Millions of Americans use GT-I9300
cellphones but we don’t all pay close attention to the charges on
our bill. You should because the FTC said you may be getting ripped off. The
widespread practice is called “cramming” and the FTC is getting more and more
complaints about unauthorized charges piled on consumers' cellphone bills listed
under generic titles like "subscription charges."
The illegal billing is
becoming a big problem and now the government is ramping up its crackdown."One
month of it being a little higher and we didn't think anything of it and it
wasn't until three months of it being consistently higher that we finally looked
into it and discovered we had been cramming victims," said Christie Hicks, a
Chicago attorney who was the victim of the cramming scam.
Consumers can
pay for services by having it tacked onto their A7100
.In the days following Hurricane Katrina, text donations were
billed to cellphone users with their permission. But the FTC said over the
years, some companies with shady practices have taken advantage of the feature,
capturing cellphone numbers through websites or mobile
apps.dsDF34fcd
"Malicious software that's downloaded on your phone after
you download an app and that gets your phone number and somehow you’re signed up
for some kind of service," said Hicks.Once the questionable companies get your
best cell
phone deals, they cram on the charges.
"You had to actually
dig through all 50 pages to find a single line that had this $9.99 charge on
it," Hicks explained.Wise Media, the company Hicks said crammed her, is the
first the has gone after, filing a lawsuit in federal court.
The agency
said Wise Media made millions and much of it was from unauthorized charges. Wise
Media denies cramming customers and said the fees were for subscription
services. An attorney for the company said customers who requested a refund
received one.But the FTC said this is just the tip of the iceberg and they plan
to go after other violators, asking tougher questions for cellphone companies
who they said get a cut of the charges.
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