Explanation of Text Message Scams & Cramming
Monday, March 21, 2011 at 9:20PMAlright, I had to do a video to explain all these text message scams. Check it out:
This story keeps getting more interesting every day. Before putting up the above video, I contacted Jason Hope and asked him if he could explain the accusations of Jawa and him about text message scams. He told me "You know, I'm not going to comment to you on a recorded call. I've got attorneys and you can be in touch with them and I'd appreciate it if you don't post anymore on the Internet. Thank you! [CLICK!]"
He didn't even provide me with contact information for his attorneys. How rude is that! I think he was very truthful with me though. I think he truly would appreciate it if I were to stop posting about this.
For some background articles on this:
Local Tech Darling, JAWA and Jason Hope a Big Scam?
Reader Comments (20)
You know, the fact that he said "don't post anymore on the internet" is a pretty self-damning comment. Then explain yourself, or release some kind of statement accessible to bloggers and journalists. What does he think is going to happen? Oh, Jason told me to not post anything more on the internet. I guess that's a wrap!
He didn't even provide me with contact information for his attorneys. How rude is that! I think he was very truthful with me though. I think he truly would appreciate it if I were to stop posting about this
Okay, that's funny.
That was a very well done video. 6 minutes? Yikes, not sitting through it. But it was very well done, so I did.
I told my husband I would not let this get me obsessed... but I am so fuming mad! My youngest son signed up for one of the "game cheats" sites.... and for over a year we were paying for something we were not aware of! ANd my sons friends were all victims of this scam! It's so much worse to me when you prey on kids.
We had a meeting at our Parent Teacher Association and the other mothers are all organizing lessons to educate the kids on this.
I was a recent VICTIM of his SCAM and like Hamid (god bless you) want to let the world know all about this guy! My husband urged me not to post this, but I don't care. It's all public record.
Not sure if all these links will work from here... but you all can easily goto "dirtsearch.org" and enter in Jason Hope's name.... all sorts of cases from Arizona Criminal and Civil and Family Courts.
He has been a busy, busy man!
http://dirtsearch.org/cgi-bin/search.cgi?fname=jason&lname=hope&statename=Arizona
http://www.superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/docket/CriminalCourtCases/caseSearchResults.asp
http://www.superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/docket/CivilCourtCases/caseSearchResults.asp?LastName=Hope&FirstName=Jason
http://www.superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/docket/JusticeCourtCases/caseSearchResults.asp?LastName=Hope&FirstName=Jason
http://www.superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/docket/FamilyCourtCases/caseSearchResults.asp?LastName=Hope&FirstName=Jason
Jason Randal Hope 13-2310 (F2) FRAUDULENT SCHEMES/ARTIFICES 5/1/2002 Dismd Pros Mot Dismissed By Prosecution Motion 7/29/2003
Looks like he also did not like paying Child Support a few years back (at least according to this)...
State Of Ariz Child Support Enforcement Plaintiff None Attorney General
Jason Randal Hope Defendant Male WARREN LEVENBAUM
He was even accused of FORGERY! Wow... It only gets better!
Party Name ARSCode Description Crime Date Disposition Code Disposition Date
Jason R Hope 13-2002 (F4) FORGERY 6/11/2002 Dismd Pros Mot Dismissed By Prosecution Motion 7/18/2008
Jason R Hope 13-2310 (F2) FRAUDULENT SCHEMES/ARTIFICES 10/18/2002 Dismd Pros Mot Dismissed By Prosecution Motion 7/18/2008
Jason R Hope 13-2002 (F4) FORGERY 9/24/2002 Dismd Pros Mot Dismissed By Prosecution Motion
He has even had search warrants issued against his residence!
