The businesses, which were traced as far as Zagreb and Kuala Lumpur, sent text and voicemail messages telling recipients they had won a cash prize of £5,000.
People who called the prizeline number were then charged £1.50 a minute. The prizes either never materialised or the recipeints were sent leisure vouchers with conditions attached.
The companies have been barred from operating this type of premium-rate service for two years. Ictis says it penalised the operators for not including call costs or contact details in the messages and for suggesting the prizes were free. They also urged the recipients to call immediately or risk losing their prize.
The six companies sanctioned are: Fast Way Holdings, based in Zagreb, Croatia; Greenbay and Quartel, based in the British Virgin Islands; Indiano Communications, registered in India; Litmus, based in Florida; and Vertica Media, from Kuala Lumpur.
All six operators used a company called Smile Telecom, based in Bury, Lancashire, to act as their agent in the UK. A spokesman for Smile Telecom told PA News its involvement was limited to putting the companies in touch with operators providing premium-rate numbers.
"We advise our clients to read the Icstis code of practice before starting their services," he said. "We have no control over their marketing."
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