The Outrageous Ways Your Phone Company May Be Stealing from You | Economy | AlterNet

* Cramming is the illegal practice of placing unauthorized charges on your local, long-distance or wireless telephone bill, usually by a third party not known to the customer.

* Slamming is the illegal practice of switching a telephone customer’s long-distance service provider to another carrier without the customer’s permission.

These scams have been around for years but continue to be replayed on unwitting telephone customers. However, the newest scam, ramming, adds a new dimension to the game:

* Ramming is the illegal practice by which a phone company‘s customer is put on a service plan or package s/he did not need or want or cannot even use. It includes the “gimme” when the advertised price is 20-50 percent less than what a customer is actually charged.

The Outrageous Ways Your Phone Company May Be Stealing from You | Economy | AlterNet: "