I use an old-fashioned cell phone and have started receiving texts from a number "66299" telling me I have been give vouchers for some nonsense or other.

Also considering I hardly ever use the phone my credit balance has been declining fast. There appears to be no way of seeing an itemised statement.

The help centre told me yesterday that every time I get a text the sum of £4.50 leaves my account and they are unable to block it. I find it unbelievable!

Any suggestions of how I could block these scammers would be greatly appeciated.

Cheers Jamesey

Nothing is fool-proof - fools are too ingenious

Tell your network that you didn't sign up to it, or anything else, and that you want it refunded.

I have only ever had a few of these randomly over the years but I have always made the network refund me, and they always have done so.

Optimistic as ever

Disgraceful I haven't heard of this scam before. As other OPs have stated your network provider should assist threaten to take them to OFCOM. I would also tell them you will change network unless they buck up.

On a more practical note, if this text comes form outside the UK can you not block international calls?

I found this guide from Moneysavingexpert Martin Lewis he is a good guy on TV a lot. I hope this helps
[Link]

One more point

We have a Do Not Call registry here, where you go to their website & register your cell phone number. These call companies are then given 30 Days to stop calling you by law. The only problem is that after a certain amount of time you need to re register because I am guessing that these companies change a digit in their telephone numbers & start calling again. Yesterday I had calls from Nebraska & Texas so probably will have to go through the process again !!

Pro USA & Israel

Thanks Jimenez. As far as I can see there doesn't appear to be an equivalent here in UK to the US website you mention. I have got a couple of possible answers to try and if they don't work I'll take closer look at your suggestion for which I am very grateful.

Nothing is fool-proof - fools are too ingenious

[Link]

Unsolicited Text Messages

Dealing with Unsolicited Text Messages: Accident Claims, Debt Management or PPI

We are aware of a spate of unsolicited text messages (SMS) relating to accident claims, debts or missold PPI. The companies sending these are seeking to solicit genuine leads which are then sold on to management firms.

Messages typically begin with the words: 'FREE MSG: Our records indicate that you are [or 'you may be'] entitled to ...' and will then state a sum of money that can be claimed. We do not believe that these companies hold any records about individuals, but are using the phrase to mislead the recipient

What should I do if I have received such a message?

Our advice is to ignore it and not respond in any way. The companies behind these messages are looking to earn money from leads. If there are no leads, then it will no longer be viable to send them.

Will it cost me money to receive the messages?
We have not seen any examples where such messages will cost anything to receive. If the message comes from an 11 or 12 digit number (it will look like a mobile number) then no charge has been made if you received it in the UK. Similarly, if the message sender shows a company name you will not be charged to receive it in the UK.

Only messages sent from four, five or six-digit numbers can make a premium charge to your phone. If you believe this has happened, then contact your operator's customer services department. You can report any premium rate messages to the regulator, PhonepayPlus

Can the message damage my phone or collect any information?

If the message has a standard SMS icon then it is safe to open it and should not cause any damage.
However, if the message prompts you to open a link, or it has a link to click on, then avoid doing so. If in doubt, simply delete the message without reading it.

Who should I report it to?

You can report it to your network operator, who may be able to prevent further spam from the originating number.

Unfortunately as the numbers often change, they cannot guarantee to stop all unsolicited messages. You can either contact your network operator's customer services or use one of the reporting numbers below:

Orange, O2, T-Mobile and Three: Forward the SMS to 7726
Vodafone: Forward the SMS to VSPAM (87726)

If you do not believe you have opted-in to the number, or that there is a breach of your data protection, then you can report it to the ICO. It is important to make a note of the details including:

The time and date you received it
What the message said
The name or number that it came from

Complaints can be made here:
[Link]
Unfortunately where there is no company information it may not be possible for the ICO to follow up individual complaints.

If the SMS was concerning an accident claim, then you can report it to the Ministry of Justice's Claims Regulations. They will also need to know the date, time, message and the number it was sent from.
The website can be found at [Link]

Or you can complain by email: info@claimsregulation.gov.uk or by phone on 0845 450 6858 or 01283 233 309 (only use the 0845 number from your landline as calling from your mobile will be more expensive).

Replying to The Messages

These messages usually include two 'keywords', one keyword (such as CLAIM) to make a 'claim' and STOP to opt out of further messages.

We would not advise you to reply to the text, however there is no evidence that replying to these messages will cost you money besides your standard network tariff to send an SMS. If you reply with CLAIM, then you may receive a call within a few days asking for more information. Such calls should not be made from a withheld number and the caller should identify the company name and provide details of their address or website. They should also be able to provide precise information on how they obtained your number.

However, we would advise you not to seek help from such companies, but to use reputable firms instead. If you have had an accident, there is a list of registered companies on the MOJ website:
[Link]

If the company has identified themselves or supplied a telephone number during the course of phone calls or SMS then we would recommend that you make a complaint to the ICO and, if it is related to an accident claim, to the MOJ on the details above.

Should I reply STOP?

We do not have any evidence that replying to such a message will stop further unsolicited texts. We would therefore advise that you ignore it and not reply. We believe that these messages are sent via a computer and replies will also be received by a computer. Thus, replies with any other messages will not be read by a person, and simply ignored.

The regulators are well aware of the problem with spam SMS and are currently working closely with network operators and industry experts to both stop these messages.

"Everything is air-droppable at least once."

"When the going gets tough, the tough call for close air support."