It's a scam that's beginning to appear more and more, and it affects anyone who uses a phone
MARQUETTE -- Unauthorized charges could be piling up on your phone bill without you even realizing it.
The F.C.C. estimates that as many as 20 million people annually are victims of a growing scam called 'slamming and cramming.'
Switching a consumer's landline service from one company to another without permission is slamming, which is illegal. Much more common is the practice of cramming. That's when third-party companies attach charges to your phone for services that weren't ordered or authorized. It's also illegal. And now it's happening in the U.P.
Ursula Stock, owner of the Sweetwater Café in Marquette, discovered last week that her phone bill's been crammed with charges for more than a year now.
"I picked up my AT&T bill and noticed that there was an extra charge from something called 'The Billing Resource,' and I didn't know what that was," says Stock.
She phoned the 800-number that'd been charging her $10.55 a month. Those answering her calls claimed someone had ordered the service for her, authorizing the charge for "unlimited directory assistance."
"And they tried to shame me that I hadn't noticed this extra bill, which has been on my bill for a year now," she explains. "I had delegated the jobs of paying the bills to someone else in the building."
Ursula had unknowingly paid this third-party company more than a hundred dollars over the past year. But with her persistence, she got it all back.
"As a small business owner, we work really hard to try to stay in business, and these kinds of things are really disheartening. They can be the straw that breaks the camel's back."
We contacted AT&T about Ursula's case, and here's what they told us:
"AT&T takes immediate action to help customers who report that they may have been billed for unauthorized third-party charges. The company also provides its customers with tips to help prevent cramming or unwanted charges, which are available on the AT&T Smart Controls website."
AT&T also offered Ursula what's called a 'third-party block,' a free service that blocks third-parties from latching on to your phone bill without your permission.
She'd reported the incident to Marquette Police detectives, but they couldn't do much about it.
"We don't see it, we don't get the reports of it, because it doesn't really fall under our jurisdiction to investigate it," says Detective Steve Snoweart of the Marquette Police Department.
So what can you do if you've been a victim of slamming and cramming? The phone companies aren't responsible, and believe it or not, it's up to you to monitor your bill for bogus charges. Like Ursula, you can request the service that blocks third-party charges.
If you've already been a victim of this scam, you can contact the F.C.C. at 1-888-CALL-FCC.
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