When the monthly phone bill arrives with a balance due 25 times your usual amount, it gets your attention. On top of that, it doesn’t get your vacation off to a glowing start.

Such was the case just weeks ago when the Monday mail brought me a large envelope from U.S. Cellular. A large envelope? They must be promoting some new service, I thought. The “oh-more-junk-mail” attitude faded quickly when a 17-page bill seeking $1,603.41 in payment emerged.

A mother’s first thought — what did the kids do?

Never mind that two of those children are well into their 20s and living on their own. They have been known to use the cellular phone if they happen to be in Mom’s or Dad’s car. And our teen-ager? Well, you know what teen-agers and phones can be like.

Did they leave the phone on? Am I paying for dead air time? Did they let someone else use the phone? Did the dog step on the phone again?

My apologies, gang. It wasn’t your fault this time, for sure.

A closer look shows a long list of calls made in Connecticut, many just minutes apart and at all hours of the day.

I am quickly convinced this is not my bill. And it’s not my husband’s.

But how, who and where?

The 1-800 number to U.S. Cellular’s Bedford, N.H., office provides an answer. The customer service rep on the other end did indeed say “don’t panic” when she told me it appeared my bill had some fraud on it. My call was quickly transferred to the fraud division, where I talked with one of what I later learned was several representatives who monitor fraud trends and credit customers’ accounts for illegal calls.

His first words? Don’t panic.

In a matter of seconds, it seems, he reviewed my bill, and apparently my previous calling records, and tallied up more than $1,600 for a credit. The result left my bill with a $60-plus credit because of payments I had made.

What a relief!

Unfortunately, I learned later my credit translates to a loss to U.S. Cellular and is only one of numerous credits given for fraud daily.

His advice was to change my number as soon as it was convenient.

Is today too soon? Thank goodness for my vacation and a free afternoon to take off for the Bangor office of U.S. Cellular and a new phone number. I certainly was not looking forward to getting one of these bills again.

The only question left unanswered is when and where was my number cloned. The last time I traveled out of state was in the winter, and these calls were made in June and July in Connecticut and New York. Am I one of the victims of the cloners’ harvest in southern Maine?

I’ll never know, but I am better prepared. My visit to the U.S. Cellular office introduced me to the fraud protection program they call FraudShield. I am confident I won’t see the effects of cloning on my bill for some time to come.

— By Brenda Seekins