Suspected Fraud By Sprint's "Premium Services"

In reviewing my recent Sprint bill I found $40 is charges for "Premium
Services" (ringtone and game downloads) that I did not make.

Sprint "Customer Service" keeps saying that these were done by me
since they were charged to my phone. Catch 22 here: I didn't do it,
but I must have since they are on my bill, and since they are on my
bill I must have done it. They did tell me that most of the downloads
occurred in the middle of the night when the phone was in my house and
I was asleep.

I talked to several people at Customer Service for over an hour,
including a supervisor, all of whom told me that they couldn't or more
accurately, wouldn't do anything to reverse the charges.

Since it appears that the downloads were made through their website,
does anyone know if Sprint keeps the IP address of the downloader?
Customer Service doesn't know or won't tell me.

Has anyone else had this problem with Sprint? How did you resolve it,
it at all?

Tomorrow I call Sprint Corporate and try there.

So a WARNING to all: Check your bills carefully!

James

> Has anyone else had this problem with Sprint? How did you resolve it,
> it at all?
>
> Tomorrow I call Sprint Corporate and try there.

Luckily I haven't had this same problem, but it irritates the hell out of me
that whenever there is a problem with SprintPCS you have to call, usually
many times, including the follow-up calls to try to confirm the expected
agreed-upon resolution, and even then the ugly problem can resurface when
the next bill arrives.
If sprint would streamline the grievance procedure, and give those CS agents
the power to actually overide the automatic procedures, then it would cut
the number of hours wasted by customers and otherwise well-meaning low level
agents down to practically nothing, giving CS agents time to work on other
customers.

Here are several suggestions to get their attention:
---file a report with the BBB
---file a report with the FCC
---send a through description of your problem to Sprint e-care and
corporate. Having something in writing from them is like having evidence to
support any resolution that they may offer verbally. I doubt that Sprint
would tell you in writing that you are a liar and that they are going to
bill you for something that you claim to have no knowlege of.
---threaten to leave sprint, agreement or not. Having to pay for fraudulent
billing should be considered a violation of the agreement, no?

Back in the day, when all the phones were wired to individual houses, if a
call was logged on your bill, there was a good bet that someone in your
house made the calls. Nowdays, with cell pirates and sloppy computer
programming, anything is suspect.

"James" <James@noone-nowhere.com> wrote in message
news:q6je43lhah6ian4v6b7urpqm77b2qjm9cj@4ax.com...
> In reviewing my recent Sprint bill I found $40 is charges for "Premium
> Services" (ringtone and game downloads) that I did not make.
>
> Sprint "Customer Service" keeps saying that these were done by me
> since they were charged to my phone. Catch 22 here: I didn't do it,
> but I must have since they are on my bill, and since they are on my
> bill I must have done it. They did tell me that most of the downloads
> occurred in the middle of the night when the phone was in my house and
> I was asleep.

It may have something to do with their converson to the new billing system
(see my recent post on unknown international calls). The person I finally
got through to said she got a call from someone who got a call from Sprint
saying her phone was compromised, and it wasn't. One group found 196
minutes of calls made by me, the website says 1 minute, and another person
can't find any record at all of the calls -- and I didn't make ANY, and I
don't know anyone overseas, and no one else has any way of using my phone.
It's all blamed on the new billing system. It sounds like it's a total mess
over there right now. Or you may have actually been cloned.

I agree, review your monthly bill if Sprint has converted to
a new system. Last month, I called CS and they took one
of the bogus charges off for me, no questions asked.

Tom

The billing system conversion (P2K to Ensemble) that others speak of
in this thread *may* have something to do with it. My questions for
you are:

1. How long have you had this phone number (not phone, not service,
the actual phone number)?

2. Have you recently sold, lost, or otherwise parted ways with an old
phone that was once active on this line/account?

The reason I ask is that "premium content" comes from two different
places: the Sprint Vision Content Vending Machine (the "Downloads"
area on PCS Vision) and from third-party vendors who peddle their
goods via text messaging-- the stuff you see advertised on TV "send
xxxxx to xxxxx to get x ringtone").

