These days, prepaid phone cards serve as easy connection tools for calling domestic or overseas.

These types of cards are sold everywhere and they give users amounts ranging from $2 to $100 or more, worth of long-distance calls. Consumers purchase a specific call card and use it with any phone to make the call. These communication devices have toll-free access numbers that you first dial when beginning to make a call.

In doing this, you enter a Personal Identification Number (PIN), which activates the card's account in the service providers computer system. The user will then be prompted to enter the number they wish to call, although this may take a few numbers to dial, but if you properly follow instructions, you can easily make a call.

The Number Of Players In The Phone Card Field Has Risen

At present, the number of service providers and retailers that are in the business of selling these prepaid cards are many. There is the long-distance carrier who sells blocks of time to resellers.

The resellers, in turn, work with or sell to the card issuers who set the card's rates, set up access numbers, provide customer service, and maintain account information as well as the PIN numbers. The distributors and retailers then sell the cards to their customers. This explains why consumers do not usually know who the long-distance carrier is behind their cards.

In addition, the per-minute rates of prepaid phone cards varies greatly, as do the number of additional fees that might be involved. A specific card may claim that you can talk for 120 minutes, however that may happen only under very specific circumstances. While there are certainly some call cards that offer great deals, and the convenience of the cards would be perfect for some scenarios, there are still a lot of scams and misleading claims out there, and take undue advantage of unsuspecting buyers.

Common Prepaid Phone Card Scams

Today, thee most common call card scams involve unadvertised call connection charges, unadvertised monthly fees, dubious minimum call lengths, mysteriously quick expiration dates, or sudden activation or setup fees.

These types of hidden or mysteriously-levied charges eat into the total monetary value of your call card, which will make a 120-minute card look much like a 90-minute one. These hidden fees truly lessen the advertised amount of calls you should make.

If a caller made a single call for 120 minutes, perhaps they would get the advertised deal. However, in making several shorter calls that each rack up connection fees and build up higher charges because of the minimum call lengths, this will result in getting far fewer minutes for the card. The other aspects to be wary of some prepaid call cards include:

-Unusual Billing Increments .

Some billing computations may be as high as five-minute increments, which means that even calls under one minute may utilize five minutes of the card's value, and any call less than 10 minutes, but more than five minutes, actually eats up 10 minutes of the card's value.

-Unadvertised Pay-phone Fees

Aside from the per-minute charge, there may be connection charges and other fees levied on you, especially if you make your call from a pay phone. While you should expect to pay an additional surcharge, and the FCC approves an extra charge, some card issuers vary largely in the amounts they pass on to users.