How often do you really examine your cell phone bill? Do you review the charges each month? Or simply pay the amount willingly? The Federal Trade Commission is cracking down on a scam against consumers called "cramming." These are typically small, unauthorized charges showing up on cell phone bills. The mystery charges amount to roughly $2 billion a year in revenue and impact an estimated 15 to 20 million American households, according to a recently released government report. Find out if you're a victim of cramming or how to prevent it from happening to you.
Cramming Victim Tries to Help Others
David Roscoe says he was a victim of cramming. He detailed the experience on his website, including scans of his cell phone bills to show what the unauthorized charges look like. His goal is to help others avoid being victims of this type of fraud. In his case, scammers charged him $47.67 on his Verizon bill. Roscoe did some extensive investigative work on his own to get to the bottom of the fake charges.
Cramming Costs Consumers Big
Leaders say new rules could help deter these mystery fees. "As the technology and sophistication of con artists and scammers increases, best practices must evolve, and all parties in the billing chain need to elevate efforts to prevent consumer fraud," Walter McCormick, president of the United States Telecom Association, said in a statement on Wednesday according to The Christian Post. A new government report shows that phone companies tag on about $300 million in third-party charges on bills each year and many customers just pay them blindly without question.
How to Identify Cramming
Four companies recently received $11.7 million in penalties for cramming thousands of consumers. Those companies are: Main Street Telephone, VoiceNet Telephone, Cheap2Dial Telephone and Norristown Telephone. Officials say consumers need to take a close look at their bills to try to avoid being scammed. If your bill goes up only a few bucks take a closer look at it. According to the Federal Trade Commission, cramming can come in different forms including:
- long distance service
- subscriptions for Internet-related services, like web hosting
- access to restricted websites
- entertainment services with a 900 area code
- collect calls
- club memberships
Avoid Being a Victim of Cramming
The FTC says sometimes there is nothing you can do to prevent cramming, but there are steps you can take to make it more difficult for thieves. Common ploys of crammers include getting potential victims to enter contests. You may think you're taking a shot at a great prize, but you're actually giving your information to a scam artist. Read the fine print before you fill out an entry form because sometimes you're actually giving the company permission to enter you in a service and the fee will show up on your cell phone bill. Or perhaps you've been notified that you won a prize, but when you call the 900 number to claim your winnings you'll end up getting charged.
What to Do If You're a Victim
If you spot an unauthorized or mysterious charge on your bill contact your phone company. If the charge is from another company, contact them as well. Follow up with a certified letter and keep all paperwork associated with the fraudulent fees on file. You should also notify the FTC through FTC.gov or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP.
One Response to “Phone Bill Suspiciously High? You Could Be a Victim of Cramming”
It's scary to think that other companies can tack on charges to your phone bill with out you even connecting. I hope people take closer look at their phone bill to make sure no one else is getting crammed.