Phone eating credit

[Anonymous]

Hi there,

I have a one year old Galaxy S3 mini, and I'm having some problems with my phone apparently "eating" my credit.

I live abroad but come back here quite often, I bought a standard Pay As You Go o2 SIM about two weeks ago, and since then credit has been disappearing. For a £10 top up I'm allowed 500MB of internet as well as having the £10 to call or text with.

Several times I've received messages from o2 stating that my "new" balance is £9,60, and then £5,50, etc. I went to the o2 shop to complain and spoke to their customer helpline, and they told me dozens of texts had been sent to Sweden and the Czech Republic from my phone. I have no connections to these two countries and have never texted anyone there. They refunded my credit but said they wouldn't be able to refund me again, and that I should get my phone looked at. The guy in my shop looked at my phone but could find nothing wrong with it.

The customer helpline woman told me my internet data usage was normal and that I was well within my 500MB, and that texts abroad were definitely being sent from my phone. She said her and her colleagues had never heard of anything like it before.

After they refunded my credit it seemed to have stopped, and then this morning I got another o2 message saying my remaining balance was £8,75.

Has anyone ever heard of this happening before? Any help is much appreciated.

R-J

[Anonymous]

Hi.

It's rare for a payg sim to be cloned. It's normally contract sims that are and again it's rare.

Does anyone else have access to your phone.

Are you sure you have not signed up to anything online premium related.

Have 02 said what's being sent and to whom ?

Is it to the country you live in abroad.


Maybe downloading avg may protect your phone.

If I was you I would think about picking up another payg sim with a new number and once registered transfer any available credit over and start again.

Just a thought.

[Anonymous]

Hi,

Thanks for answering.

No one else has access to my phone and it's protected with a code only I know. I never sign up for any online stuff, I only use this SIM for the 500MB, mainly Facebook and email.

o2 gave me one of the Swedish numbers and I typed it into my phone book just to check, and it's definitely an unknown number.

I have AVG and I scanned my phone, but nothing has come up. I've installed no new apps in the past couple of months either.

I'll probably end up getting a new SIM, but it's a pain as I'm only in the UK for another few days.

[Anonymous]

I know it's a drastic move but cutting ties with the account may be the quickest answer and stop your credit being used.

You can pick them up at any 02 store.

They may want you to top it up by £10 to activate it or they can be picked up from pound shops for example.

[Anonymous]

Yes, unfortunately it might come to that... it's really infuriating.

I'll check Poundland tomorrow to see if they have any. I might also go to Carphone Warehouse where I bought the phone as well.

Thanks for answering.

[Anonymous]

You're welcome.

Last time I was in there they did situated near the tills.

Take care and enjoy what time you have left in the Uk.

[MI5]

This is the only related thing that I can think of.....?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25354641

[Anonymous]

No, the countries the texts were being sent to are not where I am living. I have no links to Sweden or the Czech Republic.

I found that BBC article on text-sharing apps whilst I was researching my problem, but I don't have unlimited texts as this is a pay as you go SIM, and I have no dodgy apps on my phone at all (I have Facebook, BBC news, Hotmail, WhatsApp, Instagram... very mainstream and respectable apps).

Thanks, I will enjoy my time.

[Anonymous]

Take care.

[gemz4the1]

Did you manage to get a new sim? Has it solved your problem or is your credit still decreasing?