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Media > Newsletters > Consumer Advocate > November 2011 > Handling unwanted text messages

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Handling unwanted text messages

11/14/2011
Unwanted text messages are not only annoying, but can lead to unauthorized charges on your cell phone bill for services you never requested.

In the last few years, the Ohio Attorney General's Office has seen a rise in complaints dealing with unauthorized phone charges, in some cases connected with unwanted text message spam.

How you can avoid these charges:
  • Do not submit your cell phone number on websites that you do not know and trust.
  • Even if you do trust a company, always check its privacy policy before submitting your phone number. Find out whether it will sell your information. Be especially careful with “free ringtone” downloads.
  • Monitor your cell phone bill carefully for unauthorized charges and talk to your cell phone service provider about blocking all text messages sent through the Internet.
  • Register your cell phone number on the National Do Not Call Registry.
What to do if you discover unauthorized charges:
  • Contact the company responsible for the unwanted text messages, explain that you never intended to subscribe to their service and that you want it to stop. Also ask them for a refund for all previous charges.
  • Contact your service provider and explain the situation, that you never requested that service, and that you would like the charges to be removed from your bill.
  • Report the unwanted text messages by forwarding them to SPAM (7726), if accepted by your cell phone provider. Many providers allow you to forward unwanted texts to the number 7726, which spells “SPAM” on most phones.
  • If these approaches do not work, file a complaint with the Ohio Attorney General's Office, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and the Federal Communication Commission (FCC).
Keep in mind that filing a complaint won’t necessarily stop unwanted text messages, but it will help provide important information that may lead to future action.

File a complaint with the Ohio Attorney General's Office at www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov/ConsumerComplaint.

File a complaint with the FCC at www.fcc.gov.

File a complaint with the FTC at www.ftc.gov.

Register your phone number with the National Do Not Call Registry at
www.donotcall.gov.

Links:


File a complaint with the Ohio Attorney General's Office

File a complaint with the FCC
File a complaint with the FTC
National Do Not Call Registry
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