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‘Poisonous’ rip-off text service that lures shoppers with £500 in vouchers is probed by watchdogs

People said they mistakenly joined the scheme that sends them texts at £4.50 a time by offer of top vouchers

People are promised the chance to win vouchers from top shops and sent extortionate texts

A RIP-OFF text service that lures shoppers by offering £500 in vouchers is being probed by watchdogs.

People said they mistakenly joined the scheme that sends them texts at £4.50 a time.

 People are promised the chance to win vouchers from top shops
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People are promised the chance to win vouchers from top shopsCredit: Getty Images

They are promised the chance to win vouchers from top shops, which all deny links with German firm Claus Mobi, which runs the Play-Text service.

People try to claim vouchers by entering their phone number on official-looking websites.

They are then sent a text a week, offering a chance to enter a competition. It costs them £4.50 even if they don’t enter. Regulator PhonepayPlus is investigating.

 They are then sent a text a week, offering a chance to enter a competition
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They are then sent a text a week, offering a chance to enter a competitionCredit: Getty Images
 How the scammers operate
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How the scammers operate

Fairer Finance called the scams “poisonous”.

Claus Mobi said pricing was clear on its websites and introductory texts, and players could cancel by texting STOP at a cost of 10p.