The various relief agencies have established accounts with the cellcos allowing subscribers to "donate via texting".
Kind of like the Bad Old Days of "900" numbers..., but for a good cause this time.
(Payment via cellphone texting is growing in popularity outside the North American marketplace. In some areas you can walk your cellphone to a soda or other machine, punch the id number into your phone, and that's how you pay).
Of course, at the end of the billing cycle, your cellco statement shows you the amounts, and requests your prompt payment.
Which brings up the question: How many Americans are tapping in these special text-donation numbers, not realizing that they'll be on the hook?
And related to that, what safeguards are in place by the cellcos to limit client exposure? No one's going to go broke at an unexpected single $10 donation/extra charge,but what if mom and dad and the five kids, and themothers-in-law.. all got out the phone(s), and made repeated donations?
_____________________________________________________ Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key snipped-for-privacy@panix.com [to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded]