Text Message Fraud: Part 1 of 2

February 5, 2008 | 34 Comments

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

SJA Mobile Website

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.

Author’s Photo Posted by: Dan
Categories: Mobile Market, Featured

Comments

34 Responses to “Text Message Fraud: Part 1 of 2”

  • Thomas Hennessey on February 6th, 2008 1:11 pm

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

  • Mark Hoffman on February 6th, 2008 7:14 pm

    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 on February 6th, 2008 10:22 pm

    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 on February 8th, 2008 4:15 pm

    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 on February 8th, 2008 7:35 pm

    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 on February 11th, 2008 7:44 am

    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.action
    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 on February 11th, 2008 7:48 am

    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 on February 11th, 2008 2:37 pm

    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 on February 11th, 2008 3:54 pm

    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 on February 12th, 2008 12:26 pm

    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 on February 14th, 2008 10:27 pm

    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 on February 17th, 2008 1:14 pm

    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 on February 19th, 2008 12:58 am

    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 on February 20th, 2008 8:59 am

    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.

  • Skydeck : Text Message Fraud: Part 2 on February 20th, 2008 4:23 pm

    […] we posted about mystery charges from SJA Mobile a few things have happened that confirm our suspicions and also suggest that SJA has taken […]

  • Jaclyn on February 20th, 2008 6:40 pm

    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 on February 24th, 2008 10:07 am

    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 on February 24th, 2008 9:10 pm

    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 on February 28th, 2008 3:58 pm

    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 on February 28th, 2008 4:21 pm

    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 on March 3rd, 2008 10:28 am

    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 on March 3rd, 2008 9:50 pm

    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 on March 17th, 2008 2:51 pm

    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 on April 1st, 2008 11:31 am

    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 on April 3rd, 2008 10:50 am

    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 on April 15th, 2008 7:15 am

    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 on April 17th, 2008 9:40 am

    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 on April 19th, 2008 8:14 am

    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 on April 26th, 2008 11:04 am

    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 on April 30th, 2008 6:05 pm

    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 on April 30th, 2008 11:29 pm

    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 on May 10th, 2008 3:23 pm

    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 on May 12th, 2008 3:23 pm

    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 on May 13th, 2008 10:53 am

    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/complaintform.pdf

    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