I had been constrained to document this on my blog. The fraudulent SMS from the GSM companies has hit a high and I cant just take it anymore. Our network operator (MTN, GLO, AIRTEL, and ETISALAT) had devised means of squeezing money out of the pocket of Nigerians and since it had been continuing unabated, it had become some sorts of milking money from unsuspecting Nigerians. One way or the other, you will just receive a text from your phone asking you to subscribed to certain tips, and as some of us had known that such SMS is being used to milk our credits, some of us just ignored such SMS. The idea is that, once you subscribe, they keep deducting money from your credit. There are some of them that will also ask you to join some bonanza with mouth watering offer, but since some Nigerians had known that it is just a gimmick to collect money from us, we just press the ignore button.
However, these GSM companies had now gone haywire, and a lot opf them dont even allow you to susbcribe before they start deducting money from your credit, all they want you to do is just reply with or without the keyword for subscriptions.
A case in point that forced me to make this write up was with Etisalat. I woke on Sunday morning 12th August, 2012 and I saw the following SMS on my blackberry phone. (See picture below)
Oh, being a Muslim and who was fasting, I was very happy to receive such a FREE tips on islamic teachings, so I text option 2 back believing this is Ramadan period and I can do with words of Holy Quran moreso when it is FREE from my network operator. The next reply puzzled me (see picture below).
I was very worried as to what they mean by subscription renewal is N50 per week, afterall I wasnt subscribing to anything, I was merely redeeming the FREE Islamic teachings that I WON. Well, I said to myself that, that should be optional, and that once my FREE 5 days Islamic teachings that I WON is over, I wont subscribe.
But surprisingly this morning, 17th August, 2012, I received another SMS (see picture below) where my credit was debited with 50 Naira for subscription renewal.
This is FRAUD. Now, I know you will said it is just 50 Naira, but, suppose 1 Million of their customer fall to these fraud SMS, they have make 50 Million Naira illegally by false pretense and without their customer willfully subscribing to the TIP. Did you see me trying to unsubscribe by texting STOP, it was shown delivered, but no reply yet.
Government should nip these act in the bud, it is becoming alarming. Now, I can say I am computer literate, and that goes to recognising when an SMS from their end is to trap me to part with my credit, but what about this scenario? I was told in the SMS that I received that I WON FREE 5 days of Islamic teachings, there was no where where the SMS said I should subscribe. This is a FRAUD, is cruel and it despicable and preposterous, somebody should do something.
Now, Pause and ponder, if this is what is obtainable now, dont you think it will get to a time that credit disappearance will be the order of the day? Someone just said, it is already happening.
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