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- s y s t e m _ ____
- _ __ ________ _ ___ _____\\ /_ _____________________
- ___\ /___ _ _ ___\__/ //_ _ _______ ____ _ //_________
- _\\__ __//___ _//_ \__ /_ ___\\ /_\ //_____ ____ /
- |________\ /_____\ _//_ |_ \_ __// _____/_\ /_ //__
- _ ______ /_____________\ ______\ _//_ _____\ \\_ ____ /_ _ //_
- //______ /_____/ _\\______| _____\ /_______\/___ |/____//__ /_
- //___________________________________ /________ \ _
- //__________ /____\\
- //___________
- ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
- │ System Failure: Issue #2 │
- └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
- Flap. Here's the second issue. I decided to release it right after the first
- one so I could make up for all the time I wasted prior to the first issue, and
- so we'd have two issues out before DefCon. From here on out, I'm going to try
- to release one issue per month, with the target release date being the first
- weekend of each month. Our website is also up and under construction, so check
- it out and tell us what you think. Comments, suggestions, and flames may now
- be addressed to system.failure@usa.net, where it will be forwarded to the
- editorial staff. If you wanna chat with us, find us on #rock or #peng on
- either DALnet or EFnet. We should be setting up #sysfail on both nets soon
- too, so come visit us or something. Thanks to Martz for the opening ASCII.
- Now, on with the issue.
- --Logic Box [7/10/97]
- ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
- │ http://www.penguinpalace.com/sysfail/ │
- │ [system.failure@usa.net] │
- └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
- We the people
- The poor the disgruntled the median
- Who shall never rise or fall
- Regardless of our work
- Shall rise as one voice
- Through many skilled hands
- Joined by wire and fiber
- Joined by a common greed
- Our restless yearnings
- Show our displeasure
- And rip apart the system
- The system failure
- Broken and molested
- By the creators and
- Those in their place
- We can do it too
- Rape the system failure
- System Failure
-
- --Pinguino
- ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
- │ CONTENTS │
- │ │
- │ WorldVox: Helping Us to Talk for Free by Colaytion │
- │ How to Get Free Pre-Paid Calling Cards by vel0city │
- │ Ma Bell is Watching You! by Kenshiro Cochrane │
- │ DMV ID Scamming by Insight │
- │ Prima Via: The Path of Personality by Andrax │
- │ The Mind of the Phone Phreak by Mr. SoniK │
- │ Mervyn's: The Cash Cow by Splatessa │
- └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
- WorldVox: Helping Us to Talk for Free
- by Colaytion (civilwarfreak@hotmail.com)
- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
- So, you've been assigned the task of setting up a teleconference for
- all your lamer friends, and you don't want to haul your ass out into the cold
- night to find a COCOT to make it? Until this really lame-ass company came
- around, that's what you had to do. However, with the increased drug use in the
- US and the degredation of our schools, a new crappy company has decided to
- make it easier for us to rip people off.
-
- Enter WorldVox, the company that will make it easier for businesses to
- get togther and solve problems. They came up with the great idea of letting
- these companies set up their confs over the Internet. All you need is a credit
- card, and you're set. So, now, how would one of us go about setting up a conf
- for our own use, without paying for it? Read on, my friend.
-
- Point your web browser to the ANONYMIZER! I know two lamers (Havok_
- and Phrax) who made the mistake of setting up the conf from home without the
- Anonymizer, that we all exploited. If you aren't setting up the conf from
- home, then forget the Anonymizer, who cares. Once you get to WorldVox, click
- the link entitled SCHEDULE. Now, this next step is VERY important. Set the
- date for your conf for FEBRUARY 31 1997. Yes, that is FEBRUARY 31 1997, once
- again, FEBRUARY 31 1997. If you skip this step, the conf won't get set up.
- Trust me, I tried it. Enter the rest of the information (i.e. time to start,
- time zone, duration, number of callers, etc.) with the CORRECT INFORMATION
- that you want for your conf. So, all the info is correct EXCEPT for the date.
- Then, click the "Check Availability" button. It should take you to another
- page, and call you an idiot for putting in a date that's already passed.
