A
female
age
18-21,
anonymous
writes:Help me!! I know this sounds really pathetic but I'm really concerned. I'm 21 and recently discovered that porn really does it for me. I have been visiting porn sites for the last month. However it only dawned on me this evening that maybe Will it be charged extra on my Dad's internet subscription? (I still live at home wth my Dad and brother). Will these sites always warn me before I enter them or will they just charge me??? Please help, I want to know if they will find out or if the bill is going to be huge. I know this sounds silly but need some serious help!
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male
reader, LazyGuy  + ♥, writes (7 May 2008):
 It sounds like you got "cable" this means the internet comes over the same wire as your television signal, easy to check by looking where the wire goes into the wall.
If it is cable, you got nothing to worry about.
Wireless is the same, basically as long as the hardware connects directly to your ISP (the company that sells you internet access) by whatever means, ADSL, cable or wireless, then there is no way for a porn company to hijack your connection.
What happened to your mom years ago was possible because of how modems that used phone lines worked. Porn sites just replaced the phone number you called with their own, charging a hefty price per minute. This is gladly a thing of the past.
A simple way to tell if you still use a modem, when the modem is on and you are connected to the internet the phone doesn't work because the modem is using it. Talking about the land-line phone of course, not your mobile :)
A
female
reader, brooke5426 +, writes (7 May 2008):
 To start with the phone company were gonna make us pay it but we just contacted citizes advice and whinged a lot lol. Then in the end they claimed it back from the scammers so it didnt cost us anything. They cant make you pay it since it is illegal and they have changed your dial up and run up a bill without your consent/knowledge.
I was on Wanadoo/Orange as well at the time but like I said this was a few years ago and most people have ADSL now so it doesnt happen much anymore. Your phone company would've contacted you straight away if something had happened that shouldnt have.
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A
reader, anonymous, writes (6 May 2008): This is verified as being by the original poster of the questionLazyguy,
I'm not sure if its dial-up we have or what? I assume so. Basically we have three computers and a laptop and have to share a USB cable modem? We only do this cuz we applied for wireless broadband and my Dad's old computer wouldn't accept wireless software- if that makes sense?
Does this help? Is this a problem? Please help!
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A
male
reader, LazyGuy + ♥, writes (6 May 2008):
You are still on dial-up in 2008?
As a geek, that sounds like a far more serious problem then anything else.
If you are using ADSL or Cable then there is no way for a dialer to work which is what I think you are worried about.
There are two ways for sites to charge you. Either through something like a credit card OR by using an old fashioned modem (my god this is old tech) and instead of dialing your regular ISP you dial their phone number and connect to their servers directly. The tool to do this is often called a dialer and lets be very clear about this, this ONLY works if you have an ANALOG modem in your computer connected to your REGULAR phone line. Unlikely in 2008
In fact it is so unlikely that most of these porn sites have shifted towards a system where you dial a number on your normal phone and are then verbally given a code to enter on their site to give you access.
But really, porn is readily and easily available for free. Stay away from the pay sites unless they offer really great quality you just can't find elsewhere.
If you use ADSL or Cable, then there is no way for this to be charged to your internet connection, your ISP wouldn't even allow it in the first place. You pay them for the connection, not to act as an collection agency for the porn industry.
The only you need to check if your porn habbits don't show up in the browsers history etc etc.
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A
male
reader, anonymous, writes (5 May 2008): No!The only way they can charge you if you put in your credit or debit card numberthey will not send a bill or it will not show up on the internet bill.
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A
reader, anonymous, writes (5 May 2008): This is verified as being by the original poster of the questionThanks for the answers so far. I live in the UK and use Wanadoo/Orange? We pay a monthly package at a set fee. I'm most concerned that the bill will be huge but then again, I really don't think I could own-up to my Dad (I would die of embarrassment) My mum and dad live separate and I just remember that in the 90's my mum got a massive internet bill (cuz of premium sites or sumat) and just wanted to know wether there is a chance of the same happening to me? I didn't click on any 'i agree' terms and conditions or give out my credit card details. Hope this helps people to further their answers!Please!