http://www.superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/docket/CriminalCourtCases/caseInfo.asp?caseNumber=CR2007-005391
State Of Arizona - (1)
Plaintiff N/A County Attorney, Maricopa
Jason R Hope - (2)
Defendant M Dichter, Stephen Whitten CR2007-005391-001
Filing Date Description Docket Date Filing Party
5/28/2009 SWR - Search Warrant Return - Party () 7/23/2009
5/25/2009 ISS - Search Warrant Issuance Order - Party () 6/26/2009
5/25/2009 SSW - Search Warrant - Party () 7/23/2009
5/25/2009 ASW - Affidavit For Special Warrant - Party () 7/23/2009
Might I recommend including a link or some kind of proof that the Telecoms are taking a cut in your video, simply stating they are taking a portion of the proceeds without telling us how you know this/where you read this gives your video less impact. I am all for shutting these jacka$$es down but I am hesitant to simply take a strangers word for it that the Telecoms are in on it (I wouldn't be surprised however) - just a suggestion. Arrived here via Fark link.
Talking to them on the phone is almost pointless. They can and will say whatever they want, it's not admissible. If you actually sit down and write them letters, you're far more likely to get a cogent response. Try their legal department. You'll get a response.
The short code (75075) that you were being billed from doesn't appear to be connected to Jawa/Jason so you're probably mad at the wrong person -- though I get why you're mad b/c a similar thing happened to me. This is what I learned:
US Cellular has an online directory that allows you look up the 5-digit short code that appears on your cell phone next to the charges in order to contact the company charging you. From what I've read on the internet, while the carrier may not refund you the full amount, the company collecting the charges may (if you can get ahold of them).
The directory can be found here: http://www.uscshortcode.com/USC_01.aspx
After running a search, I found 75075 is run by a company called Textea Mobile Music Alerts. The link sends you to http://www.textea.net/75075.html. Digging around the site it shows it is a Latin company based in Puerto Rico. If you read the Verizon filing against Jawa, you'll see of the dozens of companies they do business as, they have no companies by this name or based out of the United States. You should probably keep searching. Good luck!
AfroX, as for confirmation that the cell phone companies take a portion of the proceeds, take a look at my latest post on this matter: http://www.azdisruptors.com/blog/2011/3/22/jawas-defense-employees-and-intimidation.html
PS, as for Textea being a separate company from Jason Hope or JAWA, that is irrelevant. It's also impossible to tell who Textea belongs to. It's also not possible to know all the names of the companies that Jason Hope and JAWA operate under. They have gone to great lengths to make fictitious companies that appear to be operating out of different US states. What would stop a scammer from creating a company that APPEARS to be operating out of Puerto Rico even though it's in the US?
Hamid
I am visiting your site via a link on a news site which links directly to this page and your video and so this is my first impression of your argument against these morons. :) If you were to include the portion of the Verizon/JAWA lawsuit you posted from your latest entry and that it is from JAWA's counter-claim (what a bunch of d-bags on both sides) in your video you'd have yourself a slam-dunk! And don't let the intimidation you been subjected to so far deter you from pursuing this further, I have bookmarked your site and will be following this story unfold as I am sure many other will as well
Watching it unfold even :)
Hello, Hamid. I just emailed you a longer response, but wanted to summarize here for the benefit of your readers.
I admire you for what you are doing. Your readers need to be aware that while text message cramming is a serious problem, it is merely an offshoot of a much larger industry -- cramming of bogus "communications" services via residential landline phone bills. My wife and I were crammed out of $1,500.00+ (at $49.99 per month) in precisely this manner. The perpetrator of that scam was a company called Zipweb (a.k.a. USA Business Directory, a.k.a. Local Zipwide Web), whose CEO is named Mark Cave. The hallmarks of that scam are almost identical to the one you describe in the context of JAWA.
Any company posing as a "communications" company that can trick them into saying as much as "OK" (i.e., "OK, I'm listening"), will be able to do this and victims are unlikely to detect it for months or (as in our case) years. In our case, through unrelenting pressure, we were lucky enough to recoup about 83% of our loss, once we discovered the scam.
Good luck with your crusade.
Best regards,
Avi
One thing you might want to try in attempting to contact an executive via phone is to ask for "Investor Relations" or "Shareholder Relations". That should get you through to at least a person (still a gatekeeper) who is very careful about making sure you get a call back. ;-)
I'm going to do my best to make sure this gets on the front page of Reddit.
Good work, Hamid!!