-
- Now, on this page, change the date to the CORRECT DATE THAT YOU WANT,
- and hit "Check Avaliability" again. Now, pick one of the numbers that come up
- in the box. Don't worry about them not being 800 numbers, we'll take care of
- that later. Now, enter all your perfectly legitimate and legal credit card
- information, and your real name and email address. :) Then click, the "I
- agree. Reserve the call" button. Now, your conf is reserved, and a little page
- should pop up (you may have to wait 1-2 minutes for this) and give you all the
- information you need. Then click the "Finish/Show Receipt" button, and you're
- set!
-
- Calling the conf is a little different. You need two people to set it
- up. These two people call (one person actually making a legitimate long
- distance call, or with a calling card or redbox), the phone will keep ringing
- for this first person until the second person calls. The second person should
- make a collect call (using OCI) to the conf number. When the first person
- hears his end stop ringing, answer normally with:
-
- You : Hello, you big black negro.
- Oper: Hello, this is Kevin from OCI with a collect call from Farmer Stinky
- Thumbs Arbukle.
- You : Yeah, I want to talk to that nigger, put him through!
- Oper: Ok, one moment sir... by the way, would you care to go out on a date?
- You : Kevin, put him through you, gay faggot.
- Oper: Do you think he's interested?
- You : Hell no.
- Oper: Go eat your mother's bloody tampon, and thank you for using OCI!
-
- Anyway, you two are now on the conf. Get a third buddy to call
- collect. When the operator calls, you'll hear one ring, then the conf
- automatically answers. Say "hello," and make sure only ONE of you answers, or
- the op will hang up. Now that three of you are on the conf, whoever called
- without using OCI can now hang up and call back collect. You must keep at
- least two people on at all times to keep the conf alive. So, if you'll notice,
- all of our calls are being paid for by our good friends at WorldVox!
-
- Even though you may set the duration to 3 or 4 hours, these confs
- don't die at the time they are supposed to. The longest I have ever been on
- one is probably 7 hours. I don't think we've ever used one until it died.
-
- So, there you go. You can set up a conf for everyone right over the
- Internet, right from the comfort of your own room. The best thing is, everyone
- will think you are one great guy for going out and setting up a conf in the
- middle of the night. Have fun!
-
- THE ANONYMIZER: http://www.anonymizer.com/ (Whoa, tricky guys!)
- WORLDVOX: http://www.worldvox.com/ (You coulda guessed)
- OCI: A collect call company to rip off (1-800-288-2880 ext 0)
- KEVIN: A gay operator who works for OCI
- HAVOK & PHRAX: Two lamers who didn't anonymize when setting up confs
- COLAYTION: The l33t-o guy who wrote this article
-
- [Editor's Note: Just recently, WorldVox began to catch on to our nightly abuse
- of their services, and they apparently busted in on an illegal conf one night
- to tell all those involved that they were being busted. They changed their
- webpage accordingly (for a day) to inform their customers about the "hackers"
- (either that or someone hacked the page... no one really knows), naming
- several who were supposedly getting busted. If you want to see what the
- WorldVox webpage looked like at the time, I put up a mirror of the site at
- http://linux.slackware.org/~logic/worldvox.html. As of now, they seem just as
- oblivious as before, and we've been romping freely about their system and
- abusing their services as usual. --Logic Box]
- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
- How to Get Free Pre-Paid Calling Cards
- by vel0city (vel0city@dogbert.phoenixnet.com)
- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
- I was supposed to have an article in System Failure #1 but I didn't
- get around to writing one... so I'll make up for it with this horrible
- article. I got this idea amazingly enough while on a payphone at a gas station
- We've all seen those pre-paid calling cards. They range from five to one-
- hundred dollars. Well, in this article I'll describe a method to retrieve
- these cards free.
-
- The things you'll need are:
- a) A payphone
- b) Someone's credit card number, expiration date, and name
- c) A gas station that sells these cards
- d) Clothes (I ran out of things you need)
-
- How to do it:
-
- Ok, you put on your clothes (as mentioned above). Then you go to a
- payphone, preferrably near the target gas station. You then call up the gas
- station, and hopefully the employee will pick up. A typical conversation will
- go as follows:
-
- You: HI! This is Pablo. I'm from out of town, and I really need one of them
- there pre-paid calling cards.
- Him: Well sir, we have them here, so just come on in and buy one.
