Most subscribers are accustomed to the fact that all costs associated with mobile communications are regulated by tariffs. In theory, knowing the terms of the tariff used, you have information about expenses for the phone. However, it happens that a user suddenly discovers regular debits of funds of unknown origin. Why are they withdrawing money from my phone? We will look at the reasons for this in the article.
Verification and reasons for debiting funds
Of course, in addition to the obvious costs of paying for mobile communications, there are a sea of various additional options. They are either included in the package of services that the user has chosen for himself, or act as a secondary service.
Russian mobile operators assure the public of 100% transparency in the services they provide. Considering that their activities are determined by law, it can be assumed that most often the costs of unclear items are associated with the inattention of clients.
Account details
Before indiscriminately accusing your operator of dishonesty, it is worth studying the details of the account
phone.
Important! All mobile service providers provide details for free. The client has the right to review the expenses for the last period of 1-3 months.
A detailed report on the mobile balance contains information about all transactions of replenishment and debiting of money. This information is accompanied by brief comments indicating what the payment was made for.
Important! The best option for viewing details and ordering them is your personal account.
In your personal account on the mobile operator’s website, you can use the report to read the description of the options, and immediately delete them if you do not use them.
Additional paid services
Charges for calls, SMS messages and the Internet are the main expenses for mobile communications. Their cost is the core of all expenses. However, there is such a thing as paid subscriptions
. Their interesting feature is that they do not need to be used in order for a subscription fee to be charged. Money will be debited monthly.
Why do MTS, Megafon, Beeline, Tele2 or some other operator usually write off funds?
All additional options, according to mobile communication providers, are activated by the clients themselves. They say they simply forget about them. Indeed, this could happen. Especially if we are talking about, for example, a trial period
using some service.
The operator can organize any action, the user connects to it. When the period of free use of the service expires, the person has already forgotten about it, and the funds are written off.
Account checking function in the “Help” section on the MTS website
In summary, for all these reasons you need to pay close attention to:
- Connected subscriptions
. Even if you are sure that you didn’t connect anything beyond the main package, check. Especially if you find strange expenses. - Tariff conditions.
Over time, its value may change, including upward. The composition of the service package is also subject to change: some are no longer supported, while new ones are added. - Stock.
What was previously provided free of charge or at a low cost can later acquire a substantial price. The promotion itself cannot be disabled – this must be done by the client himself. If he forgets, unexpected expenses arise.
By and large, everything described is a matter of client attentiveness. Although it can be assumed that the mobile operator is inclined to be somewhat cunning and not notify in a timely manner about changes in tariffs or promotions.
The situation is different with another possible reason, which you read about below.
Alien intent
Leaving your smartphone unlocked can also be dangerous because it could be used by a stranger. It’s good if he just calls somewhere or sends a regular SMS, but it’s worse when he starts sending SMS to paid numbers, transferring money from your account to his number, or calling relatives abroad. When you give your smartphone to children to play games, provide reliable protection against payments in the app store, otherwise they may buy content you don’t need and pay for it from the phone account.
Fraud
The forms of illegal activity here are quite diverse, but there are still several particularly common variations.
“Predatory SMS”
Often, a message may come to the user’s phone with an offer to activate a service, join a promotion, or pay for some operation.
Unfortunately, people are sometimes too immersed in their own affairs and worries and therefore do not pay attention to such things, acting, as they say, automatically. I saw the message, read it briefly, and clicked. And either a decent amount, or even all the money at once, was debited from the account, or the person signed up for an unnecessary newsletter that requires monthly payment.
Illegal links
Since today the vast majority of people use mobile devices with the ability to access the Internet, there is also a large field for illegal activities of various kinds of crooks.
It’s not for nothing that there is a universal recommendation for working with the Internet, regardless of the platform: under no circumstances should you click on unfamiliar links
! In addition, you should always pay attention to where you download this or that software from.
There are several types of particularly common links:
- Phishing.
They imitate the addresses of real websites of official structures - banks, shops, information sources and other resources. - Anonymous.
These are links without explanation that are randomly or non-randomly placed in any text. - Image.
