Media: A Current Affair
Wow… Who would have thought that we would have had this much support from the public. When we started fighting this we really had no idea how big DC Marketings scam is. It is great to see the Australian public band together to fight this… Now enough of that, and on to the juicy stuff:
4 Wise Monkeys has done an interview with A Current Affair detailing our involvement in fighting the DC Marketing scam (Yes Mr. Gruber, I do beleive this is a scam and will call it a scam if that is how I feel: A scam by definition: “A ploy by a shyster to raise money.” or “A confidence trick, confidence game, or con for short (also known as a scam)”). A Current Affair has also done some great work with the research they have done as well as the information we have provided. You can watch this tonight after 6:30 (i’ve no idea what exact time it will be on) on Channel 9.
DC Marketing, sit down, enjoy the show and then be happy that you still have your “happy customer base” (really, how can you keep saying you have a ‘customer base’ when you are using missed call marketing practices?)
-
Without the support and interest by the Australian (and some international) public none of this would have left the ground. The feedback, and media attention we are receiving is amazing.
We won’t stop until this kind of marketing has stopped!
June 22nd, 2006 at 11:44 am -
Watching you guys right now on ACA. I’m glad that i’m not the only one who’s constantly pranked by these marketters. I just don’t reply to numbers I don’t recognise anymore. The way I figure it is if someone calls and wants me to call back, they’ll leave a voicemail message or call again.
Anyway, top work guys. I’ll be visiting again (and I love the layout too)
June 22nd, 2006 at 7:00 pm -
wen i was having a family reunin wiv members of my family i hadnt seen in years i was pranked. but not only that as it was a huge family thing we were up heaps late an dthey called @ 1.30am and i was realli realli angry as i was waiting there for ages and i was in the middle of an important conversation. and wen i got my phone bill i was charged $25 4 that 1 stupid call!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
emily says...June 22nd, 2006 at 7:03 pm -
Hi there,
I saw your bit on the show today, just wanted to say thanks alot! I’m sorry to say I didn’t know you guys existed, but I am so glad that you do!
I myself got a ‘missed call’ last week - from Melbourne - thinking it was family! I received the same message I heard on ACA, and I’m disgusted. I get about 2 phone calls a day, on both home and mobile phones, and I am sick to death of these phone calls!
Not only have they ‘invented’ (or devised/schemed) this new way of marketing, but the initial missed call is from Melbourne, which means it’s an STD call from a mobile! So even though I didn’t ring the next number, it cost me heaps of money!
Thank you very much for having this website. I’m a student at Macquarie Uni in Sydney, please let me know if there’s anything I can do.
When I signed up for my mobile, I agreed to add it to ‘WHite pages’. I didn’t realise that this meant that I would get approximately 10 marketing calls a week, from overseas telemarketers, asking for ‘the owner of the household’ and mispronouncing my name! It’s beyond a joke!Prue Beattie
June 22nd, 2006 at 7:05 pm -
Keep rock’n along dudes, there are many people out here who have your back covered.
ST says...June 22nd, 2006 at 7:05 pm -
Well done on the coverage, you couldn’t have said it better.
It is pure arrogance to sit back on the cushion of next year’s solution.
Apparently pro-active solutions ceased to become economically viable for this government?
Good to see guys,
will watch the website
Peter says...June 22nd, 2006 at 7:06 pm -
oh i watched that current affair thing just now! good on you!!! =D
Meagan says...June 22nd, 2006 at 7:07 pm -
FINALLY! some answers! on may 8th i received a call from one of the numbers on your list, but didn’t reply to it, thinking that if it was important enough, the person would call me back. My friend also received a call. I’m ashamed someone would put on a scam like this.
vanessa says...June 22nd, 2006 at 7:07 pm -
Watching you guys right now on ACA. I’m glad that i’m not the only one who’s constantly pranked by these marketters. I just don’t reply to numbers I don’t recognise anymore. The way I figure it is if someone calls and wants me to call back, they’ll leave a voicemail message or call again.
Anyway, top work guys. I’ll be visiting again (and I love the layout too)
June 22nd, 2006 at 7:13 pm -
hi my name is Emily and i am on 12 years old.
i had that same thing, 1 missed call. i thort that it was somebody, family or friend that i had missed. i called it back and it said it will cost $2 for every minute so i thought oh well if i have won something it wont take that long and ill get $30 of free ring tones and wallpapers.