We'll look first at purchases from the Vision Content Vending Machine.
Errors in these purchase records are very rare, but they do happen for
a couple of reasons, which I'll get to in a minute. Every handset with
3G data capability is authenticated on Sprint's network through an NAI
which contains a username (somebody@sprintpcs.com) and a password.
This information is usually provisioned over-the-air, automatically,
when the handset is activated on the line. It's also possible to
program this information manually if the owner knows the Master
Subsidy Lock code (MSL), which Sprint isn't in a habit of giving out--
except when they have to, like during the phone programming process.

If someone were to program their handset with your Vision NAI, they
could very well purchase and bill things to your account. Your default
Vision password is just a bunch of gibberish, but someone in-the-know
who has access to your phone can fetch the information they need right
from the handset and plug it into theirs-- and in some early Vision
phones, they don't even need that lock code to get to it (a problem
which was fixed via software updates in pretty much all affected
models). If this has happened, logging in to your account at
Sprint.com and modifying your Vision password will block the offender
from future access.

A more common way people gain access to another person's Vision
account is through the use of an old handset which hasn't been
properly cleared of the old programming and loaded with new Vision NAI
details over the air. This can happen if you sell a phone, lose one
(and don't report it lost/stolen), etc. As I mentioned earlier, NAI
programming is supposed to happen automatically, but there's nothing
stopping the user from canceling it as soon as it starts, leaving the
old username and password in place. There are also times that the
information simply doesn't come down over the air, though that doesn't
happen often. The phone will need to be active on another account to
access the network, but if the Vision username and password that's
programmed in is still associated with YOUR account, YOU get billed
for purchases.

If you have recently parted ways with an old phone from your account,
let Customer Care know that it's likely it was still programmed with
your account information. They should be able to credit it back and
change your Vision password for you.

Now, as far as those third-party services go, it's true that Sprint,
like most carriers, has a policy of not refunding those charges. Think
of them as the modern cell phone equivalent of 900 numbers. Someone
else is billing you, Sprint's just passing along the bill. Many of the
services you see advertised on TV where you send a certain code to a
specific number to get a game or ringtone tell you in the (very) fine
print at the bottom of the screen that you're signing up for a
subscription or that they'll send you a text message once a day for
the next fifty years at three bucks a pop. If you have been receiving
these messages, even if you're not opening them, you're being billed.

If you didn't sign up, just about the only way you could be getting
bills for these is if it's an error at the service provider, or if you
recently got a new phone number and the previous owner was signed up
for something like this. If that's the case, it's almost easiest to
change your phone number. Explain the situation to Customer Care and
they'll typically have a supervisor approve a credit for the charges.

Those are really about the only ways I've ever seen truly erroneous
content charges wind up on customers' bills in my six years selling
and servicing the Sprint product.



On May 13, 2:45 pm, James <J...@noone-nowhere.com> wrote:
> In reviewing my recent Sprint bill I found $40 is charges for "Premium
> Services" (ringtone and game downloads) that I did not make.
>
> Sprint "Customer Service" keeps saying that these were done by me
> since they were charged to my phone. Catch 22 here: I didn't do it,
> but I must have since they are on my bill, and since they are on my
> bill I must have done it. They did tell me that most of the downloads
> occurred in the middle of the night when the phone was in my house and
> I was asleep.
>
> I talked to several people at Customer Service for over an hour,
> including a supervisor, all of whom told me that they couldn't or more
> accurately, wouldn't do anything to reverse the charges.
>
> Since it appears that the downloads were made through their website,
> does anyone know if Sprint keeps the IP address of the downloader?
> Customer Service doesn't know or won't tell me.
>
> Has anyone else had this problem with Sprint? How did you resolve it,
> it at all?
>
> Tomorrow I call Sprint Corporate and try there.
>
> So a WARNING to all: Check your bills carefully!
>
> James

