Common phone frauds

Slamming

You've been "slammed" when your phone service has been changed without your consent. It can happen with long distance service and, as competition increases for local and local toll, for those services as well. Sometimes slamming results from company error; for example, the wrong number being typed into the system. But in many cases it's a deliberate attempt by one company to "steal" the customer from another.

The slammer falsely claims that you have agreed to change your service provider and asks your local phone company, which performs the actual switch, to make the change.

Cramming

You've been "crammed" when charges for miscellaneous services that you never agreed to buy have been added to your phone bill. Some examples are phone-related services such as voice mail, paging, or personal 800 numbers. But you might also find charges for other types of services on your bill, such as Internet access, club memberships, and even dating services!

The crammer arranges to bill you, usually through your local phone company, by falsely claiming that you authorized the new services.

These charges might appear on your bill just once, or they might recur on every bill - a good reason to look closely at each bill before you pay it.

Pay-per-call abuses

Information and entertainment provided by pay-per-call services are accessed through 900 numbers, some 800 numbers, and even some international phone numbers. They can be recorded weather reports, stock quotes, group chat lines, psychic services, reports about a company's complaint record from a Better Business Bureau - just about anything.

When you call 900 numbers or 800 numbers that provide pay-per-call services, you pay a charge that is set by the service provider, not your phone company. Services provided through international phone numbers result in charges at whatever the rate would normally be for calling that country from your phone.

Dishonest pay-per-call service providers don't disclose, or misrepresent, the cost of their services. They may also misrepresent the services that they offer. You may be tricked into dialing pay-per-call services by following instructions to punch in a "personal activation code" that actually connects you to a pay-per-call line, or you may be switched to a pay-per-call line without knowing it. Some consumers report being charged for pay-per-call services even when their phones were never used to dial them.

Collect call scams

Some fraudulent companies attempt to charge consumers for pay-per-call services by masquerading as collect calls. They use common names such as "Jennifer," hoping that the person who answers will accept the call. Once the call is accepted the person typically hears a recorded message offering some type of service or soliciting for a so-called charity.

If you accept the call you will be billed for it even if you are not interested in the service or in making a donation.

Some consumers report that they have been billed for these types of collect calls even though they refused to accept them.

Consumers also complain about being charged excessive rates for making collect calls from some pay phones.

Calling card fraud

When you use a calling card in a public place - an airport, a train station, a pay-phone on the street - someone may be looking over your shoulder to see the account number and PIN number that you dial. They might even be far away, using binoculars or the telephoto lens of a camera to watch you.

Once they have your numbers, people can use them to make calls on your account or sell them to others for that purpose. It isn't necessary for them to actually have your card.