By the end of the call i was thinking, wait a minute i have been sitting here for 5 minutes and then i rembered it was $2 for every minute so i hung up straight away.
and then i revceived a message saying reply to this messgae saying yes and you will be in the draw to win $1000 dollars. so being the “sucked in victim” i was i message it back.
Then another message came saying you are now in the drwa but youre not in the top 50 yet. Unscramble this word and get more points to have a greater chance or something along those lines.
so i did….. and then i though nooooooo this is a csam so i ignored it.
it keep sending messages saying the same thing…unscamble this word blah blah blah.
i was checking my balance to see how much credit i had left and it said $1.00. i was absolutly shocked i had recharge $30 only the day before and i hadnt used my phone at all except replyiung to that stupid message.
Then it came on the t.v this artical. It turned out that every time it sent me a message it cost me $3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
To stop it i had to repy stop so i did. It has now stopped.but i had saved up that $30 and i have nothing now i am furious!!!
Emily M says...June 22nd, 2006 at 7:24 pm -
I received a missed call from
(02)8404 2207 on 21/06/06 at 8:35 pm
(03)5480 1813 (07/05/06 @ 6:13 pm)
(03)9326 1136 (15/02/06 @ 1:20 pm)
(03)9326 1137 (15/02/06 @ 5:44 pm)
(03)8302 3080 (20/11/05 @ 3:41 pm)A text from 0431100682 (09/05/06 7:00 pm)
reading “hi tom ou est tu choc croissant getting stale slurpee mach ooo”Aside from the poor french grammar - this is pretty sneaky. I didn’t reply to any of them.
Andy says...June 22nd, 2006 at 7:33 pm -
Hi fella’s,
You are on the right track, however, despite the non-committal answer from the telecommunications association you do have a means to fight back agains these scam artists. A scam is by definition deceptive &/or misleading, thus triggering the application of s.52 Trade Practices Act 1977 (Cth) (bait advertising as this scam is- is also specifically prohibited). Once s.52 is proved, damages are available under the statute. How many people have you got? Line them up & see a lawyer - also try to ferret out who is involved in the scam.
Don’t get mad, SUE!!!!!
Azza
Aaron Small says...June 22nd, 2006 at 7:34 pm -
Being a reasonable person with a limited understanding of what really motivates $2 companies to scam other people, I believe that this company has been a very poor corporate citizen because they have been using human nature against innocent people who being told that they have won a prize worth $40 dollars, which they may have, are required to spend a large amount of money just to get the details to claim such a prize. I suspect that the company is using a dialing device to search though a massive phone list to test and tempt people to their 1900 phone number. Is it illegal in this country? I don’t know; However, when it comes to morals and doing the right thing it seems to me that the people who run DC Marketing have just confirmed to what level they are willing to slump down too just to make a lousy dollar. They appear to be mean spirited, low and un-australian.
Stephen says...June 22nd, 2006 at 7:39 pm -
Can’t we find out who is the phone carrier for these DC Marketing numbers, Telstra? Optus? Digitplus? especially the 1900 numbers, and call for everybody to boycott the carrier company?
heli says...June 22nd, 2006 at 7:43 pm -
Guys do you have contact details for DC Marketing? If not I am happy to cough up to do the ASIC checks… If I can find a phone number for the MD of this company I will more than happily do some “direct marketing” to his phone number when my newborn arrives and I am feeding at all hours as a means of saying thanks for the 10.10pm call on my mobile last night…
Allison says...June 22nd, 2006 at 7:45 pm -
great what you blokes are doing..
received this type of call twice recently and the wife got 1 also.
good luck and ive bookmarked your site..gl
fitzy says...June 22nd, 2006 at 7:54 pm -
I was watching ACA tonight and I had a call yesterday. I had my husband call it up from work because my friend and I were just talking about this type of thing…timely. The number that came up was 03 8102 9563 at 12.06 on 20 June. Another thing to watch out for is if they say to press ‘9′ don’t. This can give them all types of information apparently.
Good luck with your site. The only problem I came up with is that if you spell ‘4′ out, there is a rude website. I won’t go say any more.
