How It Happens

Although a determined crammer can get fake charges added to your phone bill, you may have innocently taken actions that triggered the fees:

• Did a telemarketer call and offer you a “free” service, such as a no-cost Web site or Internet yellow pages listing?
• Did you enter a contest or sweepstakes at a fair or festival (or by mail)? Unscrupulous promoters sometimes use an entry form as “permission” to switch or add phone services.
• Did you respond to any offers of prizes or cash that came in the mail?
• Did you respond to a telephone call either offering a lower-priced phone plan or verifying your current plan? Did you say yes? Someone posing as a representative from your phone company may have tricked you by asking about your satisfaction with your service or telling you about a service change. A “yes” answer to a question can be recorded, and then used as proof that you agreed to buy a new service. (Always beware of imposters. Ask for the caller’s name and number, then hang up and contact your phone company to find out if the call was legitimate.)
• Did you join a “free” club by calling a toll-free number? All you have to do is say your name and “I want the service”—and you may end up enrolled in a club or service program that comes with a monthly charge on your phone bill.
• Did you place a call to a number starting with “900” in order to claim a free prize? Those calls aren’t free.

One Syracuse, New York, woman told WSYR-TV about getting a call from someone who reported being an affiliate from Verizon, her phone carrier, and said, “We can save you $10, you don’t have to change anything, we’ll do everything on our end.’” The woman said it took three hours on the phone with Verizon to straighten everything out.