I just wanted to say thanks for posting this and the video. I received one of these texts a month or two ago while on Verizon and one just today which thanks too your video resulted in me calling my new carrier, Sprint.
I reviewed my old Verizon bills and there were no charges, and thanks to me seeing this I called Sprint right away and now "Premium text service" is blocked from either sending more texts or being added to my bill :D
UP vote on Reddit http://www.reddit.com/r/reddit.com/comments/gbcks/beware_textmessaging_scam_you_might_already_be/
Contact Attorneys General... your state, Jason (Bourne) Hope's state, AT&T's home state and the US ATG...
Perhaps this can fall under the jurisdiction of something like the postal inspector? Wire fraud.
Thanks for putting it out there. We sheep don't like being fleeced by major corporations... at least without being wined and dined first.
Jail for life. No . . . wait . . .
Amend the Constitution. Cruel and unusual punishment needs revival for just this guy.
Darnit, that's probably a bill of attainder...
Given the scope of the internet and the fact that otherwise reasonable people can be easily swayed by the idea of something for free, its relatively easy to incur these charges with little to no idea its being done. However, it is still the responsibility of the consumer to read the bill before paying it. You do read your bill before blindly shelling out your hard earned duckets, right? Another solution is to call your cell provider and block premium sms. Mission accomplished.
Jason Hope is a loser. He got fired from godaddy.com and after trying a few unsuccessful scams just ripped off golivemobile's business model. The photo of him is classic. Look at his baggy 2003-esque jeans and EXPRESS MEN button down shirt. Hey 2003 called, they want your wardrobe back.
I don't know where Jason Hope got that database of numbers from, but I am 100% positive that JAWA (or whatever they are called) just charges random people. If they complain to their provider, the first place they are directed to is Cylon/Jaynet/JAWA/Info Text/Gamer Data/Jason Hopeless's customer service info. This allows them to 'opt out' and receive a 'check'. Because if the carrier refunds the charges (anybody reading this affected by such charges should complain to their carriers until they are refunded... oh and you can get the check too) it gets calculated into a 'chargeback' that can inflict hefty penalties on Jason Hope if exceeding a certain amount. But Jason is HOPEing that you read your bill and see something like "GENERAL TEXTING -$ 9.99" and think that is just your text plan. Or he's hoping you don't read your bill at all.
The scam is over loser, you're totally effed. Amdocs might try and protect you since they profit off of all your mobile transactions running through their Qpass division no matter what messaging aggregator you use. But you're all screwed and going down. By the way, your personal golf course sucks. Oh any your christmas party where you paid for D-list 'celebs' to show off is effing LOL. Did you hire hookers for that like you used to do at wireless trade events?
One more thing, just like all super rich people (and it's tough to believe but this loser Jason Hope made more money than even a lot of highly paid celebs and Zionist bankers) Jason Hope goes to sleep at then end of the day confused and lonely and unhappy. Because his entire lifestyle is paid for. Because maybe a tiny part of him has a conscience that realizes his money comes from poor people. Because he has to BUY and PURCHASE friends and sex partners. He cannot get this on his own for many reasons (the main reason because he is an unattractive nerd). No matter what you say and how you defend yourself, you are forever alone. Nobody is going to pray for you. Just an hero yourself and get it over with loser. Do it FAYEGIT!!!!
The scam is not entirely Jason Hope's doing but rather some old fart Israeli-American advisor who is quite big in Arizona. (possibly Ken Kendrick)
The fatty Jason couldn't pull this off on his own. This scam with the multiple LLCs and mail drop addresses is classic Israel scam. Just like those mall kiosks, moving companies, locksmiths, counterfeit art students, magazine subscriptions, etc. Hopefully one day America will wake up and realize Israel are milking us for everything we're worth. For now though, anybody that criticizes them is an antisimitic holocaust denier. Or so they say to avoid criticism. It won't last forever though, their Middle Eastern neighbors are finally sick of their Zionist-placed puppet governments and are doing something about it by having revolutions. It is just a matter of time before Russia drops a Tsar Bomba II on Tel Aviv and wiping Israel off the map. The Ken Kendricks and Jason Hopes will have their day in hell.
