Cellular operators love to go on about how much better their walled data gardens are than that nasty Internet, because consumers are safer.

Really?

Jamster and mBlox created the Crazy Frog phenomenon with a very addictive, and heavily advertised ringtone that topped the British pop charts for five weeks.

But there was a sting in the tail. People (mostly kids, but at least one BBC reporter as well) found they didn't just buy a 3 pound ringtone, but a "premium SMS" service that charged them as much as 3 pounds more for each add Jamster then sent them.

The two companies are being investigated but according to the BBC the maximum penalty could be a mere 100,000 pounds to mBlox, plus loss of its British business license. It's estimated the scam has earned over 10 million pounds so far.

But do you want to know the rest of the story, the bit the Brits don't know (yet)?

The parent of Jamster is Verisign. Verisign bought the outfit from its German founders for $273 million in May 2004.

The Crazy Frog phenomenon began several months later.

Verisign is behind these thefts, if thefts they be.