Utilities & Mobile Great business - Globe load theft

Received this the other day.

GAMEPAD: You have been charged PHP5.00 for 1 day access to Quality Package service. Quit? Reply STOP ALL. Help? Email: support@gamepadph.com or call 09176437770,M-S 6am-12mn.
​

This is on a number that I don't use for anything other than doing Globe free promo's on a pocket wifi device. I almost never have load on this SIM because I transfer load for the promo and then grab the promo right away. In a rare case I had 5 pesos load on the SIM and this thing yanks the load.

Of all the things that irritate me in the Philippines, this one blows me away. This is someone able to reach into my account and steal money. I was considering using their Gcash service as an e-wallet, but if they can't get the security right to protect load, can they do any better to protect money?

I hear all the time "can you send me load again, TM|Globe took my load". I wonder how many people actually complain about this to Globe? How many people can you ding with a 5 peso charge and then just get away with it because 5 pesos isn't enough to worry about?

I don't have time to look into this, but when I do I'll post the resolution. I'm thinking part of the resolution will be to setup my own service which can do the same. I'm not looking to make money, but rather, I want to have a better understanding of their system so that I can publish a full technical explanation of how this works.

Anyone else run into this and actually contacted Globe about it? I have no confidence in Globe fixing this. The last issue I ran into, I found the resolution through a hacker forum rather than wasting time with support. I imagine I'll have to take the same route with this one.

 

I use to hear all the time "TM took my load" I have a TM number but seldom keep more than 20 P load, because I know it disappears. I just use the number to give to people that I probably will not want to deal with later... I call it my disposable sim, and "chuck" it when I get too many annoying calls.

 

This is a good one. Something like this happens in the US but for a lot more money, it's called cramming. App stores and game sights charging your phone bill for things you didn't request. Service providers complicit and not stopping the practice for a decade because they get a cut.

Strangely this didn't happen to me because I was pay as you go and if I wasn't using data, I kept it turned off. I never got one of these wonderful unrequested deals. Still received plenty of annoying texts though. I won the lottery so many times even though I never entered one would think that Filipinos must all be rich! How could you not be when you win the lottery twice a week?

 

I've had it happen to me many times. When the globe office used to be at the boulevard I even complained about it because I was always losing whatever the remaining peso's were from a recent buy of load. They kept trying to say its because I replied to some advertisement for some ringtone or some other thing on I got which I never did... ever. They said it wasn't them and to change my sim which I did and they recommended watching where I buy load because it could be these loaders doing it but it wasn't globe. I proceeded to only buy load from the cards in the sealed packages to see if that did it. Of course my load still vanished but it took a week or two after getting a new sim before it started it happen. I complained to Globe again and when talking to others found out the consensus agreement was that it was Globe stealing the load. I went to DTI and they said they would file a complain but don't expect anything to happen because its a very common complaint and DTI's hands were pretty much tied in doing anything.

I've thought of switching to Smart many times because of such horrible Globe service but Smart is more expensive and requires a larger promo while rarely do I text (unless am single and searching) along with almost everyone I know is Globe/TM and the networks aren't so nice in wanting you to text or call other networks.

 

I'm no big fan of Globe but in the nearly three years I've been using them that never happened to me.
I'd really suspect that some app is using your load for some kind of (possibly well-hidden) in-app purchase. I am quite picky when it comes to installing stuff, maybe that saved me until now.

 

Yep, this is why I would never go to customer service for anything. They aren't connected enough to reach someone who could / would actually do something.

They only way to get Globe to move on this would be to embarrass them by making them look stupid. Publishing details on whatever exploit people are using would be a good step. Once the exploit is widely known, then people will go wild with it.

Or it may not be so simple to do. I don't know. That's why I want to figure it out.

For those who are doing this, it must be a decent income for some people. Out of the millions of people here, you would only need to bag a small percentage to make enough for a decent living in Dumaguete.

 

Only way for it to happen as an exploit is from the inside of Globe. Any investigation could only end up really pointing to Globe knowingly allowing or doing this themselves. Its not like its a virus or trojan that allows a hidden program on someone's phone to do this or that someone is remotely hacking into your phone or SIM from the outside. Each possible thing that could potentially cause it has far more proof that its not that because of simple things like it even happens to non smart phones w/o wifi or internet among other reasons.

The finger can only end up pointing at Globe be it its them doing it purposefully or allowing such to be done from the inside by Globe workers. But getting to a real point, who out there is going to end up blowing the whistle on Globe and who is going to go out prosecuting such would likely destroy Globe if the law was followed as it would open up serious class action lawsuits against Globe (that I'd bet PLDT/Smart would be more than happy to help bankroll). How many big politicians would stand to lose HUGE financially.

 

Used to happen to our Globe load, too many times to count!!

 

That's not the issue. Its not an app doing it or someone who at one point agreed to some nonsense ringtone deal. It happens to everyone no matter if your phone doesn't even have internet and android stuff or if someone ever used ringtone deals and whatnot. For the most part its straight out theft of load for no reason at all. Plenty of people myself included have bought new sims to find even before we get around to texting all our real friends our new number we already are having load go missing. This leaves the only answer on missing load is at Globe's end. In other words Globe is a thief and a criminal business profiting on stealing load to force people to buy more.