Christine says...June 22nd, 2006 at 7:58 pm -
Hey Guys saw the piece you had on a currant affiar l would just like to saw well done and keep up the great job it needed to be done and it is un fortunate such lovely guys like you have to do it but i suppose someone has to if the govement wont till late next year. So in the meantime keep up the good work.
monique says...June 22nd, 2006 at 7:59 pm -
Firstly, great site and good on you for going to all this effort to aware the public about these kinds of scams. There is one good thing that has come out of this though and that is that thanks to ACA not displaying your web address and only mentioning it verbally, with any luck thousands of people have tried to log onto http://www.fourwisemonkeys.com (like i did). And where do they end up you ask? You will be redirected to a site called watch & wank. Where for only $2.95 you can purchase videos of guys caught whacking off!!!
I found this too funny to not let you know (in case you didn’t already). So well done ACA and you champs at 4wisemonkeys.
Damien says...June 22nd, 2006 at 8:03 pm -
Hey Everyone . . .
i was watching ACA tonight and there are a fair few numbers that you don’t have that i do. These numbers are the numbers that you dial and at the end of the conversation it will cost you $40-$50. may you please email me back and i’ll give you pages worth of numbers so you can put them on here so no one else can be scammed. i have two pages worth of numbers. so get back to me asap. thank you. keep up the good work.
Whitney says...June 22nd, 2006 at 8:19 pm -
well done boys
u even made their website (even though its thru neinm$n)Beware: mobile phone scams
22 June 2006
http://aca.ninemsn.com.au/stories/2131.aspMobile phone spam scams are conning thousands of Australians each day, and there is nothing we can do to stop it until a “do not call” register comes into effect.
One such scam starts with a prank call from an unknown number — your mobile will ring displaying a Sydney or Melbourne telephone number, but the caller will hang up before you have time to answer it.If curiosity gets the better of you and you call that number back you’ll be introduced to ‘Simon’.
‘Simon’ is actually a pre-recorded message telling you that you’ve won a $40 prize which you can collect by dialling a 1900 number. Trouble is, if you do call the number it costs you $2.97 a minute and takes almost five minutes to get the details by which time you will have spent at least $15 on the call.A group of young Queenslanders (called the 4 Wise Monkeys) are trying to put an end to this scam by running a campaign against the overseas-based company behind it — DC Marketing.
The 4 Wise Monkeys have set up their own Internet site about DC Marketing, which is attracting thousands of people each week. The website lists all the ‘missed call’ numbers the Monkeys have found.DC Marketing wouldn’t be interviewed for this story, and while they admit that they don’t tell people how much calls from their mobile will cost, they argue consumers have a choice whether to respond to their message or not.
There is nothing illegal about DC Marketing’s techniques and they pay up to ‘winners’.Consequently, Australian authorities say there is nothing that can be done to prevent this sort of missed-call marketing until a new “do not call” register comes into effect.
“Do not call” register legislation passed through the Senate today and the register should be up and running in early 2007. People will be able to add their names to the register to stop telemarketers from calling them. Telemarketers that break the rules will face fines.
Chris Althaus, from the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association, says your only defence in the meantime is to be suspicious.
“The best way to deal with this situation is do not return calls,” he says.i havent seen a copy of the show on ChBT yet but will fwd the address if i see it.
i hope you have decent hosting package and all the new traffic doenst blow ur monthly limitD
MitH says...June 22nd, 2006 at 8:26 pm -
i actually missed out on the show tonight because of work and was busy getting home….did anyone record it? if so, could that person please send it to me?? i wanna watch it but now i cant. =((
my email is : hermy_spermy@hotmail.com
Regards,
Michael.
Michael says...June 22nd, 2006 at 8:32 pm -
we’ve had a message when we ring back about some dating service in sydney. i’m assuming we’ll be billed at $2.97 for our troubles.
also - have been getting a few wrong number texts. i’ve replied letting them know that they are wrong numbers. does this mean i have been billed for being courteous?
B@STARDS!!!
Adrian says...June 22nd, 2006 at 8:35 pm -
just saw the segment on a current affair - very interesting. i’m gunna make sure that i look out for those missed calls. thanks for ur efforts, guys..
