031-101-3009

I have been receiving calls from this number stating that they are a company called Social Network Investigations and collections! My son contacted a sex chatline called "Hot Live Girls" where the ad said R90 for the call, the ladies apparently told him that the call is charged at R1.50 per second for 10 min! They called me and played me the recording of his sex chat to those ladies. Now my question is, why he wasn't informed that he was being recorded when he called and what right they have to call me and play his personal calls to me! As well as how they got MY cell number and I.D number as well as my sons! My son has just turned 18 and no precaution was taken to ensure that he was in actual fact over 18, the collector informed me that kids do phone in and still have to pay! They are NOT running according to the national credit protection act what soever!

They now state that he owes them R900 and keep harrassing us both, also threatening to call his mom and threatening us with legal action if this account is not paid

i received a call from these people as well stating that a call was made and R900 is being demanded from me, there is no way that this is legal! The recording doesn't sound like me and its a call made at odd hours in the morning, they are threating legal action but I cant understand how I, a prepaid client can be accountable for a call that I didn't make, and secondly charged more than the amount a charged call takes out of airtime, the recording played back is unclear and I cant even hear them mentioning that calls are recorded, whoever or whatever they are, they can go jump.i am contacting my family attorney to resolve this and will post any updates.

In similar situation.  Could you tell me if the calls have stopped?  Did you take any action against them?

I had phoned this number as a joke and in no ways what so ever did they state that R900 was to be owed what am I supposed to do, should I ignore them? They say they are going to take legal action

Look at this link as it provides legal advice for this type of situation:  
http://www.justanswer.com/south-africa-law/47 ... -line-lied.html
I think just ride the storm.  Don't answer their calls, and if you do, DONT given any further personal particulars as I think they are trying to extort people.  Also suggest that if you are underage you should discuss this with your parents.  Although they may be angry with you, they will assist you in gaining perspective over the matter.  I am really mad at my son, but he is relieved to know that we have his back and can provide him with legal cover if it does come down to that.
Turn your phone off when you don't use it (change your voice mail options) and do not prejudice yourself by saying that your phone was used by someone else fraudulently (see the legal link above).  Also make sure that all your social network sites are closed to “browsers”.  
I have forwarded a few questions on the legality of this type of business who are trading with under aged callers, to the Film & Publication Board.  Am still awaiting a reply, but will post the answer once I have received it.
Allowing a service such as this without asking for payment upfront by means of credit card or a payment via your cellular airtime shows that they are trying to blackmail callers.  Definitely a dodgy bunch of people!!

Thank you so much for the advice, they said they will take legal action if I don't pay by Wednesday? I have blocked their numbers and logged out of all my social networking sites, and will ignore all calls and messages for the next couple of weeks, did this happen to you and if so did you ignore them too?

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency, is warning consumers to be on the alert for scam artists posing as debt collectors. It may be hard to tell the difference between a legitimate debt collector and a fake one. Sometimes a fake collector may even have some of your personal information, like a bank account number. A caller may be a fake debt collector if he:

•is seeking payment on a debt for a loan you do not recognize;
•refuses to give you a mailing address or phone number;
•asks you for personal financial or sensitive information; or
•exerts high pressure to try to scare you into paying, such as threatening to have you arrested or to report you to a law enforcement agency.

If you think that a caller may be a fake debt collector:

•Ask the caller for his name, company, street address, and telephone number. Tell the caller that you refuse to discuss any debt until you get a written "validation notice." The notice must include the amount of the debt, the name of the creditor you owe, and your rights under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
If a caller refuses to give you all of this information, do not pay! Paying a fake debt collector will not always make them go away. They may make up another debt to try to get more money from you.•Stop speaking with the caller. If you have the caller's address, send a letter demanding that the caller stop contacting you, and keep a copy for your files. By law, real debt collectors must stop calling you if you ask them to in writing.
•Do not give the caller personal financial or other sensitive information. Never give out or confirm personal financial or other sensitive information like your bank account, credit card, or Social Security number unless you know whom you're dealing with. Scam artists, like fake debt collectors, can use your information to commit identity theft – charging your existing credit cards, opening new credit card, checking, or savings accounts, writing fraudulent checks, or taking out loans in your name.
•Contact your creditor. If the debt is legitimate – but you think the collector may not be – contact your creditor about the calls. Share the information you have about the suspicious calls and find out who, if anyone, the creditor has authorized to collect the debt.
•Report the call. Contact the FTC and your state Attorney General's office with information about suspicious callers. Many states have their own debt collection laws in addition to the federal FDCPA. Your Attorney General's office can help you determine your rights under your state's law.

http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0258-fake-debt-collectors

Me and my friends phoned this number just for fun, and they did not state that R900 was the owed sum, and the scource from where I got this number never stated that either but it did take a lot of my air time, now I am getting threatening messages stating legal action will be taken if I don't pay, I initially freaked out about this but now I realize that this is probably fake, they also recorded my phone call and never stated it would be recorded either they too say I must pay by Wednesday, I am going to ignore them and if it keeps happening I will destroy my SIM card, has this happened to anyone and what did they do? And what was the outcome? Please HELP!

