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Massive Vodafone bill! |
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#1 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Wantage, Oxfordshire
Posts: 3,557
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Massive Vodafone bill!
My usual Vodafone bill, on my Samsung Galaxy is roughly £21 a month so I was shocked to find my latest bill came to £56. I assumed it was because I had been using 4G instead of wi-fi. I went on the Vodafone chat and had some good advice and help from one of their advisors. It seems that I have been sent and received texts from the following:
Contact number: 03333137900 Name: Oxygen8 Email: customercare.uk@oxygen8.com I have no trace of any of this on my phone. It totalled £36.67p. On googling the number quite a few EE customers have had the same scam. How do these scammers get away with this? The Vodafone advisor said I should contact Oxygen8 and get a refund which is what I shall try to do. Anyone on here suffered the same?
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#2 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Swansea, Wales
Posts: 146
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Quote:
My usual Vodafone bill, on my Samsung Galaxy is roughly £21 a month so I was shocked to find my latest bill came to £56. I assumed it was because I had been using 4G instead of wi-fi. I went on the Vodafone chat and had some good advice and help from one of their advisors. It seems that I have been sent and received texts from the following:
Contact number: 03333137900 Name: Oxygen8 Email: customercare.uk@oxygen8.com I have no trace of any of this on my phone. It totalled £36.67p. On googling the number quite a few EE customers have had the same scam. How do these scammers get away with this? The Vodafone advisor said I should contact Oxygen8 and get a refund which is what I shall try to do. Anyone on here suffered the same? ![]() Have you installed any third party APKs on your phone recently? Have you accidentally clicked on a malicious advert on say, a news website? Perhaps one that subscribes you to a ringtone service where it applies a charge to your mobile account every week or fortnight? I was stung a while back while visiting a local newspaper website. A full screen ad popped up over the entire article with no option to click off it. I tapped on the screen and the ad came up stating that I had subscribed to a 'Mobile Academy' service. I was £6 out of pocket straight away. |
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#3 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Hampshire
Posts: 8,102
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Quote:
One of the many downsides to being with Vodafone - they don't let you set usage caps or out of allowance alerts on your account. This is why I never recommend them to anyone. All other major networks have data caps, and with Three you can block any out of bundle spending.
Have you installed any third party APKs on your phone recently? Have you accidentally clicked on a malicious advert on say, a news website? Perhaps one that subscribes you to a ringtone service where it applies a charge to your mobile account every week or fortnight? I was stung a while back while visiting a local newspaper website. A full screen ad popped up over the entire article with no option to click off it. I tapped on the screen and the ad came up stating that I had subscribed to a 'Mobile Academy' service. I was £6 out of pocket straight away. |
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#4 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Central Belt
Posts: 12,290
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There should be something done to stop the autosubscribing or autopurchasing by accidentally clicking on an ad at the top, bottom or side of the screen.
Being drunk, being bleary eyed or falling asleep while you are looking at webpages on your mobile can cost you a lot of money as you don't even realise you've clicked on the ads by accident. |
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#5 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Destination: Hard Brexit
Posts: 6,368
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How does simply clicking on the ad, give your phone number to them ?
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#6 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Destination: Hard Brexit
Posts: 6,368
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Quote:
There should be something done to stop the autosubscribing or autopurchasing by accidentally clicking on an ad at the top, bottom or side of the screen.
Being drunk, being bleary eyed or falling asleep while you are looking at webpages on your mobile can cost you a lot of money as you don't even realise you've clicked on the ads by accident. |
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#7 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 3,644
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Quote:
When you browse via a mobile connection, your mobile number is sent in the embedded headers. Only way to avoid this is use a free VPN such as Onavo.
Also are there any benefits to paying for VPN or are the free ones as good? Thanks, Mark. |
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#8 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: In Gods Own County
Posts: 20,678
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EE and T-Mobile customers can ask for a "Charge to Account Bar" that does exactly this.
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#9 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 14,577
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Quote:
When you browse via a mobile connection, your mobile number is sent in the embedded headers. Only way to avoid this is use a free VPN such as Onavo.
Personally I'm annoyed that there isn't an opt out for sending your phone number in web request headers to whoever the provider fancies, I think it's time toothless Ofcom put a stop to that without the user's opt in. |
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#10 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 9,212
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Quote:
Only to certain trusted partners though, and if they scam or take money without the user knowingly engaging in chargeable activity then EE or whoever should refund.
Personally I'm annoyed that there isn't an opt out for sending your phone number in web request headers to whoever the provider fancies, I think it's time toothless Ofcom put a stop to that without the user's opt in. |
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#11 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Portsmouth
Posts: 787
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Quote:
When you browse via a mobile connection, your mobile number is sent in the embedded headers. Only way to avoid this is use a free VPN such as Onavo.
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#12 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 95
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Quote:
Only to certain trusted partners though, and if they scam or take money without the user knowingly engaging in chargeable activity then EE or whoever should refund.
Personally I'm annoyed that there isn't an opt out for sending your phone number in web request headers to whoever the provider fancies, I think it's time toothless Ofcom put a stop to that without the user's opt in. If you see unexpected charges on your bank card, your bank doesn't tell you to go speak to the company, they deal with it themselves. It's disgraceful the mobile operators are effectively turning your phone into a charge card but not then being regulated the same way the banking industry is. |
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#13 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: This forum
Posts: 3,392
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It's disgraceful the mobile operators are effectively turning your phone into a charge card but not then being regulated the same way the banking industry is.
I don't like it, and I'm pleased to read you can now get the mobile operator to block this. http://www.payforit.org/ http://www.three.co.uk/Support/Inter..._Apps/payforit http://ee.co.uk/help/accounts-billin...our-ee-account http://www.vodafone.co.uk/terms-and-...ther/payforit/ http://www.o2.co.uk/chargetomobile |
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#14 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Wantage, Oxfordshire
Posts: 3,557
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Thanks for the feedback. The Vodafone advisor said he would block number but how many others are there out there?
Voodoofish put it in a nutshell. |
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#15 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 14,577
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Just a note for those looking in the request headers, you don't see it as it is filtered as it exits the network EXCEPT for the list of 'trusted' (definitely in air quotes) third parties who are in the config.
O2's error a couple of years back relates to building servers or changing a config which meant that instead of it only being left in for 100 domains and not for the rest, it got left in for *.* !!! This meant that any web server admin could log the phone numbers of visitors to their site. It's the same sort of behaviour as banks who change their T&C's so they can sell your personal data unless you write to them by old fashioned letter (presumably with a quill) and tell them not to. If I had a choice I'd choose a provider that doesn't treat the consumer with contempt and allows you to opt in or out of things like this from the 'my Vodafone' etc, sadly THEY'RE ALL AT IT!!!!! |
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#16 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Wantage, Oxfordshire
Posts: 3,557
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I'm not very technically minded so don't really understand/follow the above post by Thine Wonk but am I right in thinking that:
1) If I don't use the internet at all on my mobile then I shouldn't have any problem? 2) If I don't make use of 4G and only use wi-fi when available I should be OK? I use my Kindle for internet browsing usually so don't have any usage charges at all. |
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