/or message from. They are NOT affiliated with Sprint. These are purely 3rd party companies that put together a series of 10 digit number to come up with phone numbers. These are random numbers and some are valid unfortunately. I agree with everyone that it is not fair and from a technical point of view it is very difficult to block. This is something that perhaps the level of assistance you may have spoken with may not be aware of. Again I am an advanced technical support agent and work with this issue everyday. The unfortunate thing is that is is not fraud, it is perfectly legal. How these companies get away with it is that if you are able to get enough info to find their websites and view the terms and conditions, they clearly state the charges, how often and how to cancel them. I know it is frustrating for you as a customer and please know it is very frustrating as the one who is here to help you with these issues. I would like to add, I am not speaking for Sprint in anyway officially however, I do understand where you are coming from. I hope this helps some with these issues.

Kris

i use T-Mobile and i was charged for 9.99 too!!

i called customer service, but as usual, they can do nothing.

then i emailed the SJA mobile, TWICE, i still haven't got my refund back yet. help me T__T

Rose

I had this happen to me this month from T-mobile and SJA Mobile. Last page of my T-mobile bill had 2 $9.99 charges from SJA Mobile for "cheats" message signup, etc. I am interested in litigating this against SJA. I am an attorney and if anyone is interested in discussing this matter, contact me at rose@roseweisblatt.com. or go to roseweisblatt.com

Maribel

I just got off the phone with T Mobile, I also have a charge on my bill for $9.99 Listed as follows:

6/29/08 SJA Mobile 8:59 PM 23907 SJA Mobile Alerts 9.99 9.99

The Rep at T Mobile was helpful by offering me a refund (Which will take at least 30 days to process) and instructed me how to make them stop by texting STOP to 23907 but this is just a bunch BS we the consumer should not have to be the ones tryinf to call to get it squared away. Thanks to this site I found more information about it!!!

Leo

They Charged me 9.99, but Verizon refunded my money. I would not give a fraudulent company like SJA my email address and/or my home address to send me anything. I don't trust them with my personal information. They are scam artists and you never know what's up in their thieving minds.

Sarah

Well i just got my T-mobile bill in the mail and i found that same charge of 9.99 on it!!! WTF! I did what you guys said and requested a refund and sent Stop to 23907 except i got a text back saying email support@game-cheats-master.com and ask them for a refund and cancel my subscription except i NEVER signed up for anything!! Wow!! Now i wait till i get answers! The world NEEDS to know about these people.! Hopefully they get sued.

Max

Clearly there are already a lot of upset people about this. We have an attorney, an advanced tech person, and a bunch of furious customers. Can we start something to take to the carriers and change the rule from opt-out to opt-in? Because this whole thing is ridiculous. Especially the whole "This is a cashiers check of goodwill." I'm going to do some more research on their website and see exactly what T-molbile is letting me get charged $19.98 a month for.

Siani

This happened to my mom's cell phone. My dad saw the T mobile bill and my mom's phone was charged about $20 for usage charge. My dad was like wtf?? I looked at the bill and it wrote that we were charged for using SJA Mobile Alert... TWICE! at $9.99. I have no idea what that was and neither does my mom. So yeah I called T mobile. They say it's like a 3rd party thing or something. They said how we probably called a number or texted them to subscribe. However, my mom doesn't watch tv and she doesn't text. So there is clearly no way we authorized this. So yeah the person I talked to from T mobile block the company and we're getting a refund which would take from 30-60 days
Seriously wtf is this SJA thing? Is this even legal??? Just randomly signing people up for nothing!! Why couldn't cell phone companies just block them ahead of time, to save us this hassle..

Dawn Marie

I noticed this on my Verizon Bill today as a "Premium Text Message" for $9.99!!! All I remember is getting a weird text message that looked like an and and I erased it -- never even read through it! Verizon graciously said they'd credit me and that I should text #23907 to stop the subscription and that it was associated with SJA Mobile, 800-559-9313. I had Verizon block any Premium text messaging systems. I refused to do anything that the SJA site says (texting the code or emailing them my personal info to unsubscribe) why in the world would I get back on that merry-go-round!? If you read their terms and conditions on their site, they clearly state "...delivery or ATTEMPTED delivery..." Can we file a complaint with the FCC or a class-action suit? Please let me know what I should do!

