Beware of a new scam that's clever (but ugly) and involves criminals residing overseas that are bilking some people with phone charges of from $60 to $100 per minute. Somehow these thugs locate the names of your relatives and place a collect call to your home posing as that relative. You might at first think that the relative is in trouble and accept the charges. The voice at the other end tells you quickly that the call was in error. End of story? No. A month later you receive that $60-$100 charge.

Clark encourages everyone traveling abroad to have a plan on how to call home. The consumer champ himself has used MagicJack.com on four continents to call back home. But call quality can be sketchy.  One of the least expensive and most reliable others ways to call home is with prepaid calling cards. Clark recommends the following:

• Costco has teamed up with Verizon to bring you a pre-paid calling card that costs 2.86 cents/minute for calls within the U.S., Puerto Rico and U.S. Territories. 
• Sam's Club and AT&T have teamed up to offer several pre-paid cards. Their 1,000 minute card offers 3.47 cents/minute.