-ShEvy- says...June 22nd, 2006 at 9:06 pm -
both my husband and i also received these prank calls at 8.30pm. we were worried as we have family ill in victoria and it was a victorian number. so i rang it, but lukily i had no credit on my mobile and used the home phone. i heard the message and thought to myself , what a load of ****, and never went any further. the number that we had to ring was (03)81029563
debbie says...June 22nd, 2006 at 9:10 pm -
Just saw ACA and id say well done guys for a great site and a great sense of community informing the general public on such a devious plot to raise money from unaware consumers. I received the prank a few weeks ago but had already heard about such scams from friends and wasnt aware of the severity of the scheme until i saw the show tonite, keep up the good work.
-Alex from Perth.
Alex says...June 22nd, 2006 at 9:23 pm -
Just saw ACA nice work!
It should also be noted with the press that any legitimate company in Australia would have an ABN.
June 22nd, 2006 at 9:29 pm -
I saw your interview on ACA 2nite. Well done guys. The government ought to be doing this job or better still - paying u guys to continue on with it. Another site to find out what scams are going on is http://www.asic.gov.au/fido/fido.nsf/byheadline/Scams & Swindlers portal?opendocument
Keep up the fantastic work guys.
Suze says...June 22nd, 2006 at 9:32 pm -
Hey I saw you guys on ACA and decided to check out the site. I was called by this “Simon” and I didn’t know it was a scam untill they had it on T.V. I went through with it and yes, I get free content now on my mobile. Every now and then they send me a connection to WAP to download free ringtones, wallpapers etc.
I rang the number on my home phone because I knew it would cost unrealistic amounts from my mobile. I just used the home phone and it worked.
Really weird… And yes it was the same one. I remember it.June 22nd, 2006 at 9:42 pm -
Our company ActiveCall was approached by DC Marketing a few months ago to make these calls as we are a 1900 Service Provider. We refused to participate as we are not interested in ripping off people.
The best way to get even with these people is to refuse to pay the 1900 call to their service on the basis that it is a scam. The telephone company will claim the money back off DC Marketing as bad debt which will take away their incentive to keep doing it.June 22nd, 2006 at 9:49 pm -
I saw the ACA segment tonight and I think that like someone said on it, the proposed ‘National non call list’ or whatever it’s called wont work; there are plenty of ways to get numbers and companies like these probably know other companies that they buy the numbers from. Love the website, and I’ll be visiting again.
Nikki says...June 22nd, 2006 at 10:15 pm -
I have received several of these ‘missed calls’ but as i was suspicious I made a quick call via landline as it was cheaper to do so. I asked if the person who answered had just called me, to which the reply was ‘I did not’. It therefore appeaers that the whole intention is for the recipient of the missed call to fork out money via the mobile phone. My view is if you have a missed call you are not sure of, return the call via land line, it’s safer and cheaper.
Ron Stevenson says...June 22nd, 2006 at 11:06 pm -
Message for Pru, my number is unlisted and I still got a call from “Simon”. Maybe a computer programme is just phoning random numbers.
Suze says...June 22nd, 2006 at 11:28 pm -
hi everyone readying this, by a freak co-incedence i caught a glimpse of the report on a current affair and i am so glad i did because just the night before i had a missed called from what i thought was a someone from sydney trying to call me… thanks i hope it goes well and the scam is stopped now!! here’s the number i got called on date and time thanks guys !! i will keep listenin and visiting site..
(02) 84042207 on wednesday the 21/06/2006 at 8:46pm
(02) 84042213 on wednesday the 17/05/2006 at 8:00pm
Sarah says...June 23rd, 2006 at 12:23 am -
I ALSO HAVE BEEN GETTING THOSE MISSED CALLS ON MY MOBILE, I NEVER RETURNED THE CALLS.AFTER WATCHING A CURRENT AFFAIR TONIGHT I WENT TO YOUR SITE TO CHECK OUT THE NUMBERS LISTED AND YEP THE TWO NUMBERS ARE THERE.MY CHILDREN ALSO GET THESE CALLS ON THEIR MOBILES A RETURN CALL WAS MADE. THEY ARE STEALING FROM OUR CHILDREN TOO I AM VERY ANGRY THAT MY CHILD WAS RIPPED OFF
I HOPE ALL THE PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE ROT IN HELL..REAL SOON
FIONA…..