On 14 May 2007 09:21:08 -0700, Steve Crow <steve.crow@gmail.com>
wrote:

>The billing system conversion (P2K to Ensemble) that others speak of
>in this thread *may* have something to do with it. My questions for
>you are:
>
>1. How long have you had this phone number (not phone, not service,
>the actual phone number)?
>
>2. Have you recently sold, lost, or otherwise parted ways with an old
>phone that was once active on this line/account?
>
>The reason I ask is that "premium content" comes from two different
>places: the Sprint Vision Content Vending Machine (the "Downloads"
>area on PCS Vision) and from third-party vendors who peddle their
>goods via text messaging-- the stuff you see advertised on TV "send
>xxxxx to xxxxx to get x ringtone").
>
>We'll look first at purchases from the Vision Content Vending Machine.
>Errors in these purchase records are very rare, but they do happen for
>a couple of reasons, which I'll get to in a minute. Every handset with
>3G data capability is authenticated on Sprint's network through an NAI
>which contains a username (somebody@sprintpcs.com) and a password.
>This information is usually provisioned over-the-air, automatically,
>when the handset is activated on the line. It's also possible to
>program this information manually if the owner knows the Master
>Subsidy Lock code (MSL), which Sprint isn't in a habit of giving out--
>except when they have to, like during the phone programming process.
>
>If someone were to program their handset with your Vision NAI, they
>could very well purchase and bill things to your account. Your default
>Vision password is just a bunch of gibberish, but someone in-the-know
>who has access to your phone can fetch the information they need right
>from the handset and plug it into theirs-- and in some early Vision
>phones, they don't even need that lock code to get to it (a problem
>which was fixed via software updates in pretty much all affected
>models). If this has happened, logging in to your account at
>Sprint.com and modifying your Vision password will block the offender
>from future access.
>
>A more common way people gain access to another person's Vision
>account is through the use of an old handset which hasn't been
>properly cleared of the old programming and loaded with new Vision NAI
>details over the air. This can happen if you sell a phone, lose one
>(and don't report it lost/stolen), etc. As I mentioned earlier, NAI
>programming is supposed to happen automatically, but there's nothing
>stopping the user from canceling it as soon as it starts, leaving the
>old username and password in place. There are also times that the
>information simply doesn't come down over the air, though that doesn't
>happen often. The phone will need to be active on another account to
>access the network, but if the Vision username and password that's
>programmed in is still associated with YOUR account, YOU get billed
>for purchases.
>
>If you have recently parted ways with an old phone from your account,
>let Customer Care know that it's likely it was still programmed with
>your account information. They should be able to credit it back and
>change your Vision password for you.
>
>Now, as far as those third-party services go, it's true that Sprint,
>like most carriers, has a policy of not refunding those charges. Think
>of them as the modern cell phone equivalent of 900 numbers. Someone
>else is billing you, Sprint's just passing along the bill. Many of the
>services you see advertised on TV where you send a certain code to a
>specific number to get a game or ringtone tell you in the (very) fine
>print at the bottom of the screen that you're signing up for a
>subscription or that they'll send you a text message once a day for
>the next fifty years at three bucks a pop. If you have been receiving
>these messages, even if you're not opening them, you're being billed.
>
>If you didn't sign up, just about the only way you could be getting
>bills for these is if it's an error at the service provider, or if you
>recently got a new phone number and the previous owner was signed up
>for something like this. If that's the case, it's almost easiest to
>change your phone number. Explain the situation to Customer Care and
>they'll typically have a supervisor approve a credit for the charges.
>
>Those are really about the only ways I've ever seen truly erroneous
>content charges wind up on customers' bills in my six years selling
>and servicing the Sprint product.
>
>
>
>On May 13, 2:45 pm, James <J...@noone-nowhere.com> wrote:
>> In reviewing my recent Sprint bill I found $40 is charges for "Premium
>> Services" (ringtone and game downloads) that I did not make.
>>
>> Sprint "Customer Service" keeps saying that these were done by me
>> since they were charged to my phone. Catch 22 here: I didn't do it,
>> but I must have since they are on my bill, and since they are on my
>> bill I must have done it. They did tell me that most of the downloads
>> occurred in the middle of the night when the phone was in my house and
>> I was asleep.
>>
>> I talked to several people at Customer Service for over an hour,
>> including a supervisor, all of whom told me that they couldn't or more
>> accurately, wouldn't do anything to reverse the charges.
>>
>> Since it appears that the downloads were made through their website,
>> does anyone know if Sprint keeps the IP address of the downloader?
>> Customer Service doesn't know or won't tell me.
>>
>> Has anyone else had this problem with Sprint? How did you resolve it,
>> it at all?
>>
>> Tomorrow I call Sprint Corporate and try there.
>>
>> So a WARNING to all: Check your bills carefully!
>>
>> James
>