These are photos or picture links that, when clicked, take the user to a third-party site.
When you access the Internet from your smartphone, you should always pay attention to the address of the page where you are going to go. Don't click on links that don't clearly explain where they go.
It happens that the link address differs by just one character
from the original address. For example, instead of mail.ru it may be written maill.ru. Be careful!
Virus software
Software developers constantly insist that you need to download various types of applications from official websites.
The issue of banking mobile applications will be relevant for clients of mobile operators. Almost all of them are posted on PlayMarket or AppStore, if we talk about the product of Russian banking organizations.
When using a mobile device, look at where you are downloading the software from and whether there are any additional options being imposed. The best protection against scammers is your attentiveness.
Roaming
Roaming in Russia is a strange thing.
It seems to be gone, but in fact it is still there. The complete abolition of roaming will happen in the summer of 2021, and until then, operators can still provide the same services in different regions at different prices. Crimea and Sevastopol stand apart - operators there have special conditions on most tariffs. If you don’t want to pay a lot when roaming, check in advance for cost-cutting options on your tariff. Foreign roaming is expensive, and smartphones are designed in such a way that they can consume mobile traffic even when the mobile Internet option is disabled.
How to disable additional services?
When the client finds the reason for the suspicious expenses, it is time to clean up the tariff package.
The vast majority of unnecessary options can be disabled on the provider’s website in your personal account. The same effect can be achieved by calling the hotline or visiting the operator’s salon.
Important! Some mobile service providers charge a fee to disable additional options. Please check this information.
There is also a service that is quite problematic to turn off. We are talking about those services that are provided not by the provider, but by a company that is a partner. These could be subscriptions to some sites or channels. Accordingly, you need to get rid of them on the resource on which they function.
Your mobile operator will not be able to help you unsubscribe from these options, but they can provide information on how to do this.
Operator notifications
Content services are a bottomless source of income for an operator. The costs of providing them are close to zero, and the fee for them can be anything (although operators try not to become impudent and not empty subscribers’ accounts too quickly and noticeably). Subscribing to useless content from operators and their partners, such as jokes and horoscopes, is as easy as pie - you just need to press the wrong button, trying to get rid of an annoying notification that can be mistaken for a system one. Some fraudulent sites deliberately mislead users - no matter what button you click, they issue a wap subscription (which, moreover, does not require confirmation via SMS or USSD command).
What to do?
In addition to all the above reasons, it is worth noting that there are malfunctions in the operation of the mobile operator. This leads to the fact that certain options, already disabled, continue to be paid for.
Of course, in this case you need to file a claim with the company.
Standard algorithm:
- visit the provider’s office showroom;
- write an application for a refund;
- wait for a positive decision.
As a rule, large organizations value their reputation and meet the needs of the client halfway. Especially in such situations when the fault is on their side.
The money is either returned to the phone balance or given in person at the company office.
The same procedure is provided for situations where the option was activated accidentally and was not used
. Such circumstances are common if the participants on the client side are children and pensioners.
In this case, the money is returned after the first application. In the future, if we are talking about a random connection again, the user’s actions are considered an attempt to cheat
.
Accidents
You may not remember how you talked to a stranger for half an hour, sent fifty SMS to your home phone, or watched someone cut water on YouTube for 10 hours, but this does not mean that your smartphone is not capable of this without your participation. All you have to do is not lock the screen, put your smartphone in your pocket and put your hand there - anything can happen there. Always make sure you press end call after ending a call or wait for the other person to do so, and lock the screen before putting your smartphone in your jacket or bag.
How to contact the provider?
Clients of some operators have the opportunity to send an application for the return of illegally debited funds electronically - by mail.
The possibility of this format must be clarified on the company’s website or by calling the hotline:
- for MTS – number 0890;
- Megafon uses the number 0500;
- Beeline – 0611;
- Tele2 – 611.
It takes up to a week or two to review a client’s request. The application does not indicate the period during which the funds were written off, because in most cases the subscriber does not have access to such information.
Important! Subscribers are not provided with bill details for periods longer than six months.
There are also no limits on the amount refunded. If, in fact, the funds were debited for a non-working service or for an option for which the client did not subscribe, the money will be returned in full.