FIONA says...June 23rd, 2006 at 12:29 am -
Hello 4wisemonkeys im a fellow whirlpoolian on whirlpool.net.au
and i agree with
# Aaron Smallquote: “A scam is by definition deceptive &/or misleading, thus triggering the application of s.52 Trade Practices Act 1977 (Cth) (bait advertising as this scam is- is also specifically prohibited). Once s.52 is proved, damages are available under the statute. How many people have you got? Line them up & see a lawyer ”
If you can add a feature to your site that can gain a list of people who can provide proof they have been a victim to this scam we can look at taking this matter further.
Please contact me via my email address thankyou
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=520986&p=1
peter james says...June 23rd, 2006 at 2:02 am -
You can start with VRPan (tc marketing in Germany) +49 1733617878 or peter@tcmarketing.de
You can mail them a can of “Spam” at:
DC Marketing Ltd
PO Box 994
Spit Junction, 2088 NSW
Australia peter james says...June 23rd, 2006 at 2:13 am -
I fail to see how this sort of marketing is legal, I believe it’s legal theft.
Will says...June 23rd, 2006 at 9:06 am -
Good work guys. Watched A.C.A. 22/6/06. We `need more people like you to help put a stop to this type of thing. I received two calls 23/6/06. 0985580556 & 0284042239 @app 8:30 & 9:30 am. I would say people will get bombarded with calls after A.C.A.
Jan says...June 23rd, 2006 at 10:25 am -
I have also recieved these missed phone calls, the real annoying thing is that they come right at the same time as tea etc.
The following number is the one that i have been recieved
03 8102 9565Good work guys keep up the great fight, i thought that i was the only one getting this invasion of my privacy violated.
Now i know that i am not going crazy getting all worked up and annoyed about this nuisance type of rubbish.
Also so much for having privacy,
i just wonder where this guy SIMON is getting all our phone numbers from or is he just picking out numbers from thin air.
Also both my mobile numbers that i have are both pre paid so it makes you wonder how much of your private information is being sold by these phone companies that you sign up for a making out of selling your private information.
karen says...June 23rd, 2006 at 11:27 am -
Well done guys! Get those nasty buggers. They called me up and my husband at 12 midnight on June 12 (holiday). We panicked as both our families are overseas and thought it was an emergency.
DC MARKETING ARE DISGUSTING & NASTY!
lisa says...June 23rd, 2006 at 1:00 pm -
What is Mr. Gruber’s mobile phone number? If he can “obtain” our phone numbers “legally” from somewhere, why can’t we get his phone number and pass it around among us like these scam companies do with our numbers, and let us all give him missed calls?
heli says...June 23rd, 2006 at 7:17 pm -
Anyone receiving supposed missed calls from any DC Marketing telephone promotion can have their details removed by emailing refund@vrpan.com and stating they do not want their mobile number used in their promotions. Consumers can also do this by writing to DC Marketing, PO Box 994, Spit Junction NSW 2088.
If consumers find they are still receiving calls, after being asked to be taken off the company’s call lists, they should contact Consumer Protection for assistance on telephone 1300 30 40 54 or email consumer@docep.wa.gov.au.
I cut and pasted this from http://www.docep.wa.gov.au/Corporate/Media/statements/2006/June/Stopping_annoying_ma.html
June 23rd, 2006 at 7:50 pm -
Can anyone else confirm the contact details peter james gave?
Everyone with VoIP could really cheaply bombard that International Phone Number.
As for the PO Box, anyone have any anthrax laying around? That should quickly help put a stop to the scam. Otherwise, envelopes of talcom powder would at least slow them down.Remember it is perfectly legal to eradicate vermin.
Jon O says...June 23rd, 2006 at 8:06 pm -
ACA?? are you kidding?? these guys are as much scammers as DC marketing! A hell of alot more people, just as rutheless as ’simon’ just made a hell of a lot more money from your story.
stev says...June 23rd, 2006 at 8:08 pm -
Hey guys,
I saw your appearance on the news the other night, although I think it was Sky News?
Anyway thanks for waking me up! Only 10 minutes ago I was sitting here with my mobile next to me and it rang for literally 1 second, and I saw it and I thought it seemed like one of the numbers listed on your site. The number was (02) 8404 2207, which is a number listed on 4wisemonkeys, but it is listed in the older numbers section. Please note this
Thank you so much for saving me money because I would’ve otherwise called back these idiotic companies!
