October 1, 2010—The zombies, ghosts, and ghouls we see on TV this time of year are nothing compared to the carnage caused by those little white envelopes we get from the cell-phone company each month.

Cell-phone bills don't just scare us—they can break our budgets. In fact, this month a Citizens Utility Board (CUB) report showed Illinois consumers were overpaying by an average of $359 a year.

CUB's report was based on more than 4,400 wireless bills analyzed by our online tool, the CUB Cellphone Saver, created in partnership with a Houston, Texas based technology company called Validas.

Based on those results, CUB has developed a list of the five scariest cell-phone charges, and how you can avoid them.

Wasted Minutes
CUB's report found that the average wireless bill had more than six hours of talk time that consumers paid for but never used.

Save money by downgrading to a plan with fewer minutes, if possible. The CUB Cellphone Saver can tell you if there's a better plan for you. And, if you're using less than 300 minutes a month, consider switching to a prepaid wireless plan. CUB's fact sheet on prepaid cell phones can give you guidance.

Billing Errors
Earlier this month, an Ohio mom and newspaper reporter helped spark one of the biggest refunds in telecommunications history. The culprit? A $1.99 data charged mistakenly tacked onto thousands of customers' Verizon Wireless bills. Talk about scary? The charge kept showing up on her son's bill—even when she locked it in a drawer!

Reading your wireless bill before bed might give you nightmares, but it's the number one defense against billing errors and overcharges. Beware of strange "download" charges and make sure you're not being charged for supposedly "free" night and weekend minutes.

Phone Insurance
How many scary movies include a scene where a hapless victim scrambles to make an emergency phone call—only to discover the line is dead? Maybe that's why wireless customers shell out an average of $5.49 per line for phone insurance.

But it's often so limited that unless you have a very expensive phone with all the bells and whistles, it's not worth the price tag.

Directory Assistance
CUB's report showed wireless customers pay an average of $3.88 per line for directory assistance, despite free services being available. Why pay for candy when you can trick-or-treat? Try free numbers like 1-800-Info-Fast or 1-800-FREE-411.