Viruses
Viruses can be picked up in applications, on websites, or through links that come in SMS messages from unfamiliar numbers. Malicious code is distributed under the guise of content that allegedly relates to you personally, or an important browser or operating system update. After entering the device, the virus embeds itself in the memory, hides itself, and controls SMS messages and calls: transfers money to fraudulent hackers, issues paid subscriptions to content, etc.
Introductory part
It is unpleasant, offensive and costly when citizens lose their money against their will.
Usually, there can be only two explanations for this:
- Money goes missing as a result of the criminal activities of some criminals, such as due to their fraud or other illegal acts.
- Manifestation of imprudence, unjustified carelessness and disregard for the safety rules of the owner of capital.
Constantly monitor the balance on your mobile device
Whatever the reason, it needs to be identified, eliminated, and effective measures taken in the future to prevent leakage of personal finances ever again.
Money transfers
You can withdraw money from your phone using money transfer systems. Websites of mobile operators have special forms in which you must indicate:
- phone number;
- transfer amount;
- first name, patronymic, last name of the recipient;
- passport number and series (Beeline);
- sender details (Megafon).
Several money transfer systems are available to subscribers of mobile operators. Among the most popular:
| Mobile service provider | Unistream | |||||
| Commission | Commission | Commission | ||||
| from 1.00 to 15000.00 | from 10.00 to 15000.00 | from 10.00 to 15000.00 | ||||
| from 100.00 to 14000.00 | Payment system not supported | from 1000.00 to 14000.00 | ||||
| from 1.00 to 15000.00 | from 1.00 to 15000.00 | from 1.00 to 15000.00 | ||||
Video
Today, a fairly large number of people living in our country are users of the MTS cellular operator. Despite the fact that over the past few years, the telecommunications company has begun to offer more favorable conditions for communication to its customers, there are still certain shortcomings and complaints about the work. At the same time, most often, problems are explained not by the actions of the company itself, but by the inattention of customers who chose MTS services. It is worth noting that one of the problems for many users is that money disappears from their mobile number account. Let's try to figure out why they withdraw money from an MTS phone?
I would like to immediately note that such situations most often arise due to the inclusion of a number of paid services, subscriptions and options. In order to avoid the situation, you need to determine which paid services your number is subscribed to, and also disable them.
The material will discuss not only what methods of obtaining information about writing off money exist, but also about security measures that must be observed by the subscriber so that such situations do not arise.
Transfer to WebMoney
First, you need to log into the WebMoney system using your account by entering your username and password, then link your phone number in the settings. To replenish the balance, the user must have a formal certificate or higher. It is easy to obtain by filling out the fields in the settings and sending scans of your passport. After confirmation, you can transfer money. Further actions:
- On the main page, find the option “Top up your wallet” - “From phone+”.
- Enter the amount in rubles in the window that appears (from 10.00 to 5000.00).
- An SMS will be sent to your phone number to confirm the transaction.
- Afterwards the money will be credited to your account.
Each cellular provider has its own commission percentage. It amounts to:
Why was money withdrawn from my MTS phone?
The main method of determination is a call made to MTS. To do this, you need to call 0890 from your mobile phone. By connecting with a qualified specialist, it is possible to get an answer to any question you may have. Likewise, you can get advice directly at a mobile phone store. It is worth saying that today they are available in almost all settlements of our country. If a person lives in a village, then for sure there is an MTS cellular communication branch in a nearby village.
Of course, situations occur when a person, for some reason, is not able to call the contact center or visit an MTS cellular communication salon. In this case, you can also obtain the information you are interested in by visiting your “Personal Account”. By logging in through the official website, it is possible to understand why the money was withdrawn. Here you can also find a list of paid services and options connected to your mobile phone number. To obtain information, you should order details as well as a monthly invoice. In addition, users have the opportunity to clarify paid actions for the last 24 hours.
Money disappeared from my phone
This story was sent to us by reader Tatyana, we are publishing it in the article because it is indicative. Text - by the author.
Not long ago I found myself in a situation where money disappeared from my phone.
