Mobile Service Providers Need to Stop the Scammers

Did some reading on the Net about these "Premium" messages. Apparently, just by giving the scammers your cell number, you're subscribing to their service (which includes text message alerts that cost a fortune...five bucks each in my daughter's case). Problem is...you don't even know about the texts you're about to receive when you release your number, and you may not know that you're "joining" something.

It's a big problem, and it has a lot of people pissed off...and helpless. Helpless, because it's not illegal, but especially helpless because the service providers (like Bell, Rogers, Telus and, in my case, Koodo) won't do anything about it. But then, of course, they're making money off it. Koodo is collecting $15 from me this month on behalf of the scammers. Now, here's something interesting...

On Ellen Roseman's "On Your Side" blog, a Roger's employee wrote in response to complaints others had sent into the blog: "As agents, we have access to information regarding the origin of these texts and can help the customers contact those companies themselves."

Access to information regarding the origin of these texts. In other words, they know who the scammers are. They know where to find them. They know how to contact them. They know what the scammers are doing.

So why are they doing business with them?