Watch Out for Cramming

Rob here with Patriot Privacy and the Self-Reliance Institute.

I want to quickly alert you to the scourge of “cramming” because many folks don’t realize that it continues to happen on a massive scale.

How massive?

At this moment, wireless carrier Sprint is alleged to have stolen hundreds of millions of dollars from Sprint customers by means of cramming.

What is cramming?

Cramming is the fraudulent practice of adding unauthorized charges to a customer’s phone bill.

It happens all the time and many Americans never notice it because they don’t review their bills closely to catch what are usually very small charges. Small charges that add up to millions for crammers.

Why does cramming work?

Because irresponsible and unethical companies allow the practice and many Americans don’t review their bills on a monthly basis.

In the Sprint case, according to “The feds are suing Sprint for charging Americans ‘hundreds of millions’ in bogus fees”:

“The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is suing Sprint, the country’s third-largest wireless carrier, for taking hundreds of millions of dollars from its customers without their knowledge.

“Sprint allowed third parties to add fees to customers’ bills, though it knew those customers likely didn’t know about the charges and didn’t authorize them, according to the suit. The company turned a blind eye to “numerous red flags” about the practice, the lawsuit alleges. Even when Sprint customers tried to fight the fees, the company didn’t do enough to resolve the complaints. …

“The case, the first of its kind for the CFPB, focuses on a practice known as “cramming,” or when a carrier allows a third-party company to slip new fees onto consumers’ bills for services the customer never signed up for. The tactic can be lucrative for wireless carriers because the cellular provider typically takes a share of the charges. For every bogus payment charged to Sprint customers between 2004 and 2013, according to the suit, Sprint took a 40 percent cut.”

Friends, I’m sorry to say that cramming is a very, very common practice.

And it happens with other services and credit card bills all the time. (For more – including info about other wireless carriers who’ve been nailed, see “Sprint Sued by Feds Over “Cramming” as FCC Readies $105 Million Fine”)

So please share this with your friends and family and remind them that to catch fraudsters who have crammed their phone bill and/or credit card accounts they must review their bills on a monthly basis for small charges they can’t identify or account for.

It really is that simple – but you’d be amazed how many people don’t review their bills.

Have you ever been crammed?

Have you ever caught a company adding a charge to your bill that you didn’t authorize?

Let me know by emailing me at [email protected]

Be safe, secure and free!

Rob Douglas – Former Washington DC Private Detective

PS – Chris and I are constantly on the prowl for resources to enhance your personal and financial privacy and security. Please check out the Self-Reliance Institute where we share exclusive insider information and resources with members of the Institute. And, most important from a value perspective, all of the accumulated eBooks, Advisories, Newsletters and other resources that Chris and I have produced and acquired since the inception of the Institute are immediately yours for free if you become a member. It’s a huge collection of exclusive material and it grows every week.

Recently, we added eBooks about Ebola and Food Storage. Those are yours for free when you join the Self-Reliance Institute.

I also want you to know that in the very near future we’ll be releasing a new eBook covering dozens of scams and how to defend against those scams. Members of the Self-Reliance Institute will have first crack at that book.

Finally, if you join now, you get a free Special Forces Survival Knife and a free month of membership in the Self-Reliance Institute.

Thank you for your time!!

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