Fraud

[Anonymous]

Someone has set up a casino account using my phone number and is charging to my account can I claim back for the amount they have spent?

[MI5]

If it's premium rate billing see this help thread https://community.o2.co.uk/t5/Pay-Monthly-and-Pay-Go/Have-you-fallen-for-or-been-conned-into-a-premi...
You can search for the details of the company billing you and ask them to refund you.
For any other types of billing issues please call customer service directly http://www.o2.co.uk/contactus

[jonsie]

Are you getting text messages that are charged for or are there differing amount? 

If texts then follow the advice in the link above. This is a subscription not an account.  

If variable  amounts are appearing and someone has used your details to set up an account then you will need to speak to the fraud department. 

[Marjo]

Hi @Anonymous sorry to hear you've had unwanted charges on your bill!  Please do take a look at the advice above. How are you getting on? It would be great to hear back from you. 

[Anonymous]

I managed to get hold of the company charging me and they said that the account could only have been set up while the person had my phone in their hand, they gave me the date and time the account was set up and I informed them that at that time I was stood by the side of a pool watching my son during his swimming lesson, I had 100% had my phone in my hand and did not set up an account with them. They refused to refund me and said it must have been a friend or family member who made the account. It is only myself and my son who have access to my phone, he was swimming and would have no idea how to set anything like this up not that he would do such a thing and it was not me as I have no interest in casinos. I explained that I am not in a financial position to be paying for someone else to gamble but they were not interested. There has to be another way for someone to set the account up as it was not done from my handset.

[MI5]

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@Anonymous wrote:
I managed to get hold of the company charging me and they said that the account could only have been set up while the person had my phone in their hand, they gave me the date and time the account was set up and I informed them that at that time I was stood by the side of a pool watching my son during his swimming lesson, I had 100% had my phone in my hand and did not set up an account with them. They refused to refund me and said it must have been a friend or family member who made the account. It is only myself and my son who have access to my phone, he was swimming and would have no idea how to set anything like this up not that he would do such a thing and it was not me as I have no interest in casinos. I explained that I am not in a financial position to be paying for someone else to gamble but they were not interested. There has to be another way for someone to set the account up as it was not done from my handset.

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They need reporting to the PSA http://psauthority.org.uk/

As a last resort, you could always change your number (inconvenience factor noted).

[Beenherebefore]

@Anonymous ...........also consider lodging a report on the Action Fraud website >>>

http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/report_fraud

What was the casino company's name ?

[Anonymous]

It's called phonecasino you can download an app for them or go straight online, it seems odd to me that they think they know how their company works and yet all that they have said has been a contradiction of how the account appears to have been set up. O2 have credited my next bill by £10 and have put a block on my account to stop anything like this happening again. I realised what was happening just before midnight and called O2 straight away but they were closed and the only department I could speak to was for lost or stolen phones so I asked for my sim to be blocked to prevent any further charges overnight but was told that this wouldn't work. Of course further charges were added during the night and I called first thing in the morning to deal with it. Had I been able to speak with the correct department that night then I would have been saved a lot of money. It may not seem like a lot of money to some but it has cost me the price of my sons back to school shoes and stationary.

[Beenherebefore]

Phonecasino appears to be a legitimate online gambling provider, no reports of a scam or deception....from their website :

Registration at The Phone Casino: Only Available in UK

When registering with The Phone Casino, you'll only be asked to enter your phone number and country. You'll notice here that only one country is available from the drop down menu which is the UK. Unfortunately, no players outside the UK are currently able to register with The Phone Casino. To get started with what the casino has to offer, simply follow this simple step by step process below:

• Firstly, from the homepage menu, click on register
• Thereafter, select your country of residence (UK)
• Thirdly, enter your mobile phone number
• After this, click on "Send"
• You will then receive a free sms with further verification details
• Click on the verification link within the sms text
• Lastly, login with your details to start playing at The Phone Casino

[MI5]

That does appear to be a pretty watertight way of signing up, but there must be a cancellation policy too I imagine?