Roddy Alameda

I was charge $19.99 sja mobile alerts so i did some research found this site and call sprint. they took off the charge apologize and told me to text stop to 866-365-9606

Rachel

I'm actually on the phone with T-Mobile as I type this....When she asked how my day was going, I told her that except for my parent's line being "crammed" by SJA Mobile Alerts, I was fine and dandy; she said that this has been happening a lot. Go figure. They've credited my account and blocked text messages on my parent's line...

Rob Weiser

I am a class action attorney and my firm has been retained by a client reagrding this SJA Mobile "service." My firm is investigating possible claims related to SJA Mobile and I would be interested in speaking to anyone who has had this problem with their service. I can be reached toll free at 1-866-934-7372 or via email at rw@weiserlawfirm.com

Rob Weiser

Tracie

I had the SAME problem with SJA! It's ridiculous for a company like this to be able to charge the unsuspecting for services they have NEVER authorized. I was sent two text messages from a game website that I had NEVER visited, and they said something about me signing up and my charges would be $19.99 per month. I didn't think anything of it because I didn't authorize it or anything, and sure enough! I checked my T-mobile bill and low n' behold there it was! SJA needs to have a SMART and effective way of doing business. I'm familiar with these services, and usually when someone tries to sign you up online for them, they will text a password to your cell phone and you have to log back into the sight or text that passcode back to them to confirm you DID IN FACT order their services. SJA clearly does NOT work that way and is trying to take advantage of the people who aren't paying attention to their phone bills.

NOT an ethical way to make money!

manda ross

i dont know what this sja mobile is but they charged me $9.99 for something and i cant get ahold of anyone to find out whats going on

tammy mccann

I woke with a call at 3:00am and was pissed that my phone had read that theres insufficient funds.I called the verizon company and was able to get a web site to stop this bs.yet it didnt stop the arguements that happened between my husband and I.how do these people get away with this nonsense?I am not very satisfied with this happening!!!

Anon Imus

Same charge on my Verizon cell bill... $9.99 sjamobile. They can't issue refund to me until they are refunded by the "third party" a/k/a sjamobile. Acc'g to Verizon, I sent a text requesting this $9.99/month service. Bulls***. I've only sent texts to 2 people, and they're saved on my phone! It's disgusting that this is tolerated by cell phone carriers. Great way for them to lose customers. I'm refusing to pay this charge, and I have reported sjamobile to the BBB, my senator, and state representative. I say someone with the know-how start something bigger to stop this crap.

Moe

Verizon Wireless will not refund sjamobile charges of $9.99/month (!!!), but they will block it. Why not do that first, Verizon Wireless?? (I've lost my cool over this--it's disgusting. Maybe Verizon Wireless IS sjamobile?? Bwoo-haa-haa!)

Angela

I've been getting charge 19.99 a month for two month and I keep calling Sprint. Last month I spent 45 min. on my phone with sprint trying to get it off, even having it blocked and again this month it showed up. This month Sprint wasn't any help!

Christina

I also had an instance last month where I was charged $9.99 by sjamobile. I started by calling Verizon and was told there was nothing they could do. I feel like this is fraud and Verizon is allowing it to happen. I was finally able to get a refund from Verizon when I threatened to cancel my service.

no

had this same crap on my cell and i hav a t and t
and i had 200$ bill this should be elagal

Rachelle

Billed $9.99 on my phone (at least once) on my son's phone (a child) for "premium text messaging" for "on demand stock quotes". Verizon was not that helpful. They did block all 3rd carrier parties after I asked if there was any way to prevent such charges. I haven't called the company yet. I found this site first. I was pretty confident that he didn't do this. Our family doesn't text - only in emergencies. If this had happened on my dad's phone, he would have had no idea. He doesn't even know how to get voice mail. Definitely will pursue this. This crap is not worth my time, but I will pursue it out of principle. This should be a class action suit to prevent this. Any attorneys out there listening?

Steve F.

