Help Warning: Check for Intl Text Message Charges

Out of 3,983 texts on my account I didn't have a single international text charge and they are all from the Moment, both aGPS and GPS are on, and I traveled to the Mexican border two weeks ago.

Got an app that is reporting overseas maybe?

Oh! So THAT's why I was getting them! The *^*&* GPS that has me in Africa and Eastern Europe is what's doing this. So when this GPS bug is fixed, the problem will go away. Well, at least it's not a long-term problem.

i think this goes off of the cell tower you use not the phones GPS.

LincKraker said:

i think this goes off of the cell tower you use not the phones GPS.

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I agree. This should have nothing to do with GPS. SMS goes through the cell network, not over GPS.

Can you tell what number the international SMS messages were sent to? Or is that info not available until you get your bill?

-SF

I'm of the opinion that the GPS issues on the phone have nothing to do with the SMS stack. From my knowledge of SMS, the phone hands off the SMS to the carrier, and the carrier routes the SMS appropriately based on the number.

Actually, my concern is that some app is sending SMS messages behind your back. What is odd is that they're only standard rate international SMS messages.

One behavior that is common in mobile malware is sending premium SMS messages without the users knowledge. Sometimes just a few messages, sometimes many messages. Frequently, the recipients are in other countries, making it hard to follow the money and find (let alone prosecute) the culprits.

These premium SMS numbers are similar to the ones you see on TV where you can "vote" for something using an SMS short code (a number shorter than a regular phone number). Many times they will say that each vote costs $.99 or $1.99 or whatever amount has been established. The difference is, when you "vote", YOU are sending the premium SMS, not some trojan on your phone that got on there by posing as a game or some other app to trick you into installing it.

Don't get me wrong... I'm not ready to jump to the conclusion that this is some sort of malware sending SMS messages from your phone. I just think it's odd behavior that I'm not exactly willing to attribute to the GPS issues at this time.

I'm going to keep an eye on my usage and see if anything pops up there in the way of international SMS.

-SF

Not that I'm aware of. The ones that I know of are on other platforms.

-SF

Not to mention there is no charge for texts to or from the US, regardless of where you are in the world.
I had to submit a case the other day for a problem like this. The guy didn't have a moment, though.
It sounds more like an issue with fraud, something going on in your CSA, or you're actually texting internationally. This is coming from a guy who sees stuff like this every day. ;-)

My daughter had a bunch of intl texts on her bill last month as well. She doesn't have a Samsung Moment, and her phone never reports being in the wrong place. I really don't think the texts have anything to do with gps, I think its some kind of spam thing.

Sorry folks, gotta disagree. I had three show up only when Agps was enabled. Haven't been out of the country or had any messages I didn't know where they came from or what app was sending/receiving. Contacted customer service via email and they immediately refunded the charges and said they forwarded the problem to the people working on the upgrade. It is an Agps issue and Sprint knows about it and is working on it. Just keep your eye on your charges until they come out with the 2.1 upgrade in "some" quarter of 2010.

I'm less about agreeing or disagreeing, and more about collecting information at this point.

Has anyone received their bill yet and checked which messages were deemed to be international SMS? Were they to numbers you recognize?

-SF

MrGadget256 said:

Sorry folks, gotta disagree. I had three show up only when Agps was enabled. Haven't been out of the country or had any messages I didn't know where they came from or what app was sending/receiving. Contacted customer service via email and they immediately refunded the charges and said they forwarded the problem to the people working on the upgrade. It is an Agps issue and Sprint knows about it and is working on it. Just keep your eye on your charges until they come out with the 2.1 upgrade in "some" quarter of 2010.

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Uh, no. It is billed only on the area you are texting to, based on the country code. I know this.

SlyFerret said:

I'm less about agreeing or disagreeing, and more about collecting information at this point.

Has anyone received their bill yet and checked which messages were deemed to be international SMS? Were they to numbers you recognize?

-SF

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Just shows international text, no number on the Sprint website. And there are no messages in my phone I don't recognize and they are all from in the US. It's because the phone was reporting it was in a different country using the Agps when a normal text message came in, you can't tell which one unless you track yourself via Google and match up the times to the messages in your phone. (I don't know how and don't want to waste time figuring it out) If you want to, look at the posts that I referenced.
http://androidforums.com/samsung-mo...moment-first-half-next-year-2.html#post185149
and http://androidforums.com/samsung-mo...moment-first-half-next-year-2.html#post187573

OK. I'm still holding out until somebody has a bill in hand with a mystery international SMS message to form my opinion. I really want to confirm, without a doubt, that the international SMS was to a known domestic number.

I've turned on aGPS on my phone to see if I can get it to do it to me, but I have yet to have the sprint site show any international SMS messages. I do get locations showing around the world though, so if it really is an aGPS issue, I stand a good chance of having it reproduced on my account.

-SF