- You: Uhm I just said I was in a rush. So I'm gonna give you my credit card
- number and all that poop and I want you to charge two 20-dollar pre-paid
- calling cards to my Mastercard account. Is that ok with you?
- Him: Uhh.. well, yeah, I guess there isn't a problem with that.
- You: Ok, well, as I mentioned, I'm in a rush so I'm gonna get my son (or
- daughter, whatever you happen to be) to run in and get it.
-
- Then you casually walk into the store and pick up the calling cards,
- telling them you are the son or daughter.
-
- --vel0city
- "is it nap time yet?"
- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
- Ma Bell is Watching You!
- by Kenshiro Cochrane (kcochran@peak.org)
- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
- I got this from the local fone company. When I get a chance, I will scan it so
- you can all see the cool and cheesy pictures.
-
- FRAUD: IT CAN HAPPEN TO YOU
- ---------------------------
- Calling card thieves don't care where you live or where you travel. Anyone
- with a calling card can be vulnerable to their schemes. Once these thieves get
- your secret number, they could charge thousands of dollars to your account
- within a few hours. Here are some of the latest schemes to watch for:
-
- [These are the latest schemes? I thought these were rather old...]
-
-
- "Shoulder Surfers" peer over shoulders to watch callers dial or stand close by
- to listen to callers give operators their calling card numbers. These thieves
- will often pretend to be waiting for the phone to cover the reason why they
- are there... to steal your card number!
-
- [Time to get paranoid... We're watching you!]
-
- What To Do: Always block the view of your card and the keypad, or use a card-
- reader phone. Never say your secret card numbers if a stranger is nearby. It
- is better to hang up and call back later from a different phone.
-
- [And piss the operator off so she sends security to your fone for hanging
- up on her :)]
-
-
- "Dumpster Divers" wade through trash cans to find old cards or discarded bills
- with calling card numbers on them.
-
- [Wouldn't that make them can divers?]
-
- What To Do: Watch what you throw away. Cut up old cards and bills before
- discarding them, making sure any calling card numbers are no longer
- discernible.
-
- [Elmer's Glue can fix anything!@#]
-
-
- "Investigators" call you directly, posing as law enforcement officials
- investigating fraud. They will ask you for your calling card number for
- verification purposes and may even threaten to disconnect your service if you
- do not cooperate.
-
- [Is this social engineering??]
-
- What To Do: NEVER give your calling card number to someone who calls you, no
- matter how legitimate he or she may sound. Your phone company and long-
- distance provider would NEVER have to call you for such information, and
- neither would an investigator.
-
- ["AT&T, may I have your calling card number to complete your call?" "I
- don't believe you are really the operator. If you were, you wouldn't need
- my number. It says so right here on this paper I got from my phone
- company!"]
-
-
- Help in the fight against these criminals! Guard your calling card number. If
- you believe your calling card has been compromised, contact your local
- telephone company immediately!
- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
- DMV ID Scamming
- by Insight (pyre@pacbell.net)
- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
- , ... . g
- ggggg a , ,d$b, ,dli;' ggggg a a llii; ; gg@$ $;
- a ggg,d$P' ggggg aⁿⁿ$$ⁿ ,di;' d&liⁿⁿⁿYb,d gggg$; ,d$$P'g$
- ~"Y$$ggg a d$gggg, $i;;`Y$;, Y$li;' ⁿⁿ'` $$$ ,d$$P' $$;
- '.,dli;'' ' d$i; `Y$;; ⁿY `Yli;,`Yb,_ ,di;'; g,$$$ `Y$$b, ⁿⁿ
- $$i; ,d$i; , Y$li;, _ ,d$i;' `Ylii;; ,,' $$$ggg ⁿⁿⁿⁿⁿⁿ ⁿ
- ' ''`` ` a gg
- i; , fake - id
-
- First things first: NEVER get caught doing ANYTHING wrong with this ID on your
- person.
-
- Ok, now on with the scam. What I did is quite simple.
-
- 1) You must find a person, preferrably a friend, that has a Driver's license,
- and has NEVER been issued an ID card (this is very important; if he/she has
- been issued both, then the DMV will just send a new ID to the address on
- record, and will not take your picture).
-
- 2) You must have his/her S.S. card and birth certificate (these must be the
- originals, or they will not accept them).
-
- 3) Make sure you know the basic information on the S.S. card and birth
- certificate, so when the bitch at the counter asks you a question, you can
- answer.