In 2009 the director of HR from Cylon contacted me about a job. While researching the company I found loads of complaints and sites dedicated to the evils of this company. What I found was so bad I told the recruiter that I was no longer interested in interviewing. Surprisingly, he didn’t seem surprised. Below is part of a string of emails he and I shared. I included my research queries as they provide some pretty interesting (damaging) insight into the company. On a totally geeky side note...I find the names of these companies to be so telling "cylon" as in the evil toasters from Battlestar Galactica who practically destroy the human race and "jawa" those smelly scavengers from Star Wars...a coincidence? Good hunting Adama! err…I mean Shojaee!
*names have been changed to protect the stupid and mine has been omitted to protect my "panopoly"
Hi XXXX,
After further consideration I've decided not to interview with Cylon.
Thank you for your time and for your interest.
--------------------------------------------------------
Hi YYYY,
I'm sorry to hear that but I certainly understand.
Would it be okay to call you tomorrow to chat about it? Both I and 666 (one of the two founders) thought you have great experience and that you would be an excellent candidate for the position we were talking about.
If you have accepted another position, it still might be worth coming in to meet with us. At the very least it would give you the chance to learn more about the position. You would also have the opportunity to interview is as much as we would interview you.
Either way, let me know.
------------------------------------------------------------
Hi XXXX,
Thank you for your email but while researching Cylon, I found information that made me reconsider interviewing. I've listed some links and searches below that influenced this decision.
Thank you again for your time however, I'm going to continue my job search.
http://www.ripoffreport.com/searchresults.asp?&q5=&searchtype=0&q1=ALL&q3=&q2=&q7=&q4=&q6=cylon&start=0
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-800-331-0500/4
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&rlz=1T5GGLL_enUS256US256&q=cylon%2Bllc%7Ccorp%2Bscam%7Ccomplaints%7Cfraud+-battlestar&start=0&sa=N
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&rls=com.microsoft%3A*%3AIE-SearchBox&rlz=1I7GGLL_en&q=%22cylon+llc%22%7C%22gamer+data%22%7Ccancelalerts%7Cpredicto%7C%22predicto+mobile%22%2Bscam+-battlestar&btnG=Search
---------------------------------------------------------------------
HI YYYY,
I figured as much. The sad truth is there is a lot of misinformation out there and anyone can write anything they want on the internet.
The reality is, we don’t randomly charge anyone for anything. There is a very specific process through which customers go through to approve and agree to their actions. I have no idea who “predicto” is. We sign up anywhere from 3,000 to 14,000 people per day with customers staying with us on average 5 months. We offer multiple different products within multiple different verticals including weather, coupons, recipes, celebrity gossip and others. In fact, we starting offering weather updates this past winter when a good portion of the country was being hit with severe winter weather. That service has been very popular with travelers who commute and others who travel a lot. We currently do business in the United States, the UK and Germany with plans to open in Canada, Australia, Italy and Spain.
The website Ripoff Report extorts companies by offering to remove any negative comments and replace them with positive comments for a large sum. There are 17 lawsuits pending against this organization that we are aware off.
We devote substantial resources to customer support. Whether it is to solve a technical issue or issue a refund, we strive to service every customer as best we can while offering them a product that is useful and something they want.
Either way, I understand your decision. On the other hand, considering you are indeed looking for a position, I thought it might still be worthwhile to at least come in and meet with us. Like I said, that would give you the chance to interview us as much as we interview you. You would also be able to see the operations of the company, meet some of the people that work here and judge for yourself about what it is that we do and how we do it.
We have gone from 9 employees when I started last October to 38, including 2 I have hired this week. There are several people here that I worked with while I was the Director of Recruiting at Go Daddy and there is one person here that I have recruited twice. We opened several more positions this week including reqs for Software Engineers, Webmasters and positions with the SEO group and we continue to grow quite fast.
In any case, I wish you the best of luck in your job search. If you do happen to change your mind and you think you might be interested in still talking about an opportunity with us, feel free to contact me at anytime.