Britain's regulator of premium rate phone services has fined a Russian company around $79,000 for "serious breaches" of its code, including price violations, misleading information and issuing charges without consent.
The regulator -- PhonepayPlus -- levied the fines against Russia's Connect Ltd.
The company also must refund within three months all money it collected from users, regardless of whether they claim a refund.
Failure to comply could result in higher court-ordered fines.
It says Connect Ltd. tricked Facebook users into installing a malicious application on their Android phones that provided access to games.
When installed, the phone owner was charged 10 pounds for an auto-reply message.
Notification of the fee was buried on page six of the terms and conditions, saying "charges of about 5 pounds" would be incurred.
The regulator -- PhonepayPlus -- levied the fines against Russia's Connect Ltd.
The company also must refund within three months all money it collected from users, regardless of whether they claim a refund.
Failure to comply could result in higher court-ordered fines.
It says Connect Ltd. tricked Facebook users into installing a malicious application on their Android phones that provided access to games.
When installed, the phone owner was charged 10 pounds for an auto-reply message.
Notification of the fee was buried on page six of the terms and conditions, saying "charges of about 5 pounds" would be incurred.