Cramming is the term for unauthorized charges appearing on your telephone bill.   These charges may be one-time affairs or they may be regular monthly charges.  Today’s telephone bills are pretty confusing and scammers who use cramming bank on the fact that many people just don’t pay enough attention to the details of their bills.  So how do these charges get on our bills?  The sad truth is that we authorize them, often by signing up for sweepstakes of other contests.  Booths offering free trips or free merchandise are found frequently at sporting events and other public gatherings.  Read the fine print on the card that you use to sign up for the drawing and you may see that you have also signed up for a telephone service.

TIP

Always read the fine print.   Rarely is their ever anything fine to be found in fine print.  Always be skeptical of free contests.  Make sure they indeed come without obligation and be careful of what personal information you give out to enter a contest.  It also is smart to check out your phone bill each month.  To determine if you have been crammed, look for terms such as “Miscellaneous charges and credits,” “member fee” or other charges that you don’t recognize.