-
- 4) Go to your local DMV and say "hi, I lost my ID card and need a new one," or
- something to that effect. The DMV bitch will take some info, photocopy the
- S.S. card and birth certificate (the ones you "borrowed"), and you'll hand
- over the $ (it was $8 last time I checked).
-
- 5) You will then have your picture taken. NOTE: they will also take a
- fingerprint (this is why your friend CAN'T have an ID card beforehand,
- because the fingerprints will mismatch... a driver's license is ok).
-
- 6) Now the wait. In about 3-4 weeks, the backwards-ass motherfuckers will send
- your new ID to your friend's house. If your friend doesn't know you're
- doing this, then you have to "intercept" the mail. If he does know it, then
- just wait till he calls you, and pick up your ID.
-
- 7) That's all... happy drinking/smoking.
-
- ..:: text by insight // AiS (oh unf unf unf)
- ..:: really quick ascii by blk_jack // remorse (muh bed buddy <g>)
- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
- Prima Via: The Path of Personality
- by Andrax (e-mail system.failure@usa.net to contact)
- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
- Wholeness (pardon the pun) is a universal concept. There are an
- infinite number of possibilities to finding some way to attain it. Some fold
- themselves again and again, causing everything to rest on themselves never
- guessing, or discovering, that they aren't exactly as they see themselves.
- Some take a much more difficult road. The way of self-realization is the way
- of much pain. To deviate from normally and what you've been told is right, and
- find what the lies all mean, go deeper into life than your examples, and find
- your truth; that's the most difficult feat of self possible. This is the
- ultimate road, Prima Via.
-
- Step One: Thought
- A common misconception in society is that people who can think do.
- Not even a little bit. Television, radio, word-of-mouth, books, and recently
- the internet all gear us towards simplistic reaction in place of rational
- thought. We learn from a very young age what society wants from us, and from a
- very young age we begin to conform. The Prima Via requires that you know why
- you react to things the way you do. The only way to go about finding yourself
- through your actions is to learn how to think. It's much harder than it
- sounds.
-
- You have to get around the conventional process. It's not you thinking
- if you don't know why something is taboo. I'll use an extreme example now. If
- you have a fleeting thought about raping, beating, and killing a 4-year old,
- and then suddenly recoil at it just because everyone and everything other than
- you would disapprove of such a thought, you're not thinking at all. If you
- actually know why it is that this thought is bad for you, and can fully
- explain it in a self-supporting statement, then you can think. Let's complete
- the example. Thinking about raping, beating, and killing a 4-year old is not
- within the best interests of my retaining sanity and sanctity of mind. If I
- allow myself to think this thought often enough, I may begin to believe I want
- to act upon it, as the mind is quite plastic and prone to reprogramming. If I
- act upon this thought, I will damage the child's mind, damage the child's
- body, damage the child's parents, and damage myself. There is no obvious gain
- from such an action, therefore it is wanton destruction, and detrimental to
- systematic efficiency. Since efficiency is the path of least resistance, it
- allows you to grow more quickly in the areas you wish to augment.
-
- Being more than you used to be is the way of cycle, and cycle is the
- one definite and constant found in nature. Start minimal, become more, get
- larger, move faster, plan better, go further, and eventually, all the things
- you gained into yourself over your growth is given to those who are just
- beginning the process, causing efficiency on a grander scale. By stunting the
- child, parents, and self, you destroy someone's growth who came before, and
- cause much inefficiency for the future, adding to non-thought and
- anti-personality. All negativity is self-negativity.
-
- Step Two: Self-Awareness
- Again, something that seems obvious... seems like everyone already has
- this. Again, no. Wrong, zonk, bleh, hahaha, not. Self-awareness is actually
- knowing yourself. You are not only familiar with your habits, but can
- accurately predict your own actions and know why. You know what you would do
- if presented with the idea of, oh... say, selling your soul, which you may
- not even believe in, for a billion dollars, or an even more popular recent
- example: one million dollars for one night with your betrothed, or wedding
- partner. If you say, "I would NEVER!" and you really don't care, you're just
- reacting to what you think you should say because you're part of "civilized
- society" and think that's what I want to hear, and you're just full of shit.