To all who responded:

Here's the update. I called Sprint Corporate and talked first to one
of those CS reps who said, more or less the same as yesterday's
unknowing CS reps: It's your phone, your fault. Tough.

I spoke to his supervisor who finally got things sorted out. She
answered my questions and for a change, someone at Sprint listened.
She asked a lot of questions, but at the end, she gave me a $50 credit
in the event I am continued to be billed in May/June and told me how
to remove anything that might be an ongoing rebilling.

And that was the secret door on their website.

The place to go is after the login page. Go to "My Content", then
click on "My Content Manager". There you can ask for a refund or
unsubscribe. Of course, the assumption is that you were the one to
download things. But there is a problem in that you can ask for a
refund, but the system only allows a maximum of two per month. In
asking for a refund, click on the radio button for "Other" and say
"Unauthorized".

I suppose it would have been nice if someone at a not-so-senior level
mentioned that, but I suspect these people at first tier CS are in a
call center somewhere outside of the known universe.

So to amend my warning: every couple of weeks, check your account for
"content". And, if you explain yourself very carefuylly, politely,
and succinctly to CS, almost universally, with one lone exception
today, they still tell you that you are wrong.

Two other point: First, if your login name is your cellphone number,
you've opened the door just a bit too wide. And second, and most
important, if you go to "Settings and Preferences" you can prevent
downloads of games, songs, and just plain old crap. (BTW, the first
several CS reps told me that if I did that I would lose access to
PowerVision and web access, which I still want. Today's CS supervisor
told me that that was wrong information.)

James

On Sun, 13 May 2007 13:45:39 -0500, James
<James@noone-nowhere.com> wrote:

>In reviewing my recent Sprint bill I found $40 is charges for "Premium
>Services" (ringtone and game downloads) that I did not make.
>
>Sprint "Customer Service" keeps saying that these were done by me
>since they were charged to my phone. Catch 22 here: I didn't do it,
>but I must have since they are on my bill, and since they are on my
>bill I must have done it. They did tell me that most of the downloads
>occurred in the middle of the night when the phone was in my house and
>I was asleep.
>
>I talked to several people at Customer Service for over an hour,
>including a supervisor, all of whom told me that they couldn't or more
>accurately, wouldn't do anything to reverse the charges.
>
>Since it appears that the downloads were made through their website,
>does anyone know if Sprint keeps the IP address of the downloader?
>Customer Service doesn't know or won't tell me.
>
>Has anyone else had this problem with Sprint? How did you resolve it,
>it at all?
>
>Tomorrow I call Sprint Corporate and try there.
>
>So a WARNING to all: Check your bills carefully!
>
>James

Sprint most probably WILL NOT reverse those ring tones'
download charges that might have been done by someone other
than you via their Web site.

Assuming that to be true, then do yourself a big financial
favor.
Immediately go back to your Sprint Web site account and
CHANGE YOUR PASSWORD. Do this NOW!!!

As a further precaution you might also consider downloading
the free SPYBOT and AD-AWARE anti-spywares, and set them to
automatic-run on a daily basis.
You may be surprised at how many keystroke loggers and other
spyware are lurking on MOST unprotected PCs, including those
that also have activated firewalls AND activated anti-virus
software!
Anti-spyware and anti-virus are NOT the same.
All PCs need BOTH installed and running on them.

