When you're overcharged, charged more than you should be for a service or product. Also known as billing fraud, it’s not just a mistake—it’s a pattern that shows up everywhere from your streaming bill to your crypto wallet. You sign up for a service thinking it’s fair, only to find hidden fees, auto-renewals you didn’t agree to, or charges for equipment you returned. It’s not paranoia. It’s business.
Unreturned device charges, fees slapped on your account because you didn’t send back a cable box. Also known as set-top box fees, these can sneak into your bill months after you cut the cord. Meanwhile, ISP throttling, when your internet provider slows your connection after you hit a data limit. Also known as bandwidth throttling, it’s a way to make you pay more for the same speed. And then there’s crypto theft, when hackers drain your funds through broken blockchain bridges. Also known as bridge hacks, these aren’t random attacks—they’re predictable failures in systems that promise security but deliver risk.
These aren’t isolated problems. They’re all versions of the same thing: someone taking more than they’re owed. Whether it’s a streaming service charging you for a free trial you canceled, a cable company billing you for a box you returned, or a DeFi platform losing millions because no one audited the code—you’re the one who pays. And you’re not alone. Over $2.3 billion vanished from cross-chain bridges in 2025 alone. People are getting overcharged on every level.
What ties these together? Lack of transparency. Hidden terms. Automatic renewals. Poor customer service. And the quiet assumption that you won’t notice—or won’t fight back. But you can. You can check your bills. You can track your equipment returns. You can test your internet speed to catch throttling. You can use tools to monitor your crypto transactions. The systems are stacked, but they’re not unbeatable.
This collection of posts isn’t about complaining. It’s about fixing what’s broken. You’ll find step-by-step guides on how to avoid unreturned device charges, how to spot if your ISP is throttling you, how to protect your crypto from bridge hacks, and how to shut down sneaky streaming fees before they hit your account. No fluff. No theory. Just what works.
Some of these fixes take five minutes. Others take a little research. But every one of them puts power back in your hands. If you’ve ever felt like you’re paying for something you didn’t ask for—you’re not imagining it. And you don’t have to live with it.
If you've been charged incorrectly for a subscription, here's how to cancel, get a refund, and stop it from happening again. Step-by-step guide for New Zealanders dealing with billing errors.
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