And it was like that.
The girl operator called me and offered me a new tariff, which, as she convinced me, would be very profitable for me. After listening to all her arguments, I agreed to switch to this tariff. Half an hour later I receive a message saying that I have a debt on my phone. After a few more minutes, my phone stops seeing the network and the SIM card becomes inactive.
I was very surprised by this turn of events: I had enough money on my phone. Why then did the operator block my SIM card?
I immediately ran to the central office to find out. There they explained to me that a technical error had occurred. The employees apologized, restored the SIM card, returned all funds to the account and compensated for my suffering by adding bonus minutes and SMS.
Since then I have not agreed to any offers from the operator. If you change the tariff, then after you have read all the conditions and prices on the official website.
Almost every person has a situation when, for some reason, an amount accumulates on their mobile phone account that needs to be cashed out. Mobile operators have provided different methods for withdrawing money from your balance.
User errors
It would be dishonest to blame only telecom operators. Often clients themselves fall into traps because they do not read contracts carefully or are not interested in the terms of tariffs.
Calls and SMS to paid lines
Before calling a taxi service, food delivery service or any other organization, you need to carefully read the terms and conditions of the conversation with them. Many companies nowadays call customers back themselves, but there are still those that work in accordance with operator tariffs or even set their own price per call.
When switching to another operator or purchasing a new SIM card, a variety of paid services and services may be attached to the subscription package. Not all consultants say that you will need to pay for some of the services, and the truth is revealed during use. To avoid such situations, you need to carefully read the list of services provided and do not hesitate to ask again and double-check the terms of their provision.
As a rule, the client can refuse paid services, and if the operating company refuses to cancel the write-off of money, you can safely go to court, because this is illegal.
Incorrect USSD code entry
Until now, some functions of the mobile operator can be enabled or disabled by entering a special code. Often these codes are similar to each other, so there are cases of accidentally connecting a service. To avoid falling for such a trick, you need to carefully check all the digits of the codes and numbers.
To resolve problems with loss of funds, you need to call the mobile phone company. When purchasing or connecting to a tariff, you should carefully read the terms and conditions and monitor changes.
Source
In-app payments
Applications also charge regular fees: music services “Yandex Music” or “Apple Music”, expense control applications “Zen Money” or “Coinkeeper”, educational services “Radio Arzamas” or “Puzzle English”.
It happens that we subscribe, hoping that the application will help us change our lives for the better, and six months later we can no longer remember what the icon is on the screen - and we delete it. But the subscription will still remain, and the program will continue to charge money, even if the application is deleted.
To understand what you are paying for, it is worth checking your subscriptions in Epstore or Play Store from time to time. Here's where to find this information.
On iPhone. You need to log into your Epstore account and select “Manage subscriptions”.
There you will find both active and expired subscriptions - you can cancel outdated services or renew your subscription at any time.
This method does not show all subscriptions. For example, I know for sure that I also pay for additional memory in ICloud to store photos there. To find a complete list of expenses, you need the “Purchase History” item.
Your purchase history reflects all the applications you have downloaded, even free ones - in this case the price will be 0 rubles.
On Android. In the Play Market, information about regular payments is located in the main menu, in the “Subscriptions” section.
To cancel your subscription, you need to click on the name of the application and select “Cancel subscription” in the menu that opens. The money will not be returned for this month, but for the next month they will not take it anymore.
You can also manage your subscriptions from your computer. To do this, you need to go to the Google Play website under the same account to which the Play Market on your smartphone is linked, and select “My subscriptions” in the side menu.
In mobile banking. It is easier to control automatic spending if the bank sends SMS alerts about transactions.
The message will not say which specific application the money was used to pay for, but the fact of the message itself will help: if there are no notifications, then there is nothing to worry about.
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Source
Call the call center
Identification may be required upon application. Nowadays this rarely happens, but the telecom operator may ask you to verify your passport data or give a code word.
the call center operator any question you have.
. If necessary, the response will be sent by email, which you provide yourself, or which was previously entered in the system.
a request for a refund through the call center operator
. You will be informed of the application number and the approximate time for consideration of the problem.