I stopped by the local Verizon Store today (9/22/08) regarding "Premium Text Messaging" charges from SJMOBILE and GLM CONTENT for $9.99 each. This is the third month this has occurred.The customer rep at the store was very helpful; he retrieved information from the phone and sent a note off to his supervisor to get the charges removed and a credit for the previously paid bills. I will be going back Thursday to pay the current bill - if the credits have been applied. "....." I have printed out the 12 +/- pages of this site; I'm sure the in-store customer service rep will be happy to have the copies. "....." Everyone scammed by glm content and sjamobile needs to file complaints with the FCC, their Governors Office for Consumer Affairs (GA), and the State Attornet Generals Office in Colorado AND Delaware. We need to put this fraudulent activity out of business.

Tom D.

Got some strange text messages on my phone last month and just deleted them. Just got my Sprint bill, and there was $19.99 for SJA GameAlert Tips. Emailed Sprint Ecare and they removed the charges and blocked this service from my cell number. Hopefully that takes care of it.

FYI - if you ever need to contact Sprint support, I highly recommend emailing Ecare. They are quick and efficient. I have had very good results emailing Ecare.

Sherry

We have been getting a $9.99 charge for the last four months on our Sprint bill. Funny how it appears under the newest phone line we opened FOUR months ago. Our daughter swears she did not sign up for anything and the billing description is vague at the least. Many have posted seeing SJA on their bill. My Sprint bill reads:

"mBill: Alerts - Alerts...............9.99"

Like that really tells me a lot! Curious as to what we were 'signed up' for without our knowledge, I Googled the above text (w/o the 9.99) and found this website. Now, I have some ammunition to throw at Sprint when they say "You MUST have signed up for this service" or try to point the finger at a child. Very businesslike to put the blame on someone else and even worse pointing the finger at our children! How many children have already gotten the 3rd degree from their parents for something they did not do?

I'm not a happy camper and will be contacting Sprint tomorrow to have these charges stopped and removed from my bill.

Thanks to everyone for all the great info!

Tammie

Sjamobile has been ripping me off for months. I finally decided to look at my bill because I went over my minutes. Low and behold this company has been charging me 4.99 a month since march. But wait, thats not all, they got greedy and started charging me an additional 19.99 a month last month and this month. I just spoke w/ a rep from AT@T and she really didn't say much about the company. She said it is a legitimate company. She also said she can't credit my account for charges for "purchases over 120 days" excuse me I didn't purchase anything....I can't even afford grocery's these days. I am gonna cancel this cell phone if this doesn't stop!

SJA Mobile

Hello to All --

I am an executive at SJA Mobile and frankly I am astonished at some of the gross inaccuracies being posted on this board. Please allow me to set the record straight on some items:

1) Our firm is not a "scam" company, in fact we are an extremely reputable and legitimate company in the mobile software industry with clients including the FBI, Best Buy, The United Nations, Bunge Corporation, AOL/Mapquest, and many others. Our company makes industry leading software tools which allow businesses and brands to launch mobile content and mobile billing services.

2) The claims made on this board about "random" charges on their cell phone bill are patently false -- we will have you note that a child or other person with access to your phone can easily sign you up for mobile content services whether it be one of our client's or another company's.

3) Various companies mentioned on this board are in no way associated with our company, including cheats999.com and "mbill alerts."

4) Our company offers a full no-questions-asked refund to address cases where a child or other person has signed you up for a mobile content service without your authorization, or even if you are unsatisifed with a mobile content service that you did authorize.

Thank you for your consideration.

ch

Thank you so much for this website..

We got hit with SJA on my son's phone. I am going to call Tmobile.... This is BS.. . I check our phone records and can't see any message from SJA and we got hit for $30.
first of all, how can you expect a 11 year old boy to pay !!!! that's what SJA and all the phone companies are doing.... this is a conspiracy. I am PO'ed. The previous message by SJA executive is BS... IF it's a reputable company, why can't we talk to a person.....

