Protect Yourself From Phone Scams There's nothing worse than having to pay a phone bill--unless it's a bill where you've been slammed or crammed. Here are some steps you can take to guard against scams.

You're sifting through the mail and come across the phone bill. You tear it open and toss it in the to-be-paid pile. In another three weeks, you'll grab the bill again, scan the amount, cut the check and send it off-just the way a telecommunications scam artist would want you to.

Homebased entrepreneurs wear many hats: marketer, creator of their product or service, even bookkeeper. Time is precious, and sometimes it's easier to pay a bill than to read the fine print.

Bad move, says Susan Grant, director with the National Fraud Information Center, an advice service on telemarketing and online fraud. In the age of scams such as slamming (switching a customer's long-distance service without their knowledge) and cramming (loading a monthly phone bill with expensive-and unrequested-ancillary services like voice mail, caller ID, personal toll-free numbers, and even dating or psychic line fees), not closely reading your phone bill is tantamount to paying off a scam artist, Grant says.