-
- You have to know your reasons for the things you do. If I feel like
- stealing some food from the grocery market, and I go ahead and act upon that
- feeling, I'd damned-well better have given myself a good reason. It goes
- against my not wanting more problems to arise from non-thinkers, who like to
- have the power to cause thought patterns in others that are beneficial only to
- them specifically, that are looking for a good scapegoat to accuse thought of
- "being bad for you" as an exemplary measure. That would be bad, arming the
- enemy. Something that would be more important would be, say, eating at least
- once a week. First though, I would ask for food. Because I would be nice
- enough to give to others, I have to assume they are nice too. So, in order
- for me to steal, the victim would have to have wronged me morally in some way
- after I was already extremely desperate and pitiful.
-
- In other words, my life would have to be in the balance and you would
- have to be my last resort--on top of wronging me outright--before I would
- steal something from you. Why? I already told you, businessmen: one who does
- not know themselves is always second-guessing themselves, looking for some
- kind of leader to make their decisions for them. That trait is what causes all
- misery. The one who does not know themselves only knows that they're harrying
- pain, not where it is or why, and they need someone else to fix it. This is
- not to say that needing others is bad, because a need for others does quite a
- bit to secure even the strongest of minds against those who would damage it
- for their own purpose.
-
- Step Three: Believing in Reality
- "Well, duh!" you say. Nope. Reality, regardless of anything you want
- to explain it as, is indirect of the stimuli you perceive it through. You see
- colors with your eyes, they distinguish between an itty-bitty little segment
- of the electromagnetic spectrum. Every color you see is simply the one
- wavelength blend that the object being seen doesn't absorb... reflected light,
- a very weak source of information. The tools we use to see this information
- are incredibly flimsy as well. A round lake of semi-gelatinous liquid laced
- with opaque random tubes and a stretchy near-circular expanding hole over the
- oddly-shaped finger-nail material lens form the apparatus. The collection
- system is thousands of randomly-placed receptacles of two distinct kinds
- connected by "wires" to the exact center of your viewscreen, where there's
- absolutely no receptacles because the wiring takes up too much space, so the
- whole contraption jiggles around at extremely high speeds in order to share
- out this "blind spot."
-
- BUT, your eyes can't see anything while they're moving, so you're only
- seeing what you're looking at about 20% of the time. The rest is spent in
- blindness. All of this is wired into an ultra-powered haphazard computer that
- SHOULDN'T work. It really is a wonder, all that work and effort for one
- sensory organ.
-
- [Editor's Note: This is actually one of Andrax's earlier writings. It ends at
- this point and was never finished by Andrax. Sorry bout that. It's still
- pretty cool though. :) -=<Darkcactus>=-]
- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
- The Mind of the Phone Phreak
- by Mr. SoniK (zigy@teleport.com)
- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
- Have you ever wondered why some people have so much fun being phone
- phreaks? I always kinda wondered what it was that people found so neat about
- telephones, then I eventually got more and more into phreaking and it became
- really interesting to me and I wanted to learn more about it. I've read tons
- of text files dating back to the late seventies that talk about phone
- phreaking, and that's where I learned mostly everything I know, including what
- I am writing about.
-
- So you've read stuff about phreaking and it sounded pretty cool how
- you could get free phone calls and exploit the phone company to your
- advantage, but it never occured to you why some people have so much fun doing
- it? That's why I have decided to write an article about why some people have
- decided to become phone phreaks.
-
- So you think that the people who call themselves "Phone Phreaks" are
- the badass Gen-X type kiddies who can do anything on phones and computers?
- Well, think again--phreaking has been around since the mid 60's, and is still
- going strong. I'm almost sure that you've heard of a man by the name of
- Captain Crunch (not the cereal box guy), who was a famous phone phreak from
- the sixties. He got his name from a toy whistle that he got from a cereal box
- that could produce the 2600Hz tone that was needed to blue box. Blue boxing
- isn't about being able to make the free phone call to most phone phreaks; they
- do it for the thrill of seizing trunks and stacking tandems and things like
- that. Once a phreak succesfuly uses a blue box they will usualy find other
- uses for their device or other ways to get a rush from it.
