A Beginner's Guide to the Internet/INTERNET.ISO/text/telediag/tc13-185.txt

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TELECOM Digest     Wed, 17 Mar 93 16:58:00 CST    Volume 13 : Issue 185

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    LCI International:  A New Long Distance Choice (Brent Whitlock)
    Consolidating Cellular Sprint Account With Other Phones (Brent Whitlock)
    My LD Carrier Changed Again! (Timothy E. Buchanan)
    Modems Get Hung; Testing Advice Wanted (Doug Barr)
    George Gilder Strikes Again (Robert L. McMillin)
    Odd Crossed Connection Story (Michael J. Saletnik)
    MCI 800 Problem (RISKS via Monty Solomon)
    Need Auto-Dialer (Wayne Jones)
    IXO (TAP) With Motorola ADVISOR Pager (Andy Rubin)
    Need Phone Fraud Help (Doug Smith)
    Book Review: Toll Fraud and Telabuse (TELECOM Moderator)
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From: [e-mail] (Brent Whitlock)
Subject: LCI International: A New Long Distance Choice
Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1993 17:31:25 GMT
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana


Recently, LCI International has been advertising in the
Champaign-Urbana, Illinois area for long distance service.  Their main
marketing point is that they have easy to understand pricing plans.
They advertise that their "Simple, Fair, and Inexpensive" residential
plan (their only residential plan) costs $0.17 per minute 6 am to 6
pm, and $0.12 per minute 6 pm to 6 am.

They are based in the Columbus, Ohio area and have been marketing in
Rockford and Peoria, Illinois recently.  According to an article in
the Tuesday, March 9 edition of {The Champaign-Urbana News Gazette},
their goal is 2% of the long distance market. (AT&T has 60.3%, MCI has
17%, and Sprint has 10%, according to the same source.)

Does anyone know more details on whether or not they have good
connections, how long does it take to complete a call through them, if
their customer service is any good, what they use to carry their
telephone traffic (do they just resell AT&T connections?), or any
other information to compare them with the big three carriers?

For those interested, the number listed in the article for more
information on their residential service was 1-800-860-1217.


    * * * * * * --> DISCLAIMER:  I speak only for myself. <-- * * * * * *
Brent Whitlock        Beckman Institute for Advanced Science & Technology
[e-mail]    Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering
            University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Brent Whitlock)
Subject: Consolidating Cellular Sprint Account With Other Phones
Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1993 17:23:09 GMT
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana


[e-mail] (Carl Oppedahl) writes:

> Another difference that obtains here in New York, and I expect in most
> other places too, is that the B carriers (due to the MFJ restrictions
> imposed after the Bell breakup) are obligated to let you pick which
> long-distance carrier you use, while the A's are not.

> This has practical consequences.  Suppose I want to use Sprint long
> distance, either because I find it to have clearer line quality or
> because I can get it consolidated-billed with my other Sprint calls.
> Then I cannot use the A carrier, as they are in bed with AT&T.

Concerning the hypothetical reference to having Sprint long distance
on a mobile phone consolidated-billed with other Sprint calls, I am
afraid that this cannot be done.  I tried to have my Sprint LD for my
cellular phone consolidated on the same account as the Sprint LD for
my home phone (and my calling cards,) but the Sprint Customer Service
Rep. said they could not do that. :-( I hope they change that soon.


    * * * * * * --> DISCLAIMER:  I speak only for myself. <-- * * * * * *
Brent Whitlock        Beckman Institute for Advanced Science & Technology
[e-mail]    Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering
            University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (BUCHANAN TIMOTHY E)
Subject: My LD Carrier Changed Again!
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1993 15:54:44 GMT


About 15 months ago I moved back to Colorado from Puerto Rico, where I
had worked on contract for three years. I chose ATT as my carrier.
Soon after, I received a notice from Sprint, with whom I had a
FONE-card, saying my card had been cancelled but I could call to
receive a new one.  I did and regret it.

A few weeks later I got a card from ATT, saying my dialing plan was
being cancelled, as I had _changed_ carriers and had no use for it. I
did not authorize any such change. It took some time to get things
back where I wanted them, and I returned the card to Sprint with a
note saying that I wanted nothing further to do with their company. This
was about a year ago.

Last week, from out of the blue I got another letter from Sprint,
thanking me, etc, and enclosing new card! Sprint claims that they did
not request the change, but that US West sent them a "tape update"
which they processed. US West says that it is Sprint who sends them
the tape. Who is right here?

US West now says they will put me on "Supreme Protect", which will
prevent a LD provider from changing my carrier w/o my authorization. I
thought I had that anyway, but I guess not. Maybe we should _all_ call
our local RB and ask for the "Supreme Protect"?


Timothy

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (BARR DOUG)
Subject: Modems Get Hung; Testing Advice Wanted
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1993 16:31:17 GMT


We have some dial in modems that "hang". They require power cycling to
reset them. I am interested in testing our setup and see if I can find
the problem (they are NEC modems). Is there any book on modem and
telephone line testing? Any good test equipment? Could it be the
analog phone lines and/or the way the users are disconnecting?  Could
it be anything other than the modems?