-Morgan, Victoria
Morgan says...June 23rd, 2006 at 9:41 pm -
Hmmm, stev, I don’t see you coming up with any bright ideas to stop these conartists from making a sneaky (BIG) buck from innocent people. Maybe instead of bleating about what SHOULDN’T be done, you can come up with an alternative solution? I’m actually at a loss as to why you think the story HELPED “Simon” and his ilk. The more people are aware of these scams, the more likely it is that other companies will fail in their attempts to follow suit. Should we all stay quiet and hope that they go away voluntarily?
For my part, congratulations on getting the story on ACA and thank you all at 4WM for fighting so hard to bring this disgrace to public attention. The bigger the stink everyone creates, the more likely it will be that swindlers like these will disappear from our lives. I and my phone bill thank you!!!
Angel says...June 23rd, 2006 at 10:29 pm -
Got almost 200 calls from 0381029565. Hope this helps the 4WM viewers. Hope this crap is stoped soon.
Dan says...June 24th, 2006 at 10:23 am -
I watched the ACA program relating to missed call marketing and I am disgusted at the behaviour of DC marketing which preys on the honesty of the innocent. We are trying to bring up our kids to behave decently and we get this crap which appears to be sanctioned by our authorities.
I called the ACCC who said that whilst this practice may be considered unethical is not illegal and that the proposed “no call register” would solve the problem. Well where is the “no call register” why are we waiting so long for it? I suspect the vast majority of Australians will register as soon as possible.
I think waiting for $15 to be racked up before being advised of call costs is unethical and I would like to see ACCC take action on this matter so that call costs are disclosed up front. This non disclosure of up front fees is, in my view, unethical and surely the ACCC can action on his aspect which is clearly unethical.
I sent emails to the Telecommunications industry Ombudsman, the Federal Minister for Communications and the Australian Labour Party however I am yet to receive a response from any of them.
I suspect the reason why no action has been taken is because there aren’t enough votes involved. My recommendation is that if you feel strongly about this issue, spend some time sending emails to federal politicians, federal political parties, the ACCC etc and asking them to tell you why nothing can be done to stop this type of behaviour.
Dave G says...June 24th, 2006 at 10:41 am -
Awesome work guys!
I also made several calls to the Telecommunications Ombudsmen and ACCC after I was hit by DC Marketing. I also managed to contact them via their vrpan website (since there is no listing for DC Marketing in the White Pages - surprise surprise). They told me the practice was done for the convenience of those they were targeting. Well, if they’re so concerned about our convenience, why are they forwarding the cost of marketing their company on to us? This is a cost cutting scam, plain and simple!
I’m all for companies wanting to market themselves, but THEY should be responsible for the cost of doing so. I think it’s appalling that a company can forward its marketing costs on to the customer via unscrupulous and underhanded methods.
Although the ‘do not call’ register is a good idea, it’s just not good enough. Many Australians will be unaware of such a system and still fall victim to the tactics of companies like DC Marketing. This method of marketing needs to be made illegal, it’s that simple!
Blair says...June 24th, 2006 at 3:35 pm -
mmmmmmmm, same thing happened to me!
Taelar says...June 25th, 2006 at 9:18 am -
Received a missed call (rang once) at 1640 hrs 25/06/06 from 0381029563. They are stll going.
Sean says...June 25th, 2006 at 5:00 pm -
Hi, thought I’d join the list of 03 8102 9563 missed calls. 25/6 @ 21.42pm Thought it was my mum so checked the missed call number, saw that number and thought it was suss. Rang my mum who told me in their local paper there was a list of phone numbers and the closest was 03 8102 9565. Great work guys, saw you on ACA the other night.
Marsha says...June 25th, 2006 at 10:16 pm -
Hi, I’m in the process of starting my own small business on a shoestring budget which involves sourcing product from suppliers on both Sydney Melb. I received a missed call from a Sydney number and called it back believing it to be a very important missed call from a supplier only to get Mr Gruber’s scammy message. Thanks for wasting my precious money Mr Gruber. I don’t still have the number but it’s an 02 82……
Lucy says...June 26th, 2006 at 12:42 pm -
Blair, can you please give info re: dc marketing. There phone number or address were we can contact DC.