Christina Carnes

I Have been charged 3 different times for this 23907 game cheats I am an Alltel customer all they could tel me is I must have subscribed to it online i told them that I never have. I continue to get these text messages I always view and delete. Suprise now I am being charged 9.99 for every time I get a text for this. I have gotten 5 now in one month the last one was 19.99 that I got yesterday. The bill reads joke alert the text reads Game cheats. This is an outrage the csr told me that it was going to be a revolving monthly charge for the 9.99 every month every time the "game cheat" text was received so we are up to a $50 dollar charge a month. I have emailed for a refund but I am not done yet as I am outraged by this fraudulent billing.

Gabrielle Cumber

Oh my gosh, I thought my 13 year old son had legitimately signed up for the service until I received 2 9.99 charges in one month! Then I called Alltel and got the same response. You have to text back to stop the charges. Then I talked to my son. He had no idea what I was talking about. I checked, he received absolutely no incoming texts for Joke Alert. Thanks for everyones comments. I never would have known such a scam existed.

Tom

SJA is a total scam. I was charged $9.99 on my T-Mobile bill for "SJA Mobile Alerts". Something that I never signed up for. T-Mobile was very helpful when I told them that it was some type of scam. They credited my account the $9.99 and at my request they blocked that "short code" from further billing me. I went to the SJA web site and under CONTACT US I "Canceled Service". I then got a text from 230907 that said "You have quit your subscription to Game Cheats Master! Not satisfied? Email suppost@game-cheats-master.com for refund." It is crazy that they can charge you for something that you never signed up for and unless you catch it on your bill they keep charging you.

Lynn Traficanti

This website is great! It answers a lot of questions I had.

So, I just filed two complaints with the FCC - one for SJA Mobile and the other for GLM Content. I encourage you to do the same.

Holly Jones

I was also charged $19.99 for the past three months. I didn't notice until I finally looked at my bill online b/c I was wondering why it had been so high. I called Sprint and they also told me that they couldn't do anything about it and that I must have signed up for something which I had NOT!!! I don't play stupid games on my cell phone or even have time to. They said they couldn't even give me a credit. I am so pissed. I have canceled the service thru SJA's website and sent them a request for a refund on all the charges, however that was 13 days ago and I have not heard anything from them. I think I am gonna call Sprint back tonight and complain again.

Leo

yea well they have upped the billing to 19.95 i just got hit last month. had sprint block them but only time will tell if this is over.

Sanjeev

Same thing happened to me. I was charged $ 19.95, When I called AT&T, customer representative told me that she was able to contact SJA Mobile (while I was on phone) and they have agreed for refund. It is all scam,looks like AT&T and sprint are also part of this scam. They say that I have to pay this amount now but will get refund in 2 months time.

Cheryl Bilyeu

I had this start happening in July 08. I assumed it was my kids signing up for things online. even though it said SJA Mobile, it also said things like "Game Cheats" and "Tracy Mcgrady" the first 2 charges I didnt even notice. Another $10 in messaging charges went unnoticed, then they started in on it 2x a month, that is when I noticed. So called our phone company (tmobile) she tried to make it sound like us or our kids intentionally signed up for this(ya right lady!) but did remove all 5 charges and blacklisted them from sending or charging anything else. I also filed a complaint with the FCC. Hopefully eventually something will be done about people doing things like this.

Bria

I have twice now been billed by SJA for Game Cheats Master. The phone number they list for help is 18005599313. The monthly charge is 19.99

I never subscribed to this service. It is SCARY as a consumer that someone has found a backdoor method to having ATT bill my account without my express approval.

mike T-Mobile Customer

My son just discovered 2 charges for $9.99 (SJA Mobile)and when I called T-Mobile they said that SJA had just put through 2 more $9.99 charges. They would investigate back 4 months. This is a complete scam. I emailed the CEO of T-Mobile. I asked him how he would feel if a few unauthorized charges were to appear on his Credit Card bill or his gas bill. This is organized crime at its worst. My guess is that these guys are raking in millions.

