All across the country, people are getting ripped off.
Many right here in central Illinois complain they are the victims of cramming.
In fact, a year-long congressional investigation shows Americans are being charged millions of dollars in unauthorized third-party charges on their phone bills.
The investigation found that phone companies place about 300 million third-party charges on phone bills yearly. Many are unauthorized, and some consumers don't even know they're being charged.
Today, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan testified before the Senate Committee that investigated the billing practice.
"Most consumers are completely unaware that their phone bill can be charged just like a credit card," said Madigan. "So many consumers will never discover there are unauthorized charges buried in their phone bill."
Madigan says her office has yet to see a legitimate third party charge placed on a phone bill.
A Morton woman knows first-hand the nightmares of phone cramming.
Ruth Anne Klumb recently discovered a monthly charge of $59 on her phone bill from December through April.
The charge was for web-hosting...problem is, she doesn't own a business and doesn't have a website.
When she called her phone company to complain, she was told their records showed she had ordered the additional service.
Now Klumb pays closer attention to her bill.
"They said that I had ordered this, and I know I had never ordered it because there's nothing that I would need it for," said Klumb. "I still don't know what they actually provide as far as a service. Just make sure that you know what you have on your phone bill. If its something you don't understand you just have to investigate it."
Klumb eventually received a full refund of the charges after the Illinois Attorney General's office promised to investigate her case.
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