SeeBee Club phone scam

[Monessen]

I saw that my Telcel phone had a number "1' on the messaging window and opened it to see if it was a message from a friend. I sometimes get a notice of a message that way. It is the little yellow "baloon box" with the happy face on it. The message that appeared was in Spanish and welcomed me as a member of the See Bee club or a name very close to that. I knew that I never applied for such a thing and took the message (which I did NOT click on) to a Mexican friend who said that it was a type of virus scam and that I would now start paying a small fee (monthly?)--around 30 pesos--and it would be added to my phone bill. I saw red.

I didn't apply for such a thing nor did I want it. I took it within 2 1/2 hours to TELCEL to see if I could have them do something to erase the fee. Everyone said the same thing to me; no. I would have to pay this initial fee for something that I saw as a scam. The TELCEL clerk did contact the See Bee website on their computer and took me off of the scam. I next thought of contacting the police. How many other non-Spanish speakers would know what that message said or implied? I figured that the police could at least investigate the club to find out how it got my number and why it was putting such an unwanted product on my phone without my permission. I don't open sites that I don't recognize and I can't imagine that I would open a Spanish language site in the first place. The reply about the police was universal. They won't be bothered by such a small amount of money being taken from me every month.

MAYBE, JUST MAYBE this site might be known to a reader here but when you charge me for a product (it was some kind of monthly thing) I neither asked for, wanted nor agreed to then you are a scammer in my eyes. Period. The Telcel clerk said that this happens but that it has nothing to do with the Telcel company and they must charge the fee to me even if I object. She again pointed to the small fee as if it were a non-issue.

I just wanted to give readers a "heads up" if they should get the same message. My Mexican friends wouldn't go to the website for fear they would be scammed but the Telcel clerk was willing to use their company computer to nix the See Bee Club. My Mexican friends said that I should just cease using that little messaging item on my cell phone even if it means losing a contact or two. Hmmm. It just drives me crazy.