Amber Douglasss

Im getting charges from SJA for 19.99 a month and I didnt subscribe to these people for game cheats or anything else but im sure getting charged for it. When u call the number u cant get any help its just a recording

Carla T-Mobile Customer

Same issue as everyone else. Three months $9.99 of other service provider fees funneled through SJA Mobile to my bill with two different short codes 23907 and 98550. T-Mobile credited my account so thankfully no refund is needed.
SJA Mobile may have many legitimate customers but to save their own name they need to stop their customers who have complaints against them.
Maybe it would help if all the carriers (T-Mobile, ATT, Sprint, etc.) would start charging the offending companies (like Game Cheat Masters) for all the calls and services they are providing on their behalf.
For now I'll respond immediately to STOP the unsolicited texts, call T-Mobile to block them from even getting on my bill, and report each offense to the FCC.

Dennis

I had the same thing happen to me through AT&T. What is odd is that on my bill its says SJA Mobile then shows the merchant's phone number as an 800 number thats just ATT's customer support line.

Jonathan

Does anyone know how we can file a class action lawsuit for this scam? The post by SJA above is bogus. How could you have so many people having the same issue and stated that it was done by a child or someone? I am with T-mobile and they charged me 4 months already and still expecting more from SJA mobile alert BS.

Someone please advise how we can all get together and file a class action lawsuit against this company?

Tammy

I found the sja charges of 19.99 on my bill today also. I did what everyone said and had my husband text stop to the code. A little of insight from a career with our local landline phone company. I am not sure if this holds true for cell companys but do know that for landline companys if a 3rd party company sends through a charge then the company is required to send this through to the customer. Now when you call the company about the charge the 1st time they are also required to tell you to call that company. As most companys get the charge say from this SJA company and they pay it then charge you. So the way your billing company gets there money is either for you to pay the bill or the other company to send them a credit. So thats why you are told to call them and sometimes they claim they cant do anything about it. The second or third call your company can send the charges back to the 3rd party company and wait for their money back. Either way the customer is the one that has to do the work. There is more of this out there than most people know. When I was at the phone company about 40%of my calls I took a day had to do with these kinds of things. My advise is to make sure to look at everybill and keep copys for at least a year. I know that it is a full time jobs and its not just phone companys that do this, its cable, internet and even your great doctor and hospital bills. Say you have sprint and the 3rd party sends the charge, its not sprint that is doing this its they are regulated to send through the charge. Now CRAMING is if your company adds a service that you did not ask for like you called and ? this charge then next month ended up with mobile tv on your phone so there is a difference between this charge and cramming, I will be calling sprint and asking them to send the charges back to SJA which is just like if you get something taken out of your checking acct. that you did not authrize. Hope this helps anyone!! Happy Holidays!

Jennifer

I am a TMOBILE customer and I got the same thing. I remember getting the SMS saying I was confirmed for game cheats, and that I if I didn't want this service, I could reply to the text. I "assumed" it was like SPAM - reply and it validates your number is real and goes on a marketing list.

TMOBILE took it right off the bill, for this month, and the next, but claims I must have somehow signed up somewhere either directly, or with someone who sold it to them. They can't offer any way to block them or others like them.

Phoebe

Similar saga with Verizon from May-Sept 2008.

What gets me is that Verizon manages to capture these companies' billing information accurately enough to pay them, but doesn't provide accurate contact information to the consumer. It's called FRAUD and the FCC is completely asleep on this. I submitted a complaint to the FCC and have heard nothing back. They are too worried about TV broadcasts of swear words, meanwhile tens of millions of Americans are uttering swear words at home precisely BECAUSE of the FCC's impotence.

Paul

Glad to see this page pop up in Google...!

I just noticed this charge on one of my phones (for the past 4 months, argh). Called my carrier, ATT Wireless, and they removed the charge and said they'd issue a refund.

Thanks for the info on this page, to help me understand this scam.

Scott Combs

I too wanted to beat my child for subscribing to something, but this website saved her from a beating, plus she insisted that she did not subscribe to anything. So I called Sprint and they refunded the last three months charges and blocked the short code's so that this wont happen again. Got to say that Sprint really helped out and worked with me on this. THANKS SPRINT. Resolved in 15 minutes.

