[LINK] mobile phone spam

[Fred Pilcher]

Ivan Trundle wrote:

> (Devil's advocate) Is there a better way?
> 
> Surely, if someone sends a message to a business of this nature, then 
> they are asking for a business transaction to take place. The regulatory 
> bodies (ACCC etc) have demanded that businesses include the fine print 
> to show what the receiver is liable for.

Sorry folks - I cleary haven't described the situation well enough.

No-one sent a message to anyone. These people, my daughter included, 
received an *unsolicited* text message. She read it and ignored it, but 
it wouldn't have mattered if she'd deleted it. From the minute the 
message was received, the sender had some legal ability to deduct money 
from her account.

> I've a teenage daughter, too - but we've both investigated this, and my 
> daughter, like many of her cohort, are well-versed on the traps here 
> (possibly more than we are).

So is my daughter, and so, ostensibly, are most of the people who have 
fallen prey to this scam. You don't need to subscribe to any service, or 
to to take any action at all. All that was necessary was for them to 
receive an unsolicited text message.

Fred