Brooke5426- were you scammed then for the £200 or was it kinda legally binding that you should pay it?
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A
female
reader, asian tealeaf  +, writes (5 May 2008):
 if ur looking for some free sites, no downloads and immediate viewings. i know tons of addresses. u will never be charged for these, and, best of all, u log on and get off, immediately!! its that easy. that is unless u have dial-up. then it's slow. hope this will solve some of ur problems.
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A
female
reader, Stayc63088  +, writes (5 May 2008):
 Hmm, well there are sites that you can go on that don't charge a thing that I am certain of. Like everyone else said, I don't know how it is where you are. Here I don't use a dial up connection and my dad never mentioned porn sites coming up on the bill. Sorry I couldn't help you out more.
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A
female
reader, brooke5426 +, writes (5 May 2008):
Don't wanna scare you babe but its happened to me before! Not on porn sites but I was just killing time on those random quiz sites and it diverted me to a different dial up or something. I had no idea until the phone company called a few days later to ask if i knew that i had run up a £200 internet bill in about an hour. That was a few years ago though and it doesnt happen as frequently now.
Anyway I didnt have to pay it and no viruses or anything got in so if it DOES happen to you the worst that will come out of it is a cringe-worthy moment when they tell your dad which site triggered it but i'm sure you'll be fine and you're just feeling a bit paranoid and guilty. Seriously the dial-up scams were rife here a few years ago so they cracked down on them big time and made it really difficult for them to get through and if it had, the phone company would've called a day or two days later to let you know your dial up was changed and a separate bill was being run up.
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A
male
reader, WizardOfWaz + ♥, writes (5 May 2008):
 Tut tut whose been a naughty boy then?
Anyway there is no need to panic. First of all the worst case scenario is Dad finding out yeah? Now I do not know of any legal way that you can be diverted to a Premium dial-up without the users knowledge or how it can be found if hidden on your PC unless you have a program that will search and delete intrusive things. But your firewall should block them in the first place.
You don't state which country you are in (which would have helped) but in the UK the Fraud Sqaud have been cracking down on the dial-up scams for a few years now. So the chances of getting scammed like this are decreasing all the time.
But let's supposing this is what happened. Tell your Dad straight yeah you were looking at porn for over a month and tell him to check the sites to confirm that you did not give permission for any payments. Sorted.
So we are still left with the problem of Dad possibly throwing a wobbler because you were looking at porn. Or maybe you are just embarassed at the old fella knowing?
All cool. Of course you feel embarassed about your Dad knowing about your personal sex habits, just as you feel embarassed to think of your parents at it like pair of horny rabbits in heat.
It is part of lifes little foibles that there are some things about our family that we always file awyas as Things We'd Rather Not Think About.
And so what if your Dad has a bit of a gob at you, that's HIS way of covering his own embarassment. You will just have to ride the storm lad it will pass soon enough and lessons shall be learned.
Then it will be filed away as something in the future to look back on and have a laugh about.
Regards
Waz
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A
female
reader, cute angel  +, writes (5 May 2008):
 well i dont think so hun..if u they charge for porn then u would get this form which requires your credit card number and shit but without that its impossible to be charged for porn!!
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A
female
reader, masquerade711 +, writes (5 May 2008):
 Well, it depends on where you live and what type of Internet connection you use. Until we know these details, we won't have any definite answers for you, I'm afraid.
Chances are, there won't be any extra charges. But again, this depends on the Internet system in your home country.
masq
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A
reader, anonymous, writes (5 May 2008): This is verified as being by the original poster of the questionI have never entered card details etc but I've heard of examples where people didn't need to...it would just connect to a different dial-up number or summat. Is there any way i can check my computer for charges history? or if my computer has dialled a different number? please help
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A
reader, anonymous, writes (5 May 2008): This is verified as being by the original poster of the questionI have never entered card details etc but I've heard of examples where people didn't need to...it would just connect to a different dial-up number or summat. Is there any way i can check my computer for charges history? or if my computer has dialled a different number? please help
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