Maybe you've heard of slamming. It's when a company switches your long distance service to another provider -- without your knowledge. Slamming often results in poor service and higher long distance rates. Chances are, you won't even know you've been slammed until their bill arrives in the mail and surprises you.

Slamming is unethical and illegal, but there are over two million cases reported every year in the U.S. Slamming can occur to your home phone, business phone, and even cellular phone.

Slamming can happen in one of several ways: 

• You complete a sweepstakes entry form, only to find that a company has used the information to switch your long distance service.
• You receive an unsolicited sales call from a long distance company asking you to switch, and even after saying NO you discover your service has switched.
• Some telemarketers pretend to be with the local telephone company and obtain enough information about you so they can switch your service.

The easiest way to protect yourself is through a "carrier freeze," essentially a letter from you that prevents any service switch without your expressed authorization. If you do not want your long distance company changed without written consent from you, fill out a carrier restriction (freeze) form and mail it to Iowa Telecom at the address listed at the bottom of the form. Completion of this form will prevent slamming of your long distance service. Best of all, this service is free.

Other preventative measures against slamming include carefully questioning telemarketers and closely examining contest entry forms and checks you receive in the mail.  Also, review your long distance bill every month for any anomalies. 

For more information about slamming, check out the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) website.