But consumers often don't realize that their phone numbers are another way for a non-phone company to collect a fee. Behind the scenes of the online world, inserting fees into local phone bills has grown into a small industry. Companies that make telemarketing calls may initiate charges on local phone bills based on nothing more than a brief conversation with a consumer. The charges then appear on local phone bills under the aggregator's name. There is usually, but not always, a reference to the company that the aggregator is billing for.
Many charges placed through billing aggregators are perfectly legitimate.
John Mendenhall, regional director of the FTC's Cleveland office, recommends that consumers always verify the physical address and phone number of any company that they come into business contact with. Or it's a foreign entity. Then it's very difficult to get any kind of redress if you have a problem. Because of the potential for fraud, carefully examining your monthly phone bill is now just as important as reading any credit card statements you receive. With all the small details in many of today's phone statements, it's not easy to spot charges that may be unauthorized or illegitimate.