[Moderator's Note: If you are using the traditional three plusses +++
as your modem attention getter, the problem may be that most of your
users are using the same thing. When the user issues the three
plusses, they go to your computer which echoes them back to the user,
but they are seen by your modem as well. As they are passed through
back to the user, your modem acts on them also and sits there
patiently, waiting for someone on *your end* to give it ATO or
whatever. The user uses the three plusses to get his modem's attention
and give an ATH or ATZ, disconnecting him while leaving your modem in
limbo, refusing to answer further incoming calls. Your users complain
'the modem is not answering', you find it apparently 'hung', and
recycle power. You might try giving it ATZ instead to see if it simply
disconnects and resets at that point ... it could have been waiting
all afternoon for you to arrive!  Try setting your attention sequence
to something unusual such as three tildes ~ or three carots ^, etc.
ASCII CHR$(127) is my choice for my modem. Even if the user does not
disconnect but merely 'three-plusses' to check something out, he won't
get control of *your modem* back with his ATO ... your modem won't be
listening to him at that point.  Just a suggestion; I've seen this
many times.  PAT]

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 17 Mar 93 08:53:12 -0800
From: [e-mail] (Robert L. McMillin)
Subject: George Gilder Strikes Again


Ok, TELECOMer's, run off to your favorite newsstand and get a copy of
{Forbes}.  The cover story in {Forbes: ASAP} is an article about
telephony and wireless communication by George Gilder.  You'll like
it, I promise.


Robert L. McMillin                     | Voice:    [phone]
Hughes Aircraft/Hughes Training, Inc.  | Fax:      [phone]
Los Angeles, CA                        | Internet: [e-mail]
                         After April 2 : [e-mail] or [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Michael J. Saletnik)
Subject: Odd Crossed Connection Story
Organization: Tufts University - Medford, MA
Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1993 14:14:12 GMT


This situation happened to me a few weeks ago, and I was wondering if
anyone could explain to me just what happened.

I was at home when my phone rang.  I was standing near it and
immediately picked it up.  I heard my friend talking, but not to me.
It sounded as if he had dialed the phone, then turned his head to talk
to the people in his house.  So I said hello.  I shouted hello.  He
didn't hear me.  After a moment I realized that I was hearing just

*his* side of a conversation with his mother.

After a few moments, I hung up and called him.  He has call waiting,
so he picked up and I told him that he'd rung my phone and so on.  He
didn't believe me, but I repeated part of his conversation, and he was
shocked.  Apparently, he had been about to call me when his mother
called him.

I don't know the exact sequence of his dialing my number and his phone
ringing and my phone ringing, unfortunately, but I was hoping someone
could explain just what the heck happened that tapped me into half of
his conversation.

This is with New England Telephone in the Greater Boston area; he has
call waiting, I do not.


Thanks,

Michael J. Saletnik, Tufts University E'91 G'93
[e-mail] [e-mail]
TA & Manager of Computer Resources, Dept. of Civil Engineering

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 16 Mar 1993 15:12:22 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <[e-mail]>
Subject: MCI 800 Problem


   Excerpt from RISKS DIGEST 14.40

   Date: 10 Mar 93 13:28:00 EST
   From: "MARCHANT-SHAPIRO, ANDREW" <[e-mail]>
   Subject: MCI 800 problem

Some time ago, my parents (who live in another state) decided that, if
they were going to hear their grandchildrens' voices, they needed to
get a personal 800 number from MCI.  The personal 800 scheme works
like this: each household is assigned a unique 800 number (I'm told),
and an access code (4 digits).  As a precaution against abuse, when
you dial the 800 number you get a message telling you to enter your
code.  Only callers who enter the correct code get connected, so no
massive dialing scheme advertising holiday resorts (etc) can exploit
the users' willingness to pay for incoming calls.

I promptly programmed my parents' number and the code on adjacent
buttons of my phone and left it at that.  I would just hit the first
button, wait for the announcement (voice-mail style) and hit the
second button.  This worked, until a little over a month ago.  At that
point, after I hit the second button I was asked to wait, and an
operator came on the line and asked for my code.  The first time this
happened, I refused to give the code (since I had forgotten it (!)).
A moment later, it apparently showed on the operator's console, and I
was put through.

I thought this was an aberration, but at no time after the first event
was I able to get directly through, without talking to an operator.  I
thought their equipment might not be able to handle the high speed
dialer, so I relearned the code and punched it in myself.  Still no
go.  I tried from my office.  Same thing.

Finally, last week, I managed to get the operator to switch me to a
technical representative.  This individual and I discussed what was
happening, and the rep told me that he knew of another case where much
the same thing had happened.  I then asked if they had changed or
upgraded their system software lately.  Long pause.  "Why yes, we did,
just about a month ago."

I suggested they check things out, and was promised a report.  Well, a
couple of days later the system WORKED!  And it has not failed again
since.  I have not received a report (nor a consulting fee from MCI),
but I suspect that MCI's upgrade of their personal 800 system included
some, uh, 'features' of which they weren't aware.  They may have gone
back to the old software, or they may have just fixed MY problem.  I
don't know which.  But I am certain that the origin of the problem had
to do with a programming error in MCI's hardware/software, and this
raises the issue of other errors that might be out there.

