It seems innocent enough — an invitation to take an IQ test. 

They are advertised on Facebook, in Yahoo!, and on other sites.  Sometimes they even make you think that friends have already taken the test, and you are being challenged to beat them.  Other times you may get pop-ups saying that other people in your town have taken the test (they use your IP address to figure out your location).

If you click on the ad, you might be taken to a webpage that looks like this:

There are ten questions to the test, and at the end you are asked to enter your cell phone number so the results can be texted to you.  At worst, you might think that you will be charged 10 or 20 cents for receiving a text message.

What you don’t see when you take the test is a hidden footnote.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Summary terms:  This is an auto renewing subscription service that will continue until canceled anytime by texting STOP to short code 25692. Available to users over 18 for $9.99 per month charged on your wireless account or deducted from your prepaid balance for 3 alerts per week on T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Virgin Mobile USA, Cellular One, Cincinnati Bell, Centennial Wireless, U.S. Cellular, and Unicel 5 alerts per week). For $4.99 per month for 2 alerts per week on Cricket. For Mind Quiz support: text HELP to 25692, email mailto:25692@sms-helpdesk.comor call 18002357105 for automated help or call 18004166129 for a live operator. Standard messaging charges apply for Verizon Wireless, All other carriers, standard messaging and/or data rates may apply. Your phone must have text messaging capability. You must be the owner of this device or have permission from the owner. By signing up for this service and entering your personal PIN Code delivered to the cell phone number supplied by you on this website, you acknowledge that you are agreeing to thee full Terms of Use. Click here for full Terms & Conditions.

Translation: By filling in your cell number and entering your PIN number, you are agreeing to a MONTHLY $9.99 charge for who knows what.

What makes this offer so deceptive, is the manner in which the disclosure is made.  It is not merely a footnote.  It is hidden on the page.  You think you are looking at the entire IQ test screen when taking the test because of all the blank space below the test box. There is no disclosure visible.  In fact you have to scroll down beyond the blank space to find the disclaimer.  See sample (but don’t click).

Don’t fall for a scam like this.

Verizon has been rolling out its FiOS fiber optics service and has touted its benefits in advertising. Like other providers, the company has been offering a “triple play” — telephone, TV, and Internet services in one package for only $99.99 a month.

Last year’s ads typically looked like this:

While in the big print it claimed “fastest Internet, period”, the package they were advertising actually  provided the slowest speed FiOS offered:

*MOUSE PRINT: “blazing-fast 5/2 Mbps.”

A download speed of 5 Mbps is nothing special (except compared to dial-up and slow DSL speeds). In fact, Comcast’s standard download speed is 6 Mbps. So, some people not knowledgeable about comparative speeds could have been misled.

Fast forward to 2008. Sharp-eyed consumers may have been dismayed to see Verizon’s current advertising for the triple play because the price was no longer $99.99 but rather $109.99.

This time, the company made no superiority claims about the “fastest Internet”, but buried the most important fact in the fine print:

*MOUSE PRINT: “20/5 Mbps blazing-fast Internet”

Verizon actually quadrupled the download speed and more than doubled the upload speed for only $10 more a month (plus a “free” HDTV), when you sign a two-year contract.

For once, the mouse print had good news for customers.

Disclosure: Consumer World, the publisher of Mouse Print*, is a member of Verizon’s Consumer Advisory Board, and receives a small contribution from Verizon to carry out its consumer education mission.

No one wants to have to watch the clock or keep track of kilobytes downloaded when surfing the net while traveling, so when Verizon offered “unlimited” broadband access for your laptop via its cell towers, many consumers signed up.

From a 2005 press release announcing a promotion for its BroadbandAccess service, Verizon said:

Because of Verizon Wireless’ number of customers, network footprint and experience in deploying a national wireless broadband service, customers can take advantage of unlimited BroadbandAccess for $59.99 monthly access with a two-year customer agreement.

The problem was that “unlimited” did not really mean unlimited.

*MOUSE PRINT: The downloading of movies and playing online games were not allowed. And there was an undisclosed cap on monthly usage which could trigger termination of your account. The service was primarily intended for web browsing, email and intranet access only.

Unfortunately for Verizon (and fortunately for consumers), the New York Attorney General started investigating the promotion, and learned that some 13,000 customers nationwide had had their services terminated for excessive use of the unlimited service they purchased.