Hope that helps. ---Juan

On May 14, 7:26 pm, James <J...@noone-nowhere.com> wrote:
> On 14 May 2007 09:21:08 -0700, Steve Crow <steve.c...@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> >The billing system conversion (P2K to Ensemble) that others speak of
> >in this thread *may* have something to do with it. My questions for
> >you are:
>
> >1. How long have you had this phone number (not phone, not service,
> >the actual phone number)?
>
> >2. Have you recently sold, lost, or otherwise parted ways with an old
> >phone that was once active on this line/account?
>
> >The reason I ask is that "premium content" comes from two different
> >places: the Sprint Vision Content Vending Machine (the "Downloads"
> >area on PCS Vision) and from third-party vendors who peddle their
> >goods via text messaging-- the stuff you see advertised on TV "send
> >xxxxx to xxxxx to get x ringtone").
>
> >We'll look first at purchases from the Vision Content Vending Machine.
> >Errors in these purchase records are very rare, but they do happen for
> >a couple of reasons, which I'll get to in a minute. Every handset with
> >3G data capability is authenticated on Sprint's network through an NAI
> >which contains a username (someb...@sprintpcs.com) and a password.
> >This information is usually provisioned over-the-air, automatically,
> >when the handset is activated on the line. It's also possible to
> >program this information manually if the owner knows the Master
> >Subsidy Lock code (MSL), which Sprint isn't in a habit of giving out--
> >except when they have to, like during the phone programming process.
>
> >If someone were to program their handset with your Vision NAI, they
> >could very well purchase and bill things to your account. Your default
> >Vision password is just a bunch of gibberish, but someone in-the-know
> >who has access to your phone can fetch the information they need right
> >from the handset and plug it into theirs-- and in some early Vision
> >phones, they don't even need that lock code to get to it (a problem
> >which was fixed via software updates in pretty much all affected
> >models). If this has happened, logging in to your account at
> >Sprint.com and modifying your Vision password will block the offender
> >from future access.
>
> >A more common way people gain access to another person's Vision
> >account is through the use of an old handset which hasn't been
> >properly cleared of the old programming and loaded with new Vision NAI
> >details over the air. This can happen if you sell a phone, lose one
> >(and don't report it lost/stolen), etc. As I mentioned earlier, NAI
> >programming is supposed to happen automatically, but there's nothing
> >stopping the user from canceling it as soon as it starts, leaving the
> >old username and password in place. There are also times that the
> >information simply doesn't come down over the air, though that doesn't
> >happen often. The phone will need to be active on another account to
> >access the network, but if the Vision username and password that's
> >programmed in is still associated with YOUR account, YOU get billed
> >for purchases.
>
> >If you have recently parted ways with an old phone from your account,
> >let Customer Care know that it's likely it was still programmed with
> >your account information. They should be able to credit it back and
> >change your Vision password for you.
>
> >Now, as far as those third-party services go, it's true that Sprint,
> >like most carriers, has a policy of not refunding those charges. Think
> >of them as the modern cell phone equivalent of 900 numbers. Someone
> >else is billing you, Sprint's just passing along the bill. Many of the
> >services you see advertised on TV where you send a certain code to a
> >specific number to get a game or ringtone tell you in the (very) fine
> >print at the bottom of the screen that you're signing up for a
> >subscription or that they'll send you a text message once a day for
> >the next fifty years at three bucks a pop. If you have been receiving
> >these messages, even if you're not opening them, you're being billed.
>
> >If you didn't sign up, just about the only way you could be getting
> >bills for these is if it's an error at the service provider, or if you
> >recently got a new phone number and the previous owner was signed up
> >for something like this. If that's the case, it's almost easiest to
> >change your phone number. Explain the situation to Customer Care and
> >they'll typically have a supervisor approve a credit for the charges.
>
> >Those are really about the only ways I've ever seen truly erroneous
> >content charges wind up on customers' bills in my six years selling
> >and servicing the Sprint product.
>
> >On May 13, 2:45 pm, James <J...@noone-nowhere.com> wrote:
> >> In reviewing my recent Sprint bill I found $40 is charges for "Premium
> >> Services" (ringtone and game downloads) that I did not make.
>
> >> Sprint "Customer Service" keeps saying that these were done by me
> >> since they were charged to my phone. Catch 22 here: I didn't do it,
> >> but I must have since they are on my bill, and since they are on my
> >> bill I must have done it. They did tell me that most of the downloads
> >> occurred in the middle of the night when the phone was in my house and
> >> I was asleep.
>
> >> I talked to several people at Customer Service for over an hour,
> >> including a supervisor, all of whom told me that they couldn't or more
> >> accurately, wouldn't do anything to reverse the charges.
>
> >> Since it appears that the downloads were made through their website,
> >> does anyone know if Sprint keeps the IP address of the downloader?
> >> Customer Service doesn't know or won't tell me.
>
> >> Has anyone else had this problem with Sprint? How did you resolve it,
> >> it at all?
>
> >> Tomorrow I call Sprint Corporate and try there.
>
> >> So a WARNING to all: Check your bills carefully!
>
> >> James
>
> To all who responded:
>
> Here's the update. I called Sprint Corporate and talked first to one
> of those CS reps who said, more or less the same as yesterday's
> unknowing CS reps: It's your phone, your fault. Tough.
>
> I spoke to his supervisor who finally got things sorted out. She
> answered my questions and for a change, someone at Sprint listened.
> She asked a lot of questions, but at the end, she gave me a $50 credit
> in the event I am continued to be billed in May/June and told me how
> to remove anything that might be an ongoing rebilling.
>
> And that was the secret door on their website.
>
> The place to go is after the login page. Go to "My Content", then
> click on "My Content Manager". There you can ask for a refund or
> unsubscribe. Of course, the assumption is that you were the one to
> download things. But there is a problem in that you can ask for a
> refund, but the system only allows a maximum of two per month. In
> asking for a refund, click on the radio button for "Other" and say
> "Unauthorized".
>
> I suppose it would have been nice if someone at a not-so-senior level
> mentioned that, but I suspect these people at first tier CS are in a
> call center somewhere outside of the known universe.
>
> So to amend my warning: every couple of weeks, check your account for
> "content". And, if you explain yourself very carefuylly, politely,
> and succinctly to CS, almost universally, with one lone exception
> today, they still tell you that you are wrong.

