So for the last couple of months I have been getting these really helpful (not) SMS messages from MobiBroIQ, phone number 584-97.

Now, these messages sometimes come in at about 3:00 AM, so I'm usually not thinking very clearly at that hour. Even when the messages have arrived when I am awake and alert, I have completely ignored them thinking that they would eventually stop and that it wasn't worth the hassle of contacting AT&T over a few $.20 text messages. That's where I was wrong.

You see that part in the screen-grab about the $9.99/month. That's for real. I had been automatically subscribed to this bullshit service without any authorization on my part. After doing a little research, I found that this practice, called "cramming," is perfectly legal and that *all* the carriers have been complicit in this kind of scam for years. If you're not paying attention to your bill, you can rack up some serious charges. To avoid the automatic charges, you either have to opt-out by replying "STOP" each time you get the charge message, or you have to have a "premium SMS service" block on your account.

The latter solution is the one I have taken for all the lines on my account with AT&T. Once you have the block in place, you have to reply with a PIN in order for the charge to hit your bill. I will never ever do that and I am not even going to keep track of what my PIN is. I also asked for a credit for any of the charges that I have received on my bill.

I will say that the AT&T rep I worked with was actually very quick and helpful in putting this in place. However, the simple fact that the carriers allow cramming and in fact profit from cramming, shows a complete lack of respect for customers. It's no wonder that carriers are hated so much.

So take action today. Call your carrier and make sure you are not being charged for bullshit you did not authorize and demand a credit for any past or future charges.