To settle the case, Verizon agreed to reimburse terminated consumers some $1 million in costs for their equipment, and pay $150,000 to the NY-AG. [Settlement announcement from the New York Attorney General.]

Currently, on the Verizon Wireless website, the service is being marketed specifically for web browsing, email and intranet access, and all references to unlimited use have been removed:

Their terms and conditions now explicitly state what activities are prohibited and what the cap is on usage.

For its part, Verizon said:

“We are pleased to have cooperated with the New York Attorney General and to have voluntarily reached this agreement,” said Howard Waterman, a spokesman for Verizon Wireless. “When this was brought to our attention, we understood that advertising for our NationalAccess and BroadbandAccess services could provide more clarity.”

Putting aside the PR BS, let’s hope this is a lesson not only to Verizon about how it promotes its services, but also to other providers who also promise “unlimited” service but in fact have undisclosed usage caps.

[Disclosure: Edgar is a new member of Verizon's Consumer Advisory Board and receives a small grant to help operate ConsumerWorld.org .]

There are so many options when picking a cellphone and cell plan, it can be overwhelming. But at least you have a choice and can call the shots. What you don’t have control over is the terms and conditions imposed on you by the cell company. Whether the terms have been clearly disclosed or not, they govern your use of the service.

AT&T’s terms and conditions statement is over 7,700 words!

Here are some of the little surprises they have tucked into the fine print:

*MOUSE PRINT:

1. Although most plans promise “roaming charges  — $0.00″, the truth is you better not roam too much.

“Off-net Usage: If your minutes of use (including unlimited services) on other carrier networks (“off-net usage”) during any two consecutive months exceed your off-net usage allowance, AT&T may, at its option, terminate your service, deny your continued use of other carriers¿ coverage, or change your plan to one imposing usage charges for off-net usage. Your off-net usage allowance is equal to the lesser of 750 minutes or 40% of the Anytime Minutes included with your plan. AT&T will provide notice it intends to take any of the above actions, and you may terminate the agreement.”

Translation: If you roam more than 40% of the time, you will either be charged for roaming, or your account will be terminated.

2. You will be charged for unanswered calls:

 ”Unanswered outgoing calls of 30 seconds or longer incur airtime.”

3. You could be charged twice for one call.

“You may be charged for both an incoming and an outgoing call when incoming calls are routed to voicemail, even if no message is left.”

4. Seven thousand words of terms and conditions is not enough.

“See Wireless Service Agreement for additional conditions and restrictions”

Okay, AT&T, where did you hide that online?  I really would like to read it.

5. Our telephone services are for talking only:

“If AT&T finds that you are using an unlimited voice service offering for other than live dialog between two individuals, AT&T may at its option terminate your service or change your plan to one with no unlimited usage components.”

6. Our unlimited data plan is not unlimited:

“AT&T reserves the right to (i) limit throughput or amount of data transferred, deny Service and/or terminate Service, without notice, to anyone it believes is using the Service in any manner prohibited above or whose usage adversely impacts its wireless network or service levels or hinders access to its wireless network “

Each carrier has its own set of one-sided terms and conditions, and many of AT&T’s restrictions are not unique just to that carrier. For additional consumer nasties in AT&T’s fine print, visit TeleTruth.

As people lined up to buy iPhones last Friday, some purchasers got less than they bargained for.

One consumer wrote to Mouse Print* saying he bought an iPhone for his fiancée to replace a more conventional phone on her existing AT&T plan. Besides paying $500, and based on material that was handed to him at the Apple store, he expected that her monthly cell bill would only rise by $20 to cover the cost of just adding a data plan.

From AT&T’s website:

Q. Do I need to switch to a different rate plan if I upgrade to iPhone?

A. If you’re an existing AT&T (formerly Cingular) wireless customer, you just need to add an iPhone Data Plan. (This may replace your current data plan. Your voice plan will stay the same) The iPhone Data Plan gives you Visual Voicemail, as well as Unlimited Data—includes both email and web—and texting, all for as little as $20. You’ll add an iPhone Data Plan and sign a new 2-year service contract during the activation process. Discount eligibility for other devices will continue from the time of your most recent contract.