June 26th, 2006 at 2:00 pm -
Saw you guys on current affair and realised my 11 yr old daughter had been scammed to the tune of $46.00 on our Telstra mob phone bill for her phone number. She got the famouse missed call and that she had won $40.00. Unfortantly it took her more than 1 call to get all the onfo she thought she needed to win. I have just gone through her phone now and there is a message from 19700600. It says Did u enjoy free content? U r now joining the ringtone club. You will get a newtone/week@$4.00. To unsubscribe reply stop. She says she didn’t reply. I hope this means she hasn’t joined anything? Keep up the good work.
Lisa says...June 26th, 2006 at 5:29 pm -
Our esteemed government needs to legislate around this one.
Choz says...June 26th, 2006 at 6:25 pm -
just in case anyone missed the aca story you can view it on their website. just go thru ninemsn.com.au and find the link to the aca website and go to the videos section.
Great interview guys. I somehow seem to be one of the very lucky ones who have not recieved any of these calls as yet (though now that i’ve said that i’ve probably jinxed myself) though almost everyone i know has recieved these calls. I totally understand the frustration and annoyance these calls bring on. I hope we can get this type of marketing shut down very soon. It is totally unfair and our govt should be doing more to protect its citizens from these kinds of scams.
great work guys. keep it up. Am regularly checking your site now…
Madh says...June 27th, 2006 at 10:12 am -
Still going strong.
My 0411 number was hit from (03) 8102 9563 at 17:28:27 on the 28th of June, 2006.
I plan on tracking these people down and telling them to add me to their Do Not Call list. All Direct Marketers are supposed to have one. Let’s see if they do.
Dazz says...June 28th, 2006 at 7:28 pm -
Can you guys tell me please confrm that DC Marketing are still using their old same Po box address? I can fell a “SHIT LOAD” of mail coming their way.
Mat says...July 1st, 2006 at 7:14 pm -
i just got a prank (again) from this number 0381029563 why do they bother ive called it back n got a idot message. cant they find anything better 2 do with there day. i say kill the tete markets. LEAVE ME ALONE
LEAVE ME ALONE says...July 5th, 2006 at 8:38 pm -
Hi
I live in Perth, WA. I just received a missed call from 0381029563 at about 11:30am 10 July 06.
I was about to call them back but I remembered receiving an email a few weeks back about a mobile phone scam. At the time I thought it was just another stupid email, but I googled the number that called me, and my search results gave me this site.
I see from the comments above that there are others who have received missed calls from the same number.I have received missed calls before from similar numbers, but they are no longer stored in my phone so I am unable to list them here.
If i get any more, I will be sure to post them.Cheers
Jen
Jen says...July 10th, 2006 at 1:56 pm -
Hey Dave. Good job. I told you it would make radio shows and a current affair
god im good
good job though. you deserve it. you were the only person who had enough balls to go through with it all. i admire you.
one day we will have to watch the cricket together, seeing as it is one of your ‘goals’ you have not accomplished yet lmao.
keep up the good work.
Melissa says...July 15th, 2006 at 3:04 pm -
I got a call today.
The telecom company selling the telecom service to DC Marketing is also profiting from this scam.
If it is Telstra then we should all leave them in protest.Telstra should state clearly if it is profiting from this scam.
The name of the telecom service provider whoever it is should be made public so that consumers can leave this company.
david says...July 18th, 2006 at 2:31 pm -
Anyone receiving supposed missed calls from any DC Marketing telephone promotion can have their details removed by emailing refund@vrpan.com** and stating they do not want their mobile number used in their promotions. Consumers can also do this by writing to DC Marketing, PO Box 994, Spit Junction NSW 2088.
If consumers find they are still receiving calls, after being asked to be taken off the company’s call lists, they should contact Consumer Protection for assistance on telephone 1300 30 40 54 or email consumer@docep.wa.gov.au.
j says...August 17th, 2006 at 6:18 pm -
[...] Media: ABC The World Today (20th June 2006) TV Interview with Chris Allen from A Current Affair: Media: A Current Affair (22nd June [...]
April 24th, 2008 at 6:54 am
Subscribe via RSS