Scam message from Wapstar

han1301

This morning I received a text message saying ‘thank you, your free trial from Wapstar content from Wapstar will end tomorrow, after that £4.50 will be taken from my mobile phone bill every week’ !!! It gives me the option to text ‘STOP’ to a number or ring a helpline - I don’t know what to do !! Usually I would never reply to messages like that but saw on the internet that people were replying with STOP. Please help.

mcilwraith

han1301 this is a helpful thread https://community.giffgaff.com/d/18597940-premium-text-charges-do-s-and-don-t-s worth a look at in your case

lmort57

han1301 Thank you for contacting the giffgaff Community.

You need to send STOP to the 5 digit number mentioned in the text

You need a minimum 8-15p of Airtime credit to send the STOP message (as not included in Goodybags), but in their original text message there will be a customer services number which you can call from your goodybag minutes, call them inform them you never subscribed, don't wish to be subscribed and to remove your Number from their Database.

It is important that you do send the STOP text or call them so that you get them to unsubscribe you, if you don't then you may well be subject to future charges to receive their texts!

Simply blocking the number will not stop the texts or charges as they are charged at network level, blocking simply stops them appearing on your phone but you will still be charged

You can enter the 5 digit number here http://psauthority.org.uk/about-us/number-checker to find alternative contact methods for them!

netfax

Hi there han1301. That's right, as you've seen online, please text the word STOP to the messages 5 digit shortcode number (it'll cost you 10p to text stop). This will unsubscribe you from that particular subscription service.

As you have received an unsolicited SMS text message, which has deducted credit from your giffgaff balance, or, if the texts are simply annoying, please take a look at giffgaff's What to do if you received unsolicited text messages article. This article covers many different situations in great detail and I'm sure that you'll find the information within the article invaluable.

Had enough of receiving premium calls? You know those numbers starting with 09? Or texts from premium rate adult or chat service numbers? Well, you can block those calls and texts in your giffgaff calls profile settings. Problem solved.

Thanks.

muggles708

han1301
You do need to send the STOP message to 83463 . If you do so quickly, you should avoid any charges.

Wapstar is a well known Payforit scam which has been reported many times on the giffgaff and O2 forums and on Twitter. It is clear that they have found a way of circumventing the protections introduced in May this year by O2 and giffgaff.

It is despicable and negligent that O2 and giffgaff “turn a blind eye” to this obvious fraud that they are facilitating (presumably because of their 30% cut of the fraudulent charges!). The company behind this scam are Remote Games Ltd, who have previously been fined £70,000 with £15,000 costs by the regulator for operating similar scams. https://psauthority.org.uk/for-business/adjudications/2015/2/remote-games-ltd-18639-adjudication-by-consent-adaf414e-59a1-e411-a529-00155d051116

Your first step should be to stop further charges. You can do this by sending a STOP message to 83463 (which will cost about 12p) or by ringing 0330 053 5841 during working hours Mon-Fri. This number is a standard rate number included in giffgaff goodybags and O2 bundles.

Once you have stopped the charges you should insist on a FULL refund from Remote Games Ltd. Best to use email for this if possible as it will provide you with evidence that you "have discussed you dispute with the seller" as required by the Payforit rules. If you are dissatisfied at this point you can escalate the dispute to giffgaff who really ought to be doing some work for their share of the proceeds of these disgusting scams.
When dealing with the scammers, if they refuse a refund, saying that you consented to the charges, ask for:

• Screenshots of the subscription workflow where you were alleged to have signed up for this service.
• A description of what the service you are supposed to have subscribed to provides? Is this a newsletter, access to a web portal?
• Any evidence that after supposedly signing up for the service, you actually used it
• The complete web server log of the subscription, including the User Agent strings containing all device details (browser, device type, device IP address) together with dates and times.
• If the subscription started after 11th May 2019, auditable proof of the additional authentication used (as required to comply with O2/giffgaff rules)
• Full company details of the company operating the service, country of registration, full name of company, company number and registered company address.
• Details of the Accredited Payment Intermediary(API) which handled the payment
• Details of the company’s disputes procedure, including any ADR scheme you can refer the matter to if they fail to provide a full refund.

That giffgaff continue to cooperate with companies that are proven scammers is little short of a disgrace. However the law is on the consumer's side. It is for the scammers to prove that you consented to the charges and NOT for you to prove that you didn't. Ultimately, as Remote Games are a UK based company, you can use the Small claims procedure to recover your money.

You need to be aware that when you use mobile data to access the internet, giffgaff leak your number to “trusted third parties”. These companies are then allowed to make charges to your account without providing any evidence that the charge is lawful. If you have an O2 account these charges are applied directly to your account and O2 will refuse to reverse them (or to provide any evidence that they are lawful!).O2 will allow you to place a “charge to mobile” bar on your account which is effective at blocking Payforit charges. If you are with giffgaff, the charges are taken from your airtime credit. If you have no airtime credit the charges cannot be taken. giffgaff offer no other mechanism, so any airtime credit will always be vulnerable to this form of fraud.

As an aside, there ARE ways of making chargeable calls without having airtime credit. Consider using a service like 18185 for these, or even using Skype. If you really need to have airtime credit then giffgaff is probably not for you - the risk of Payforit fraud is just too high! giffgaff still represents good value for money, but too many members are seeing their airtime credit stolen because giffgaff cooperate with these thieves. More information about Payforit scams and how to deal with them are on the Payforitsucks website. Google "payforitsucks giffgaff faq"

Wapstar Phone number: 0330 053 5841
Wapstar Email: assist<at>careformobile.com
Service Operated by: Remote Games Ltd
Remote Games
PO Box 5501
Manchester
M61 0PL
United Kingdom

Payments processed by Tap2Bill:
Phone No: 0333 003 0599
Email: customer.service<at>tap2bill.com
Tap2Bill Limited
5 St. John's Lane
Farringdon
London
EC1M 4BH
United Kingdom

richybhoy36

han1301 Hi I'm sorry that you have received this message ! The only way to srop it is to have credit and send " stop " to the number ! giffgaff should step in and do something about this as it's happening too often !