Freaks Macintosh Archive/Freaks Macintosh Archive.bin/Freaks Macintosh Archives/Textfiles/zines/DNA/DNAV1I5.sit/DNAV1I5/ARTICLE.005

Text File | 1993-11-02 | 4KB | 69 lines

Big Fun with COCOTs


        First, two questions probably spring to mind after reading the title.
What or Who is COCOT, and why in the hell is it big fun?? Well, a COCOT is a
payphone. Not just any old payphone, but a payphone that screams "Call
Timbuktu for FREE FREE FREEEEE!!!". COCOT stands for Customer-Owned
Coin-Operated Telephone and, logically is owned by a customer of the phone
company. Anyone who pays for a phone line from the Telco is a customer. So,
when it all comes down to it, a COCOT is a payphone owned by an average joe
schmuck, hooked up to an ordinary residental type phone line, and also it will
probably (i'm not 100% sure this will always be true) say COCOT somewhere on
the labels on the phone.

        Ok, you now know that a COCOT is basically a normal phone, on a normal
phone line. If you've ever tried to Red Box (emulate the tone a payphone makes
when you deposit money into it) a COCOT, you will find that it doesn't work.
It doesn't work because of two reasons.

1. The dialtone you hear when you pick up the handset for a COCOT is NOT a REAL
   dialtone. The dialtone you hear when you first pick up the handset is
   generated by the phone. All protection to keep you from getting to a REAL
   (unrestricted) dialtone lies solely on the COCOT.
2. If it WAS a real dialtone when you first picked up the handset, what would
   be the purpose in Red Boxing it? It's hooked up to a NORMAL phone line. You
   could just use your tone dialer to call anywhere you wanted.

   It's the same as trying to Red Box on your home phone. What purpose could it
possibly serve except to notify the Telco of your intentions? You now know that
Red Boxing a COCOT is a dead end, so what are your other options for making
free calls on it?

1. 800 numbers should ALWAYS be free.
2. 1-411 will probably be free also.

        A 1-800 phone directory can come in handy, but is NOT needed. Also, you
MIGHT need a tone dialer, depending on how advanced/phreaker aware your
targeted COCOT is. Here's how it's done. You step up to the phone, dial a free
phone number (i.e. 1-800, or 1-411), and come up with some bullshit to get the
dialed number to hang up. For example, you dial "Pimp's 'R' Us" at
1-800-MUCH-FUN, and when they answer, you say "OH! I'm sorry, I must have the
wrong number", and cover the mouthpiece with your hand or something so they
will think you have hungup. They will then hangup, and if you are on a dumb
COCOT, you will have an unrestricted dialtone within seconds, and be able to
call whoever/whereever you want via the keypad on the phone. It's very rare
that you run across COCOT's that will let you dial on the keypad, but if you
do, remember the company that sells/made the phone. If you recieved an
unrestriced dial tone, but can't dial out on the keypad, or disables the 1
(to prevent long distance calling) on the keypad, this is where the tone dialer
comes in. Just dial it through the tone dialer. However, if you were so
unfortunate as to get a dialtone for approximately one second, but then it cut
off, you might try holding the tone dialer up to the mouthpiece right before it
is supposed to give you the unrestricted, and holding down the first number of
the phone number you want to call for a few seconds. Basically what that does
is try to beat the COCOT to the dialtone, by dialing the first number before
the COCOT detects the dialtone. The worst is when it cuts off the mouthpiece
and the keypad. I have yet to find a way to get around that type. If you know
of a way, or something i missed, or didn't explain clearly or had something
just plain WRONG, then drop me a line at my internet address.

Doc Hench (Doktor Henchman)  - [e-mail]
Sysop of Binary Degeneration - 615.228.9698

Typed up on 9/10/93

(Note: This was typed up fairly early in the morning, so if i'm not making much
 sense in the above paragraphs, my apoligies)