thumper300zx
Member
Here's what happened to me -- was wondering if anyone else has had something similar occur.
I have not been charged yet, but I warned Verizon about this and hopefully they will come to the rescue. I was playing Words with Friends on my Droid and accidentally clicked on an AD link within the application -- I didn't even know I had done it. I had just been on the Android Market updating Words with Friends, and the ad link brought me to apparently a webpage that MASKED itself as the Android Market. So I thought I maybe hit a back button or something and just ended up back on there.
The app looked fun, and was FREE, so I installed. However, it was NOT an Android app. Once the app was installed, I found out it SOMEHOW had scoured my phone and pulled my phone number. I NEVER provided this information. THEN, I got a text message!!! Already I know something bad has happened. The message says to reply HELP for help, and STOP to stop the 'subscription'. What subscription? I never subscribed to ANYTHING!!!
Then I read up on it a bit. Apparently, replying to STOP = FOUR DIGIT code ("PIN"), which they DID NOT INFORM ME OF in any way or form when downloading their APPLICATION. From what I've read, they will now try to use it against me as a my VERIFYING a subscription. Absolutely CRIMINAL. After I texted STOP, they replied letting me know "Your Cellarea subscription is cancelled. For more support, email "XXXX" or call "XXXX". I had apparently downloaded the app from a site called morphzone.me, so I looked up that and Cellarea. There have been other people that had problems with them. Morphzone has also had apps removed from the Android Market, apparently due to fraud and dishonest advertising of their terms.
How cell phone companies continue to allow such charges is beyond me. I am horribly upset and just wish we could send in a Seal team to take care of these people like Osama Bin Laden. If I get a charge on my Verizon Bill I will go absolutely ballistic...and I'm pretty sure at this point it's going to happen. I should never have replied with STOP, however, they already had my cell information so I don't know it would've made a difference. PISSED OFF!!!
From their site:
"(a) Subscription Service. By entering your cell phone number on the Website, you consent to receive a text message containing a PIN code. By entering the PIN code on the Website, you acknowledge you are subscribing to WWW.MORPHZONE.ME's text alert subscription service. Subscribing provides you with monthly alerts. WWW.MORPHZONE.ME subscribers may cancel by texting STOP to any message they receive All plans are subject to WWW.MORPHZONE.ME's Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy, available on our Website. To get help, text HELP to the message you receive or contact Customer Care.
By registering for a subscription service, you authorize WWW.MORPHZONE.ME to bill you through your mobile telephone carrier. Message and Data Rates May Apply. You confirm you are the owner of the phone or have permission of the owner to incur these charges. Do not enter your personal PIN Code unless you have read, understand and agree to these terms and conditions. Monthly Club subscriptions are billed the recurring applicable subscription fee each month until you cancel the subscription. Monthly subscribers are billed on a 30-day cycle, which begins on the first day you sign up for the subscription and ends 30 days thereafter (your "Billing Cycle"). Your mobile phone bill will be charged on the first day of each Billing Cycle. You agree that normal carrier charges (e.g. WAP, MMS, GPRS, and SMS) may apply. Unused monthly credits do not roll-over to the next month’s Billing Cycle. You agree that if any attempt to bill you for your subscription fails for any reason, including non-payment by you or errors on the part of your mobile telephone company, WWW.MORPHZONE.ME reserves the right to re-bill you for any outstanding fees."
Again, I NEVER agreed to anything. NEVER agreed to any subscription. There was nothing during install, etc that asked me to enter anything special. The app installed and sucked up my phone #, then I got the text. And NOTHING on their site says anything about Cellarea.com.
I have not been charged yet, but I warned Verizon about this and hopefully they will come to the rescue. I was playing Words with Friends on my Droid and accidentally clicked on an AD link within the application -- I didn't even know I had done it. I had just been on the Android Market updating Words with Friends, and the ad link brought me to apparently a webpage that MASKED itself as the Android Market. So I thought I maybe hit a back button or something and just ended up back on there.
The app looked fun, and was FREE, so I installed. However, it was NOT an Android app. Once the app was installed, I found out it SOMEHOW had scoured my phone and pulled my phone number. I NEVER provided this information. THEN, I got a text message!!! Already I know something bad has happened. The message says to reply HELP for help, and STOP to stop the 'subscription'. What subscription? I never subscribed to ANYTHING!!!
Then I read up on it a bit. Apparently, replying to STOP = FOUR DIGIT code ("PIN"), which they DID NOT INFORM ME OF in any way or form when downloading their APPLICATION. From what I've read, they will now try to use it against me as a my VERIFYING a subscription. Absolutely CRIMINAL. After I texted STOP, they replied letting me know "Your Cellarea subscription is cancelled. For more support, email "XXXX" or call "XXXX". I had apparently downloaded the app from a site called morphzone.me, so I looked up that and Cellarea. There have been other people that had problems with them. Morphzone has also had apps removed from the Android Market, apparently due to fraud and dishonest advertising of their terms.
How cell phone companies continue to allow such charges is beyond me. I am horribly upset and just wish we could send in a Seal team to take care of these people like Osama Bin Laden. If I get a charge on my Verizon Bill I will go absolutely ballistic...and I'm pretty sure at this point it's going to happen. I should never have replied with STOP, however, they already had my cell information so I don't know it would've made a difference. PISSED OFF!!!
From their site:
"(a) Subscription Service. By entering your cell phone number on the Website, you consent to receive a text message containing a PIN code. By entering the PIN code on the Website, you acknowledge you are subscribing to WWW.MORPHZONE.ME's text alert subscription service. Subscribing provides you with monthly alerts. WWW.MORPHZONE.ME subscribers may cancel by texting STOP to any message they receive All plans are subject to WWW.MORPHZONE.ME's Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy, available on our Website. To get help, text HELP to the message you receive or contact Customer Care.
By registering for a subscription service, you authorize WWW.MORPHZONE.ME to bill you through your mobile telephone carrier. Message and Data Rates May Apply. You confirm you are the owner of the phone or have permission of the owner to incur these charges. Do not enter your personal PIN Code unless you have read, understand and agree to these terms and conditions. Monthly Club subscriptions are billed the recurring applicable subscription fee each month until you cancel the subscription. Monthly subscribers are billed on a 30-day cycle, which begins on the first day you sign up for the subscription and ends 30 days thereafter (your "Billing Cycle"). Your mobile phone bill will be charged on the first day of each Billing Cycle. You agree that normal carrier charges (e.g. WAP, MMS, GPRS, and SMS) may apply. Unused monthly credits do not roll-over to the next month’s Billing Cycle. You agree that if any attempt to bill you for your subscription fails for any reason, including non-payment by you or errors on the part of your mobile telephone company, WWW.MORPHZONE.ME reserves the right to re-bill you for any outstanding fees."
Again, I NEVER agreed to anything. NEVER agreed to any subscription. There was nothing during install, etc that asked me to enter anything special. The app installed and sucked up my phone #, then I got the text. And NOTHING on their site says anything about Cellarea.com.