When you get a new cell phone, you are excited. You think about ways to make it more personal. You get new skins and wallpapers and of course, new games. But, one of the most important things that you will get are ringtones. Everyone wants at least a few ringtones for their phone with most people getting at least five of them. And, getting those ringtones can be very expensive, which makes most people start looking for the best sources for free ringtones for cellphones. And while they think that these little snippets of music are free, they find out differently when the cellphone bill finally comes along. Before you get yourself in trouble, here are some things you need to know.

It might sound very obvious, but something that is advertised as free is not always free forever. In some cases, you can get a ringtone or two, and they are free at that moment, but if you are not reading the fine print you are going to get a surprise- you are now enrolled in a subscription that will be billed every month. That one or two ringtones that you thought were so great are now going to cost you every single month, even after you have stopped using them.

Before you get any ringtones from anywhere, make sure that you are reading all of the fine print that is right there at the bottom of the page. Remember, the more information that they ask for, the more likely it is that you are going to be enrolled in a monthly service and charged.

Another troublesome issue may be with sites you are not sure of. Imagine that you find a web site that advertises free ringtones for cellphones. You have never heard of the site before but you are excited and you log on anyway. You enter your cell phone number and off you go. A few weeks later, you have applied for a loan and find yourself denied. Curious, you order a copy of your credit report and find a number of weird charges there. Back tracking, you find out that your information was stolen from the scam site which had advertised free ringtones for cellphones.

Before you become a victim yourself, always proceed with caution, especially on sites that you are not sure of and sites that you have found by way of pop up or banner ads.

Don’t be discouraged, though. There are actually a few sites that have free downloads, free ringtones for cellphones, games and wallpapers. There are even sites that will let you find pretty screensavers for your home computer or laptop as well. Each of the sites will have different strong points and weaknesses, like a bigger selection but slower reply time. With the right and of course, free ringtones for cellphones, you can customize your phone to suit you the best.