To Unsubscribe, send the word "STOP" to 5503
I'm always skilled at smelling scams and scums from hundred miles away but how this scam eluded me is still a puzzle to me. First I would like to apologize to everyone for not playing my informal role as the "public watchdog" properly and alerting Kenyan users of the Mobile Zone Wireless scam.
Before I continue, here is how to UNSUBSCRIBE from the service: Send an SMS with the word "STOP" to 5503 . These scums will charge you a final Ksh.30 for unsubscribing!
The fraudulent company offered some captivating ads asking users to answer questions such as "Who is the real Obama?" blah blah. When you click the link, it takes you to a page where you are asked to answer the question and then enter the phone your phone number to be entered into a draw to "win" cool mobile phones or an iPadetc. No terms of Service are even displayed during the entire process but you will begin knowing the Terms of service soon enough when Ksh.30 begins to disappear from your phone mysteriously, everyday. The parent company, Orangino is based in Stockolm, Sweden and owned by one Ulla Osterman but it seems they have some minions in Kenya to do their bidding. You can tell the scammer, Ulla Osterman, what you think by emailing them at this email ulla@businesscompetence.com .
Subscribing for this service is quite easy but unsubscribing is another matter altogether.Once you are in, there's no easy way out as there is no readily accessible info on how to unsubscribe. If you are a busy guy like me, you might be stuck with this service for a month before you can find time to get through to your mobile phone company's customer service(In my case, Safaricom). It's like signing a deal with the devil!
The moment you subscribe, you automatically accept their obscure Terms of Service(TOS) that they will be deducting Ksh.30 from your account anytime they send useless ringtones etc to download, and they can do this as frequently as everyday. They ask you to click the link http://m.ke.orangino.com. That means every day you will be losing sh.30 to an unsolicited service that you have not asked for. They use strong arm tactics to fleece consumers and how Safaricom allows something like this within their network beats logic. I guess for mobile companies, every revenue stream is acceptable, there are no ethical considerations on protecting consumers from fraud. So now thousands or even hundreds of thousands of consumers are stuck with Orangino, losing millions of shillings every day to some obscure company based in Stockholm!
TriviCell/Cellon LTD Scam
Scam URL: http://www.trivicell.com
Another scam is this one, if you have seen this ad(below) or "who is the real Obama ads", avoid at all costs! You will not win an iPad, you will lose Ksh.30 everyday or more!
The moment you click this ad, it takes you to the page below where you answer three questions to "win" an iPad:
Then you are asked to enter your phone number as below:
As you can see, Terms of Service(TOS) are displayed in tiny fonts at the bottom. Don't even go past this step. Their TOS will soon be chillingly clear when your phone starts hemorrhaging cash mysteriously. Simply avoid these ads. I will update this story with new findings.
Please tell Safaricom to STOP these scams! Drop a tweet to Bob Collymore @BobCollymore
Work can be republished with attribution. Email Us africadomainnames@gmail.com
I'm always skilled at smelling scams and scums from hundred miles away but how this scam eluded me is still a puzzle to me. First I would like to apologize to everyone for not playing my informal role as the "public watchdog" properly and alerting Kenyan users of the Mobile Zone Wireless scam.
Before I continue, here is how to UNSUBSCRIBE from the service: Send an SMS with the word "STOP" to 5503 . These scums will charge you a final Ksh.30 for unsubscribing!
The fraudulent company offered some captivating ads asking users to answer questions such as "Who is the real Obama?" blah blah. When you click the link, it takes you to a page where you are asked to answer the question and then enter the phone your phone number to be entered into a draw to "win" cool mobile phones or an iPadetc. No terms of Service are even displayed during the entire process but you will begin knowing the Terms of service soon enough when Ksh.30 begins to disappear from your phone mysteriously, everyday. The parent company, Orangino is based in Stockolm, Sweden and owned by one Ulla Osterman but it seems they have some minions in Kenya to do their bidding. You can tell the scammer, Ulla Osterman, what you think by emailing them at this email ulla@businesscompetence.com .
Subscribing for this service is quite easy but unsubscribing is another matter altogether.Once you are in, there's no easy way out as there is no readily accessible info on how to unsubscribe. If you are a busy guy like me, you might be stuck with this service for a month before you can find time to get through to your mobile phone company's customer service(In my case, Safaricom). It's like signing a deal with the devil!
The moment you subscribe, you automatically accept their obscure Terms of Service(TOS) that they will be deducting Ksh.30 from your account anytime they send useless ringtones etc to download, and they can do this as frequently as everyday. They ask you to click the link http://m.ke.orangino.com. That means every day you will be losing sh.30 to an unsolicited service that you have not asked for. They use strong arm tactics to fleece consumers and how Safaricom allows something like this within their network beats logic. I guess for mobile companies, every revenue stream is acceptable, there are no ethical considerations on protecting consumers from fraud. So now thousands or even hundreds of thousands of consumers are stuck with Orangino, losing millions of shillings every day to some obscure company based in Stockholm!
TriviCell/Cellon LTD Scam
Scam URL: http://www.trivicell.com
Another scam is this one, if you have seen this ad(below) or "who is the real Obama ads", avoid at all costs! You will not win an iPad, you will lose Ksh.30 everyday or more!
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| Mobile SCAM |
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| SCAM!!! Avoid these ads |
As you can see, Terms of Service(TOS) are displayed in tiny fonts at the bottom. Don't even go past this step. Their TOS will soon be chillingly clear when your phone starts hemorrhaging cash mysteriously. Simply avoid these ads. I will update this story with new findings.
Please tell Safaricom to STOP these scams! Drop a tweet to Bob Collymore @BobCollymore
Work can be republished with attribution. Email Us africadomainnames@gmail.com
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