Should MCI employ beta testers?  That would be my suggestion.  They
could pay people like me to make trial calls at, say, 3:00 AM CST,
just to make sure the system worked as advertised.  Hey, in a world
where most people can't program an MS-DOS .BAT file, you need to
check!


Andrew Marchant-Shapiro, Sociology and Political Science Depts., Union College
Schenectady NY 12308 518-370-6225 [e-mail] [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 16 Mar 93 14:41:49 MST
From: [e-mail] (Wayne Jones)
Subject: Need Auto-Dialer


I am looking for an auto-dialer with >10 number list, answer detection
before playback and programmable number of repeats.  Prefer digital
message storage.  Where would I find something like this?  Any info
appreciated.

    Wayne Jones           National Solar Observatory
[e-mail]        Sunspot, NM  88349

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Android Rubin)
Subject: IXO (TAP) With Motorola ADVISOR Pager
Date: 16 Mar 93 22:10:25 GMT
Organization: Apple Computer Inc., Cupertino, CA


I'm looking for the control-character spec for the motorola Advisor
pager.  I would like to know what special characters must be sent to
enable silent pages, and to have pages from an information service
show up in the proper bin.  (ie, second display line).

If anyone has the details, or knows where I can get them, could you
please drop me an e-mail?  Thanks.


Andy    [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Doug Smith - SGA)
Subject: Need Phone Fraud Help
Organization: Wheaton College
Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1993 15:02:08 GMT


My company was a recent target of PBX fraud.  Someone figured out how
to exploit a bug to allow dial out after calling in on our 800 number.
I patched the hole but we are left with about $4000 in phone bills.

I realize that most of the calls came from payphones in New York.
However, between our 800 number bill detail and our call accounting
logs we might have the original hacker's call detail.  The problem is
I can't get any assistance from the phone company (AT&T).  I have
talked with their security division but the majority of people I talk
to don't have a clue what is going on.  They try to categorize it with
harrassment calls from individuals who have no technical knowledge.

Has anyone been through this that might have suggestions on where to
go next?  I'd like to find out if any of the numbers in our log are
not pay phones so I know if there is anything to pursue.  I haven't
found anyone at AT&T willing to look up the numbers and tell me what
they are.

Thanks in advance for your help.


Doug Smith  [e-mail]  or  ...wheaton.wheaton.edu!sga!dougs


[Moderator's Note: Something I received recently touches on this very
topic. See the final message in this issue.   PAT]

------------------------------

From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Subject: Book Review: Toll Fraud and Telabuse
Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1993  12:00:00 CST


Recently I was introduced through the mail to John J. Haugh, a very
knowledgeable person where toll fraud is concerned.  With three
associates, Robert E. Burney, Gregory L. Dean and Lawrence H. Tisch,
Mr. Haugh last year published a monumental work, "Toll Fraud and
Telabuse", a two-volume publication covering toll fraud in great
detail and how to spot it and/or prevent it. The book discusses not
only the technical aspects of toll fraud, but the legal aspects as
well such as who is responsible, and the type of stance victims might
take with their carrier to resolve the problem. The 'telabuse' side of
the report discusses the huge amount of unauthorized long distance
calling done by employees authorized to use their employer's phone for
ized use of other employer resources such as fax machines, etc.

Over 400 pages of precise technical details on how hackerphreaks
penetrate your PBX, voicemail, DISA and other remote access lines to
rip you off ... detailed discussions of cellular fraud, fraud against
COCOT operators, telephone fraud by prisoners in correctional centers,
and credit card fraud.  Volume 2 includes several case histories, the
contacts to make in law enforcement agencies investigating toll fraud,
a complete list of federal and state statutes dealing with toll fraud,
and much more. Haugh's book received rave reviews from several telecom
industry publications, and I don't mind adding my own voice to the
many praising his work.


Haugh also talks about the 'politics' of toll fraud; why companies are
reluctant to make changes required to prevent it and how telephone
companies cover up the problem when it occurred as a result of a telco
employee's dishonesty.  The book is frank, and the authors do not
mince words when they discuss telco policies regards toll fraud.

The price is $270, and while that is not inexpensive, all you need is
one good raid by some phreaks accompanied with a phone bill that
arrives via UPS in a box one month to pay the cost. It is soft cover,
8.5" x 11".

Mr. Haugh's firm, Telecommunications Advisors, Inc. also publishes a
bi-monthly journal entitled "Telecommunications and Network Security
Review" which continues the discussion started in the book published
last year. The subscription price is $170 per year.

Haugh, his firm and his associates seem like good people to get to
know. No doubt they can assist with toll fraud investigations and
prosecutions, and their printed material is among the best 'self help'
material I have seen.

Telecommunications Advisors, Inc.
One S.W. Columbia Street  #500
Portland, OR  97258
Phone: [phone]  or 800-435-7878
Fax:   [phone]

Include a VISA/MC/AMEX number if you wish to charge your purchase. If
you want more detailed information, ask for the brochure and a sample
copy of the first issue of their Review.


Patrick Townson

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #185
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