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t-mobile
T-Mobile Surprise Porn Not An Isolated Incident
After we posted yesterday about a T-Mobile customer being greeted by pictures of topless women when he logged into his account to pay his bill, some of you asked, "What's the problem?" Several readers' stories answer that question. (Censored but not exactly tasteful pictures inside.) UPDATE: T-Mobile response inside. More » -
lawsuits
Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Payless Shoesource For Text Message Spamming
Peter, who wrote in last month to complain about being text-spammed by Payless Shoesource on his phone, wasn't the only customer they annoyed. A man in California has filed a class action lawsuit against the shoe company and Voice & Mobile Broadcast Corporation, which is the marketing company it hired to run the campaign. More » -
can-spam
Facebook Sues Spammer; Wins $711 Million
Facebook won $711 million in a lawsuit against a notorious spammer. Don't cheer too hard, though. The same spampresario owes MySpace $234 million for the same thing. More » -
text messaging
Customer Gets Payless To Compensate Him For Text Message Spam
Peter was pretty frustrated when Payless Shoesource ignored his two opt-out texts and continued to pester him with SMS spam. His complained via email and got taken off their list, but then he decided to see if he could get back the money those texts cost him. More » -
spam
Now Report Spammers On Twitter With A Single Click
It used to be that when you were followed by a spammer on Twitter, you had to go report them by sending a direct message to Twitter's official spam account. Now they've updated their reporting system, so all it takes is a single click. Have fun turning in the bots! More » -
zombie computers
Comcast To Warn You If Your Zombie Computer Is Secretly Spamming People
Where does spam come from? Well, there are these things called botnets. They're networks of hijacked computers that secretly do the bidding of their masters. Often, they send out spam. Comcast plans to offer an automated service that will inform you, within your browser, if your computer is behaving as if it has been compromised by malware. More » -
follow-ups
10 Extinct Twitter-Types Thanks To New Terms Of Service
Instead of cranking out cumbersome terms of service Magna Cartas that only lawyers will actually read, Twitter should follow the lead of Mashable and just come out and say what types of users it's attempting to get rid of. More » -
spam
Highlights From The Consumerist's Junk Mail Folder
One of the (dis)advantages of having your e-mail address posted on the open interweb is spam, spam, spam, and more spam. This does, however, mean that some very entertaining messages slip through our filters over at tips@consumerist.com, and we'd be remiss in not sharing them. More » -
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your photos
Watch Out For Pointless Self-Replicating Spam Facebook Application
Watch out for "[A friend] commented on a photo of you" notifications on Facebook. If you click on the notification and it asks you to install an application called "Your Photos," RUN AWAY. Your friend didn't comment on any photos of you, and the application exists to coax people to click on banner ads. More » -
creative writing with crooks
Scammers Get Over-Ambitious With Fake FBI Letter
We guess if you're gonna create a failure pile, make it a big one. This email that pretends to be from FBI director Robert S. Mueller has the typical scammy touches: strange grammatical issues, unexpected shifts between formal and casual voices, a complete lack of understanding of how US government offices actually work, and an "official" gmail address. We were ready to send our information to them until we got to the end, where the letter threatens you with arrest if you don't play along. Now they're just getting silly. More » -
not taking it too seriously
Crazy CSR Loves Spam, You, Hanging Up Abruptly
Megan sent us this transcript of a recent phone conversation she had with someone from a mysteriously generic "cardholder services" that called her.
More »CSR: Hi, how may I help you Ms. [redacted]?
Me: Please take my number off your list.
CSR: I love you.
Me: Um.
CSR: Do you like spam?
Me: No…
CSR: I love spam, fried up all crispy with maybe a little mayo.
Me: What is this?
CSR: *click* -
weed-outs
Apple Bans Bushel Of Spam Apps
Apple has shaken the App Store tree until several hundred questionable, over-priced apps that drew customer complaints have fallen off the branches. More » -
relentless
Post Cereal, Please Stop Spamming Anthony
Anthony has tried every means possible to get Post to stop spamming him, but Post laughs in the face of reason. And at customer requests. The only thing Anthony feels he has left to try is contacting the FTC, but he adds "I get the feeling that won't help." More » -
funny
Company Apologizes, Hilariously, For Mail Merge Screwup
Everyone knows that the "personal touch" of using your name in an email, printed letter, or CSR call is powered by a database and a computer, and not really personal at all. Still, when a company gets it wrong it can be annoying. When a company gets it wrong, then apologizes by sending a follow-up message that makes you smile, all can be forgiven. More » -
phishing
Amazonfraudcheck.com Is Amazon Fraud
No, Amazon is not contacting its members and performing regular fraud checks. Jason received this e-mail, which is associated with a rather convincing Amazon phishing site. More » -
spam
Why Is Spam Around? Because 12% Of Readers Actually Try To Buy The Stuff
Why, in a rational world, does spam continue to exist? Because someone you know—or maybe it's you—has actually tried to buy something from it, a new study finds. Find that person and beat him (or yourself) with a stapler. More » -
spam
Magic Diet Product Scams Invade Freecycle And Meetup Groups
Beware! Affiliate spammers have infiltrated innocent online groups, looking to take advantage of the people who haven't yet heard that "free" trials of magic diet foods are a scam. More » -
contact scraping
Warning, iDrive Lite Spams All Your Gmail Contacts Without Your Permission
Don't install the iPhone app iDrive Lite if you value the privacy of your contact list. Avi Muchnick, one of the developers behind the free, consumer-friendly online graphics suite Aviary, used iDrive to backup his Gmail contact list when switching to a new phone. The next day, he awoke to discover that iDrive's parent company, Pro Softnet Corp, had spammed every single entry in his contact list without his permission. More »


