Yes - my son is getting daily text messages and calls for a call he made to them during July.  I have told him to ignore the whole lot.  I may well look at removing his sim card for a period of time.  Really don't think you should pay - they are relying on your fear of being exposed and embarrassed in order to make you pay.  For all you know they will continue to extort money from you even if you do pay.  Best to discuss this with someone in case the situation becomes unbearable.  One has to have an outside opinion to keep this all in perspective – it’s really not the end of the world.  Might also be a good time to clean up your computer with a full virus check as well as to clear your browsing history and cookies.  That is how all these pop-up type adverts appear on your PC.

Thanks I will continue to ignore them, and maybe look at replacing my sim, they were very clever when they text and call by continually referring to legal actions and court, but R900! Really! Its noncense I've blocked their numbers and will see where it goes from here

Hi I still can't help but worry because they have a recordinf of my coversation, firstly is this even legal without my consent and secondly can they use this in any way against me, perhaps I'm just being paranoid but I just don't like the idea of them having my voice recording, they told me they were sending it to a voice analyst because I said it wasn't me and hung up, I just ignore them now and have blocked their numbers, any help would be great thanks

Its illegal to record without notice up front.. Technically, they are breaking the laws!  They are also trying to use extortion (aka blackmail) on you, also illegal.

Has this happened to anyone? and if so please tell me what you did and if they eventually stopped contacting you, because they have been threatining me by telling me there going to take me to court if I don't pay R900 I've ignored them so far, please help!

my son says he has not received any calls or text messages this week.  He has turned his phone off during the day whilst at school.  Block the numbers and ignore the text messages if they are still harassing you.

Hi.. The same thing happened to me.... I was about to pay the amount to them today but I'm a student and I had to borrow money from people coz I didn't want it getting back to my mom. Coz its her sim card that I am using and these people told me that if I don't pay they goina black list the owner of the phone number, which is my mom, and they goina take legal action. And they going to supoena . And legal charges will be added to my "account" I phoned them... I won't even deny that but I was under the notion that they would be deducting cost from my airtime balance. The call cut. Without anybody telling me that I would have to pay any amount. Few days later this Man phones me telling me I have to pay R1700 by saturday.! What I want to know is if I ignore them what is goina happen? Has anybody ignored them and then there after had these people take action against u? Have they actiually materialised and went forward with their threats.

It would be a good idea to have your mom give them a call and sort this matter out because these files do get handed over to there legal department and at the end of the day they do take matters further so if you want to get rid of your sim do so but when the letters get sent it will be to your mother.

Hello I am 18years old. About 5 or 6weeks ago, my older brother was killed in action, I was so upset and depressed I started drinking, I found there number and phoned them. I do not however remember it. They phoned me today and asked me my name and age. I told them. They said I owe them R2700 and if I did not pay by Friday(the 20th of september 2013) the would consult their legal team, issue a warrant an arrest me. I have been freaking out all day. Please can someone give me advice on what I should do.

Hello I am 18years old. About 5 or 6weeks ago, my older brother was killed in action, I was so upset and depressed I started drinking, I found there number and phoned them. I do not however remember it. They phoned me today and asked me my name and age. I told them. They said I owe them R2700 and if I did not pay by Friday(the 20th of september 2013) the would consult their legal team, issue a warrant an arrest me. I have been freaking out all day. Please can someone give me advice on what I should do. I do not wish to tell my mom, because this would just kill her. They did not inform they would record the conversation.I was not aware at all the conversation was being recorded. I am stressed and freaked out. I have been told by a numerous amount of friends to leave them. But I would like some advice from someone who has been through the same thing to help. I cannot tell my mom. This would devastate her and kill her. She would not be able to cope. I also asked them if a they could give me till months ends so I can pay them on the 5th of october 2013 when I get pay but they demanded it by friday the 20th of september by 10 o'clock. Please can someone help me. Please.

Don't respond to any of their requests.  They will not take this any further as they are breaking the law themselves.  Just ignore - don't answer/turn phone off/don't text them or give them ANY further details.  They do eventually stop calling and making threats.
This is also the time to ensure that you have secured all your Social Media sites!
It all does go away - just give it a few days/weeks.