Linde

I'm not getting any services, never ordered any services and yet, some one is charging me for services- joke alert on alltel service, and game tips. Near as I can tell, joke alert is SJA, and they are still charging me after I text STOP! The only major problem is that I can't even file a small claims suit against them since thier address is NOT posted on their website. It only says that they are located in Colorado- but there is no street address. If anyone has SJA mobiles street address please respond.

Joan

I too got my Sprint bill Friday. Noticed the charge was $20.00 more than usual.
I contacted Sprint this morning, very nice lady, blocked everything, including all text capabilities (husband and I don't text at all anyway) took me about 15 minutes but they were great Thanks Sprint

BEVERLY TENN

SAME THING! I WAS CHARGED 19.99 FOR THE LAST 2 MONTHS. SPRINT DID TAKE IT OFF BUT IT PISSES ME OFF THAT WHOEVER THIS COMPANY IS WAS ALLOWED TO DO THIS US.

Donald

I just got my AT&T wireless bill, and it had one bill item from "GOLIVEMOB", a credit from them same day (I called AT&T first, and then also texted "STOP"). Then this bill had the SJAMOBILE charge. All for $19.99 each. AT&T gave no hassle about backing off the charge, but this is our time wasted in response. They told me (both times) that nothing could be done to block.
Thanks for the info.

Joe

I work for a major cell phone company. The messages are called premium text messages. If you put a block on the premium text message, which can be done by calling into customer service or by the carriers website, This will block premium text messages. However, you will still see one more month of charges, so you need to unsibscribe first and then issue a block. I had this premium text message signed up for to my aircard modem! I do not even play games and do not need this silly service. When I called the 1-800 number that is provided, just like I tell my customers to do, the email address provided was not even a real address. Someone needs to do something about these companies. Because this is wrong. The vast majority of people do not sign up these texts. The premium texts are from a third party vendor and the phone carrier is not supposed to issue credits for these charges. Sometimes I will issue a credit for someone who is elderly or does not have access to the internet, just as a courtesy. I, as a customer service rep, will get in trouble if someone finds out I have been giving credits for premium text messages.

allyson

I am a Sprint customer. I just had the same experience as most others who posted here... out of nowhere a 19.95 additional charge two months in a row to SJA alerts. This came on a phone line we don't even use so there is no way that we even opened the text message. The sprint rep I talked to told me there was nothing she could do.

Helmut

I am also a Sprint customer. I had the same experiece with a $19.99 SJA Mobile Alerts charge come up in my bill. This is highway robbery! The sprint rep was slightly helpful, but said there was nothing she could do. She did block the service and put in a "unsubscribe and refund" request in for me. I also filed one on SJA's website. We will see what happens.

Christina

I had a problem with SJA in August. I submitted a request for a 'no questions asked' refund with SJA when it occurred. I FINALLY received my refund check last week. I guess perseverance pays off!

Trent T

I had the same thing happen. Called Sprint and they said they will request a refund for me. They blocked the company from billing me in the future. I texted STOP to the number. I will see what happens.

Poco Zocko

New Cancel Number 97000
If you are trying to cancel service, please text STOP to the short code 97000

Candace

I was recently charged 19.99 by GOLIVEMOB. I have AT&T wireless. They don't know how or why the charge appeared but removed it. They are trying to track down the source. Fraud via email has now turned into FRAUD via cell phone.

Crystal

I recently got my bill and had a 9.99 charge on it also...i did not subscribe to this. i work for a wireless carrier and see these problems everyday. although, the carriers are good about stopping the charges and refunding the charges it is a hassle that we dont need to worry about. I was also subscribed to another charge i did not subscribe for that they didn't speak english and cursed at me while on the phone trying to tell them to stop charging me. Also, becareful when giving your phone number out when applying for things because it isn't secure...

Holly Jones

I left a comment on here in October about SJA charges on my Sprint bill that I did NOT in any how sign up for. I was charged 3 months in a row $19.99. When I called Sprint they said there was nothing they could do. I was pissed and took the advice of others from this site and filed a FCC complaint. Yesterday I rec'd a call from someone at Sprint regarding the FCC complaint and they have finally refunded my money or at least gave me a credit for the full amount of $59.97. I would advise everyone to do this. It worked for me anyways. Good Luck!!

