OpenMarket Spammers/Scammers

      I recently started receiving text messages containing information of movies that are currently playing and, of course, there were unauthorized charges on my cell phone bill. I tried contacting Verizon by both phone and online only to be told their billing service reps were busy and to call back another time. Sounds like Verizon has a lot of billing problems.
      Finally, I stopped by the local Verizon store and they dealt with the problem for me. Unfortunately they could (or would) not take the charges off my current bill, but assured me I would no longer receive the text massage nor be billed for them. That remains to be seen.
      The service rep told me she had a similar incident recently when she downloaded a kid’s game on her computer at home and was asked to enter her cell phone number. Without realizing it, she had signed up for text messages with the Joke of the Month or something equally stupid.
      My cell phone is a ‘secondary’ one I got attached to my wife’s contract because it was $20 per month. I used it a total of 2 minutes last month. I do not carry it (it’s kept in my car) because the only reason I have it is for emergencies so I had them block everything on it. Now all I can do is make and receive phone calls. 
      To my old fashioned way of thinking, that’s what phones are for. Not taking pictures; I have a camera for that. Not for playing games; the only game I play is chess and I don’t do that on the phone. I don’t need it to send e-mails either; got a computer. I do not know how to send text messages.
      Cell phone companies are letting these companies get away with this because, at least under my plan, I get charged for every text message I receive or send so the sad fact is, it is to Verizon’s benefit that I receive a lot of cell phone spam.

      As near as I was able to determine, the scum sucking dirtbags responsible for this spamming came from an outfit called Openmarket. Who Is OpenMarket/SimpleWire/Qpass? According to SimpleWire’s website, it is a premium billing and messaging aggregator whose aggregation services provide a direct route into each mobile operator’s network for the delivery of text-messages, premium content, cross-carrier short-codes, billing transactions and other value-added mobile services. According to OpenMarket’s website “Qpass customers include Cingular Wireless, T-Mobile International, Vodafone, Sprint, SunCom, Alltel, US Cellular, and Skype. Qpass serves more than 185 million mobile subscribers and more than 100 million Web portal, Wi-Fi and VoIP users worldwide. The Qpass technology platform processes tens of millions of premium services transactions per month and has processed more than 500 million premium downloads since the company’s inception, representing more than US $1.3 Billion in gross retail consumer sales.”
      I will be filing a complaint with the FCC as soon as their website reopens after the government shutdown. Assuming the morons in Congress ever get the government running again. Under no circumstances should you ever enter your cell phone number when downloading anything off your computer. Also, check your cell phone bill!