AT&T to refund $80 million in bogus charges for 'love tips' and 'fun facts'

If your daily text message horoscope said a refund was in your near future, you may be in luck.

AT&T has agreed to a $105 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission after it illegally billed customers for unauthorized charges on third-party services. The practice, called mobile cramming, involved the telecom giant sticking customers with bogus fees for services like ringtones, "love tips, horoscopes, and 'fun facts,'" the FTC said in a statement.

AT&T billed customers hundreds of millions of dollars for those services, and pocketed more than 35 percent of the charges, according to the FTC. The settlement includes $80 million that will be refunded to customers, plus another $25 million in state and federal penalties.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up