Or just dump them and go with Virgin Mobile, Sir Richard's separate
Customer Service is the only thing keeping spcs from total
collapse...JG

>
> Two other point: First, if your login name is your cellphone number,
> you've opened the door just a bit too wide. And second, and most
> important, if you go to "Settings and Preferences" you can prevent
> downloads of games, songs, and just plain old crap. (BTW, the first
> several CS reps told me that if I did that I would lose access to
> PowerVision and web access, which I still want. Today's CS supervisor
> told me that that was wrong information.)
>
> James- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Premium Services charges come from third party companies invoicing Sprint for services rendered to you. It happened to me once. I saw an ad offering "free ringtones". I clicked the necessary buttons to obtain my "free ringtones". Little by little the real culprits navigated me thru a lot of webpages filled with text until I finally clicked the "get them now" button. In the process I gave these thiefs my cellphone number because they needed it to send me the ringtones. Unknowingly I had accepted their terms and conditions that included a $9.99 monthly recurring charge. Only the first ringtone was "free". When I noticed the scam I contacted Sprint via email explaining what had happened to me and asking them why it was so easy for these thiefs to access my Sprint account and charge to it. I told them that even when I try to charge something to my account I have to supply them my PIN number. These thiefs didn't even need this PIN to do it. Sprint immediately cancelled all charges related to that issue and they disabled the Premium Services feature from my account. I find Sprint customer service personnel very efficient and responsive to my needs. Every time.