Stacy

I have AT&T and just found this on my phone as well. There charging me 19.99 for this and I never heard of it till I found this site about it. I am going to call AT&T tomorrow so I hope something is done

Robert

Add me to the list. My story is the same as the dozens of others here, and who knows how many thousands more. This is outrageous. The carriers must know what is going on. Obviously they play along because they must be getting a rake off on all those 9.99 charges. This should be turned over to the regulatory authorities so they can put a stop to a blatant fraud.

Dave

I blocked my Sprint account last month. Sure enough they changed from TM to Games and hit me again this month. Sprint has issued instant credit both times (less than 5 min on phone) Today the Sprint CS person said it takes 2 mo billing cycle for the block to take affect so I "should" be OK now. You have to know that the scum in CO and DE are probably in Niger or somewhere. Seems the US Government can tap our lines but do nothing about these pigs.

nicholas roon

Rcvd bill from at&t for mobile phone and found charge
for 9.99. Immediately called CS and objected to the
charge, since I had not used or authorized SJAMOBILE
for any services. According to CS will receive a
credit for 9.99 on next bill and they will block any
further attempts by sjamobile to charge me.I can't
understand why the bums are allowed to do this. Guess
there is no oversight by FCC.

Giftguy73

For those of you receiving those charges on your bill, I hate to say it but until you speak with the right CS rep, you pretty much stand the chance of going around and around. I am a rep for one the companies mentioned on here. To stop this issue from happening over and over again, unfortunately you have to catch it the first time. The regulations for these SMS does not help the consumer. If you see a text with the sender as numbers simply reply back to it with either the word "cancel" "unsubscribe" or "stop". I get these calls weekly and most people I spoke to already erased the text. All I can do is issue a credit and transfer them to Tech Support. I am still looking for ways to stop this from happening. It only happened once to me so I add my cell number to the national Do not call list.

Sprint Employee

I work for Sprint and see this all the time. We have a tool called PMG Messaging that lets us pull up all 3rd party messaging that are charged via text. We have the options to block all short codes such as these, opt out or just block one. We also have the option to request a refund so don't let a rep tell you they can't. I work in the chat division so you may get better results chatting in. As for why these charges appear??? I still have no clue

Jen

2 months in a row, my son's phone and my husband's. Its upto $9.99 each time. Sprint has blocked the "third party that we are not affiliated with" and removed the charges. I would agree that Sprint is VERY difficult to work with. Hint...tell them you are extremely irritated and are going to leave and you want to talk to someone in RETENTION....if they cant give you what you want, leave. The others who work overseas can do nothing, the only ones who can help and make a REAL change are in retention. Its worth the time....

Doc

I must have an old phone, because JSA Mobile just hit with two charges for $9.99 each. I submitted a refund request, and am anticipating (?) a refund in 6 weeks. I have as yet been unable to get the billing removed by T-Mobile, but I will keep trying

eviewithatt

At&t customer here.... This morning I started my day with a call to them. This is the 3rd month since I reported "Quios Alerts/23907" which charges me a whopping $10.64 additional to my monthly bill! I have not ordered or agreed to this billing! I first reported this to At&t in May and they have credited my bill each month after. They also added a "block" in May. So why does it continue?? Results of today are, a credit to my account (again), checked to see if "block" was in place (it was), an appology (thank you) and they added an allert for At&t if it comes on again. At this time they will turn it over to their "special" team to investigate and take care of it and I will not have to be involved anymore! Next month will tell if this really happens. Go At&t, after 3 month they are on the ball, or are they?

quios

Hi Folks,

For those who are told to contact Quios for SJAMobile charges, please read the following.

Quios is in no way responsible for any SJAMobile charges, yet, people are being told by their cellphone carrier(s) to contact us for resolution.

We believe the reason for this confusion is that SJAMobile uses an aggregator to send messages to your carrier and this aggregator might (accidentally) be giving your carrier the wrong contact information for SJAMobile, so when you call to complain, your carrier tells you to contact to the wrong people.

Please direct complaints to SJAMobile or their aggregator.

Thank You

skydeck

Skydeck Blog

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