Same here, except I took it further and was calling out of state BBSs to download the latest warez. First phone bill after getting the modem was $250, in around 1984 (or about $800 in 2026). Parents were pissed. That's when I learned about phone phreaking.

> That's when I learned about phone phreaking.

“And never again have to pay for a service that would be dirt cheap, if it weren’t run by a bunch of profiteering gluttons!”

- Razor & Blade

Reminds me of the Notorious B.I.G. line "phone bill about 2G's flat"!