2012 PhonepayPlus/Open Market/Switchfire: The Government must act on this fraud

[El Gringo]

http://www.phonepayplus.org.uk/News-...stigation.aspx

Emergency procedure investigation
07 February 2012
PhonepayPlus, the UK regulator for premium rate telephone services, has launched an Emergency procedure investigation under paragraph 4.5 of its Code of Practice (12th Edition), following over 250 complaints from members of the public about ‘Adult WAP pay-per-view’ services which operate on various mobile text shortcodes, including 89911 and 69001.
Some complainants have alleged that they received unsolicited text messages, both chargeable messages and free marketing messages, from the services. Other complainants acknowledged that service content was accessed/viewed on their handset, but stated that the terms and conditions were misleading and that pricing information was not stated or noticed by them.
Switchfire Ltd has been identified as the Level 2 provider responsible for the service operating on the shortcodes. A Tribunal will decide whether the service is in breach of the Code as soon as is reasonably possible after PhonepayPlus has received a response from the Level 2 provider to its Emergency procedure breach notice, which is to be sent to Switchfire Ltd in due course. The service has now been suspended pending conclusion of the investigation and a decision by the Tribunal.
Switchfire Ltd has applied for a review of the decision to use the Emergency procedure which will be considered by a Tribunal in accordance with the PhonepayPlus Code of Practice.
In the meantime, other providers are reminded that enabling this service, or any other services that operate in a similar way, may result in breaches being raised against them.

Update to Emergency procedure investigation against Switchfire Ltd published on7 February 2012

Update published 28 February 2012

Following the instigation of the Emergency procedure, Switchfire Ltd requested a review of the use of the procedure in accordance with paragraph 4.5.3 of the Code. The Tribunal considered Switchfire Ltd’s submissions in relation to the use and scope of the Emergency procedure and subsequently decided to limit the application of the Emergency procedure to the Adult WAP pay-per-view services on mobile text shortcodes 69026, 69113, 89911, 69001 and 61177 on the basis that Switchfire Ltd was the provider of the service(s) under investigation operating on those shortcodes, but not the provider of the services operating on shortcodes 89292, 89996 and 89300. Subsequently, the Executive decided that it would not be appropriate to pursue an investigation in respect of shortcodes 69026 and 69113 (given that the shortcodes appeared to have been disconnected at least six months prior and complaints received appeared to relate to facts that occurred prior to disconnection) and referred the matter to the Tribunal who decided to remove those shortcodes from the scope of the Emergency procedure. The Emergency procedure investigation is now proceeding against Switchfire Ltd’s service operating on shortcodes 89911, 69001 and 61177 as well as any other shortcodes on which the service operates.

http://www.phonepayplus.org.uk/Numbe...aspx?ncn=61177
Check a Number - Result
PhonepayPlus has the following information about shortcode number :
61177

Customer care number: 0870 609 3042
Search result provided by: Switchfire Ltd
Service connected on: 02 November 2011
Service terminated on: This service is still operating
Name of service: 61177 - 0870 609 3042
Type of service: Switchfire Ltd has not provided this information
Service description: Capturing of STOP requests to all Switchfire services
How much does this service cost? 0.25
If you would like to find out more about this service or have a question about it then you should contact Switchfire Ltd
Switch Fire Ltd
66 Wilton Road
London
SW1V 1DE

http://www.phonepayplus.org.uk/Numbe...882c8505a&pi=1
61177

Customer care number: 0844 445 7707
Search result provided by: Switchfire Ltd
Service connected on: 05 October 2011
Service terminated on: This service is still operating
Name of service: Switchfire Ltd-08444457707
Type of service: Switchfire Ltd has not provided this information
Service description: Switchfire Ltd has not provided this information
How much does this service cost? Switchfire Ltd has not provided this information
If you would like to find out more about this service or have a question about it then you should contact Switchfire Ltd
Switch Fire Ltd
66 Wilton Road
London
SW1V 1DE

http://whocallsme.com/Phone-Number.aspx/61177

jim
14 Oct 2011
The C**ts at switchfire are at it again people. They are sending emails out which have www.eygk.com in the title. When opened on your mobile phone (mine accidently due to touchscreen sensitivity and i know its scam spam) automatically subscribes you without your permission or knowing what you are subsribing to, to switchfire and you recieve a mesage saying 'thank you for viewing our content' This i know is illegal and will be phoning ofcom and phonepayplus asap on monday morning. The first charged message was from 89300 which cost £1.50. This was from:

OpenMarket

15th Floor
389 Chiswick High Road
London
W4 4AL

0844 824 7441
cs@openmarket.com

If you phone your mobile operator, they will give you a landline number to call from which you can stop recieving premium rate messages from Switchfire (they should be called shitfire in my opinion) or any other similar company.
However you will continue to get adult related porn messages (free message 61177) with a link to www.eygk.com (followed by a jumble of letters) either as text messages or web service messages. Do not reply to them as they will incur further bills. Go to phonepayplus.com and enter the shortcode number and this will bring up a landline number from which you should be able to cancel these messages.
Switchfire details:

Switchfire Ltd

2nd Floor
66 Wilton Road
London
SW1V 1DE

0844 445 7707
support@switchfire.com

www.eygk.com is based on a server hosted by wanstor ltd in london.

Their details:

Telephone: 020 7592 7860
Email: info@wanstor.com


Wanstor ltd
3rd Floor
232-242 Vauxhall Bridge Road
London
SW1V 1AU

I feel that this is related to switchfire ltd as on google maps they are right next door to each other (coincidence, i think not) The number orange had for 61177 was a landline number with a load of nonsense advertising at the end of it. Therefore switchfire are lying to mobile phone operators as well.


I suggest that peolpe keep bombarding ofcom and phonepayplus with as many complaints as possible, and keep phoning switchfire and wanstor to complain also. BBC Watchdog may be a good idea too and i am considering starting a facebook and twitter page to hurt these companies public profiles/images and gather more evidence of their dodgy scams. Write to your MP as well. All in all the more fuss and noise made about these b**t**ds (simon blackburn is a name that crops up associated with all of these complaints and you sir are a first class s**t) the more likely it is that they will be shut down.

I apologise for my language but people and companies like this do make the red mist descend
Call Type: SMS

[]

Joe
16 Nov 2011
Another company related to this scam is PEEK A BOO TV LIMITED

David Wiseman Date of Birth 24/03/1956
Nationality British
Present Appointments 1 Function Director
Appointment Date 01/12/2009
Address Masons Yard, 34 High Street, Wimbledon Village, London, SW19 5BY

The telephone number is: 0844 445 7924
Caller: PEEK A BOO TV LIMITED
Call Type: SMS

[]

TOM replies to BOB
14 Feb 2012
i agree they r doin my headin what "********"

four pages of complaints for just 61177

The C**ts at switchfire are at it again people. They are sending emails out which have www.eygk.com in the title. When opened on your mobile phone (mine accidently due to touchscreen sensitivity and i know its scam spam) automatically subscribes you without your permission or knowing what you are subsribing to, to switchfire and you recieve a mesage saying 'thank you for viewing our content' This i know is illegal and will be phoning ofcom and phonepayplus asap on monday morning. The first charged message was from 89300 which cost £1.50.

[El Gringo]

so it looks like the above smart phone fraud lead to the PhonepayPlus PR statement

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/03...infected_apps/
Watchdog hits out at malware racking up premium-rate charges
Regulator horrified permission isn't being sough
1st March 2012

The premium rate phone regulator says it might disregard evidence of consumer consent from paid-for mobile applications if those apps turn out to contain malicious code.

Under PhonepayPlus' Code of Practice, premium-rate service (PRS) providers are prohibited from charging without consumers' consent. Certain PRS providers must hold evidence that consent has been obtained.
[]
When proposing the draft guidance in September last year, PhonepayPlus chief executive Paul Whiteing said that the regulator would "not hesitate to use [its] robust sanctioning powers to drive out rogue providers who could damage a vital part of the UK’s growing and innovative digital and creative economies".

like they did with the rogue dialer providers

[donald]

What is Switchfire really? The site that I could find was www.switchfire.co.uk and it looks pretty legit...