Just when you think you've seen it all, along comes a company like ProtectIDToday.com, www.protectidtoday.com.
We discovered these fraudulent charges on our home phone bill courtesy of AT&T. There were two months worth of billing at $14.95 per month and totalling $29.90 and a line item description of PROTECTIDTODAY-ID PROTCT/EMAIL MO FEE $14.95
Contacting AT&T's billing dept was a huge waste of time even when we told them we did not order this service as they claim 50% of the time customers may have forgot signing up initially for the service and we must call them directly.
So I called the number on the bill for ILD Teleservices, Inc out of San Antonio, Tx (800) 433-4518, and they indicated they were simply the billing company for Protect ID Today, not the actual provider of services. They did ask for my phone number which the charges appeared on, which I gave them along with my name, but did not give them my address. They did reverse the charges but I believe they are as much a part of this scam as Protect ID Today.
The fact is anyone can go to www.protectidtoday.com and fill out your home address and home telephone number and commence the $14.95 per month billing almost immediately! Even though they claim an email confirmation process exists we never received an email from this site! Probably because we never signed up for the service.
There is no verification process like a signature or email confirmation or even a credit card for billing required from the website as they conveinently use your home phone bill to complete their deed and then rely on ILD Teleservices customer service people to deal with those smart enough to catch their scam and reverse the charges.
The most disturbing piece to this scam, is the online form they use to collect your information is an LOA, and clearly states Letter of Agency on their site.
An LOA is a form which the phone companies require for any changes to your service or added billable services.in my opinion the phone companies including AT&T in my case, are just as liable for not insuring these forms are submitted accurately by the consumer and insuring the businesses submitting the LOA's are in fact legitimate businesses.
Although we were fortunate to catch this and avoid the charges, many unsuspecting customers do not and pay the bill for a service they did not order. If you discover unauthorized billing on your home phone bill, contact your provider immediately to request a refund and report the company and also file a complaint with the Public Utility Commission in your state.
These types of scams are not only time consuming a stressful to deal with their just plain wrong and need to be investigated and shut down once and for all.
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