Revast, Tework, Mediascape: Phone sex trap from the Czech Republic
Reading time: 5 minutes
Again, and again consumers who are supposed to pay for alleged telephone sex contact the European Consumer Centre Germany.
In most cases, the bills and reminders come from alleged companies from the Czech Republic: for example, Revast, Telework or Mediascape.
At the beginning, an amount of 90 euros is demanded, later with reminder and default charges of up to more than 500 euros.
Those affected should not be intimidated and object to the demands.
Phone sex traps are on the rise again
Update: 14.10.2022
- Those affected are contacted by up to three different companies (telephone sex service provider, debt collection agency or receivables management) and receive several reminder letters.
- Consumers are deliberately put under pressure and urged to pay. Our advice: Do not pay the bill!
- Bills amount to up to over 500 euros.
- Company keeps changing SMS numbers, making it impossible to contact them.
Summary
- Do not pay for services you have not used.
- Do not be intimidated by unjustified demands for payment and object in writing.
- If the service has been used, you are initially only obliged to pay the connection costs.
- You can usually recognise dubious reminders and invoices by general phrases such as "Dear telephone connection owner“.
- In the case of reminders, the company must always be able to prove on what basis the claim is based.
Phone sex rip-off: How can I protect myself?
You can recognise the rip-off by the fact that you are not addressed with your name, but with "Sehr geehrte(r) Telefonanschlussinhaber(in) (Dear telephone connection owner). In addition, a complete sender address of the company is usually missing or recipient data is misspelled.
If you receive unjustified payment requests and reminders, you should not be intimidated and immediately object in writing.
Be careful not to give out any additional personal data (for example, if the company does not yet have your postal address, you should not give it out either).
Do not under any circumstances pay for services that you have not used!
Use our sample text as an e-mail template for this purpose: Musterbrief-Betrug-Telefon-Hotline (14 KB).
[Only give information that is already known to the other person]
Your name
Street & House number
Postcode / City
Deutschland
Company XY
Street & House number
Postcode / City
Country
Datum: ...........
Ihre unberechtigte Forderung – Referenz (Ihr Zeichen: … / Telefonanschluss: …) [Give reference number and telephone number]
Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,
die Forderung gegen mich ist unbegründet.
Daher fordere ich Sie auf, die Forderungs- und Mahnschreiben sofort einzustellen und die Rechnung zu stornieren.
Die schriftliche Bestätigung der Ausbuchung teilen Sie mir bitte bis spätestens xx.xx.xxxx [insert the date by which you want to have a confirmation] mit.
Da die Forderung unrechtmäßig ist, werden weitere Schreiben Ihres Unternehmens erfolglos bleiben.
Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Your name
Beware of alleged reminders and invoices
The bills and reminders are often sent by post, then by SMS or WhatsApp.
The letters either discreetly refer to an "Service für Erwachsene" (adult service) or specifically talk about a "Telefonsexdienstleistung" (telephone sex service) or "Service für besondere sexuelle Ansprüche" (service for special sexual demands).
The date and time of the alleged call are also stated. However, the telephone number called is not mentioned.
Example: False reminders from a Czech company
In a letter, a consumer is asked for 140 euros. One month later, in a text message, it is suddenly 198 euros.
With phrases like „Vermeiden Sie weitere Maßnahmen“ (avoid further action), those affected are deliberately made afraid.
Calls not made do not have to be paid for
If you have not made any telephone calls, you do not have to pay.
The same applies if the number was dialled but you hung up immediately or only went to voicemail.
If the service was actually used, you are initially only obliged to pay the connection costs.
Further costs are only incurred if a contract with fixed prices has been expressly concluded with the provider beforehand. As a rule, providers cannot provide such proof.
Important
In the case of monetary claims, companies must always be able to prove on what basis the claim is based. Furthermore, it must be possible to prove that the customer received all information in advance.
How do providers get consumers' addresses and phone numbers?
Some victims report calls in which they were asked for their address because of an alleged parcel delivery.
In addition, victims reported lock calls where the mobile phone only rang briefly. Out of curiosity, consumers then called back and revealed their data.
Others are said to have responded to newspaper advertisements.
To protect yourself from data theft or fraud, you should ask the following questions when you receive an unwanted call:
"What is your name? Who am I speaking to?"
"What company are you calling for?"
"What is the reason for your call?"
Advise the caller that all data should be deleted and that you do not want to be called again in the future.
Providers constantly change the company name
The rip-off scam is well known. The companies are often based in the Czech Republic and change their name.
You can find conspicuous providers in our list:
- Arvex
- Avotex
- Comera
- Innova Inkasso
- Phonemax
- Kawora
- Madaco
- Mediascape
- Mexcom
- Novacall
- Repay
- Revast
- Telesmart
- Telpay
- Telstar
- Tework
- Werso
Third-party provider block on mobile phone protects against unwanted debits
It can happen that amounts are suddenly collected via the mobile phone bill of the mobile phone provider.
To prevent this, you can have a so-called "Drittanbietersperre" (third-party provider block) set up free of charge. This protects you from subscription traps.
Expensive subscriptions can be caused by accidentally tapping on an advertising banner or a competition.
Once the block has been set up, third-party providers can no longer automatically collect services via the mobile phone bill.
The third-party provider block can be applied for in writing, by telephone or via the customer portal of the mobile phone provider.
But be careful: The block also affects active subscriptions that are supposed to be billed via the mobile phone bill, for example music subscriptions.
These would then have to be paid by other means. Some mobile phone providers also offer a partial block that only applies to certain offers.
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- Right of Withdrawal
- Chargeback Procedure to Obtain a Refund
- Your rights while shopping in a store in Germany
- Counterfeit goods