October 8, 2008

Have you ever gotten something on your phone bill that you couldn't explain? You know you didn't call that number or order that service and yet it's on your bill.You may have been a victim of cramming.

Cramming is when an unauthorized person tricks you into putting unauthorized charges on your phone account.

A common way this happens is when you sign up for a contest or a giveaway. You fill out the little sheet and unknowingly give a company access to charge you for something you don't want.

And the charges aren't always for hundreds of dollars, they may be for just a few dollars a month and thus, you might not notice them for a while.

So what should you do to protect yourself? Check your phone bill regularly line by line.

And then immediately dispute any charges you don't recognize with your phone company and the company that put the charges on.

If that doesn't work, file a complaint with the FTC.