Feds get closer look at fake mobile bill charges

[Tx4obama]

Feds get closer look at fake mobile bill charges

WASHINGTON (AP) -- When a mysterious, unauthorized fee appears on your cellphone bill, it's called "cramming" and consumer advocates and regulators worry it's emerging as a significant problem as people increasingly ditch their landlines for wireless phones.

The cramming fee is bogus and usually small, under $10 a month. It might be listed on your bill as a "premium service" or other generic-sounding charge. Cramming had long been a problem with traditional landline phones, but after pressure from lawmakers, regulators and others, some of the largest landline carriers last year said they would no longer allow third-party billing - where an outside company offers and then charges the landline customer for services like third-party email, faxing, and voicemail.

Now, the focus of concern is shifting to wireless phones and cramming.

"As people continue to use mobile phones as a payment option, this problem is likely to grow," says Malini Mithal, an assistant director in the financial practices division at the Federal Trade Commission. "It's just a new opportunity for fraudsters."

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Full article here: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CELLPHONE_CRAMMING?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-05-08-21-31-37