-
- I suppose you think that a free phone call is no big deal... well, it
- isn't really the thrill to most phreaks. Most phone calls that phreaks make
- are to random numbers on the other side of the country or the world. Phreaks
- get a kick out of calling people and asking them about weather in Virgina or
- what their dog looks like (you get the idea). Alot of the calls that a phreak
- is going to make are going to be fairly short, simply because they are testing
- some equipment or techniques that they have shared with other phreaks that
- they meet while on confrence calls and through voice bridge systems. More and
- more, it becomes apparent that most phreaks are playing with Ma Bell just as a
- hobby, not as a criminal career. Most of the time a phreak will build a box or
- somthing just to see if it works before they take it apart to build somthing
- else, or lose interest in it and move on to another toy they have heard of.
-
- If you have done some reading of text files or heard much about
- phreaks, it may seem as if they have become quite destructive and criminal
- over the years. The only reason for this is that Ma Bell has become offended
- with the hobbies that some people choose and has decided to make the telephone
- system more secure, in effect shutting out a lot of people from there favorite
- thing to do. So, to explore, the phreaks have to turn to social engineering,
- trashing, etc., in order to get the access to Ma Bell's "Underground" that
- they desire. I hope that this article has shined a bit of light on the odd
- hobby of phone phreaking, and helped you to understand why phreaks are the way
- they are.
- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
- Mervyn's: The Cash Cow
- by Splatessa (scabba@c-zone.net)
- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
- This started in 1994, when we realized that Mervyn's would give you up
- to 20 bucks back for an (legally acquired or STOLEN, my preferred method)
- item without a receipt. No ID needed, nothing but a fake signature on the
- bottom of a printout. For the next two years of my life, I spent most of
- my time in Mervyn's stores and sitting on my ass in my car. We continued
- to drive up and down Interstates 5 and 90 and everything in between, and
- collecting our 20 dollars per store. Sure, this was lucrative...but of
- course we got greedy and wanted more. That is how we concocted this scheme....
-
- FAKE RECEIPTS
- -------------
- Examining the receipts very carefully, we made it our next mission to
- replicate them as well as we could. They are printed on a special roll
- of paper, which is embossed with a MERVYN'S watermark on the back. These
- rolls of paper are easily attainable; they're always behind the counter of
- unmanned cash registers. Be sure to grab the "receipts" roll and not the
- "log" roll, or you won't get the watermark and you'll have wasted your time.
- If you can't tell the difference, i.e. they're not labeled, grab them all.
- Best to use your opportunity getting the right one than none at all.
-
- First we tried scanned receipts, which had about a 50% success rate. The
- scanning and printing process leaves the receipt looking like it was either
- photocopied, or that someone spilled water on it. Depends how idiotic your
- sales person is, to know if they will accept it or not. This didn't work
- as well as we would have liked, so we went to phase two: Creating Receipts.
-
-
- CREATING RECEIPTS
- -----------------
- This process takes quite a bit of time, but in the long run, it is very
- profitable. You'll need to use your graphics program (personally used Corel
- Photo-paint) to make each of the letters and numbers on the receipt. Once
- you have these fonts, you can piece your receipt together to say anything
- you'd like! If you're patient enough to get past this part, it's time to
- go purchase something so you can have an actual receipt to work from. Make
- sure to purchase whatever it is that you're planning on shoplifting, and
- that you know you can get away with getting this item over and over again.
- Think "small yet expensive". (Some favorites are leather belts, neckties,
- children's clothing, pillowcases) BUY SOMETHING ELSE THAT YOU WON'T BE
- RETURNING, SO YOU ARE GUARANTEED YOUR RECEIPT BACK. When you get your money
- from the return, you'll be able to say "that has my dads birthday watch on
- it and I don't know if he likes it yet" or whatever. Get creative. Take
- your ACTUAL receipt to a nearby copy machine and make a copy of it to gather
- information from, and then take those items you bought back to the store.
- In doing this, you can see if the store has implemented any weird policies
- about returning the specific item you're planning on returning over and over
- again. Take your photocopy home and start working on the receipt...
-
-
- EVERYTHING MUST LOOK REAL
- -------------------------
- If you're going to do a half-assed job anywhere, don't do it here. If it
- doesn't look 100% real, don't bother using it. ALSO BE AWARE that once
- you have these fonts, they are virtually unsurpassed in usefulness. Lots
- of companies still utilize the IBM 4863 computer cash register. You can
- now make receipts for any store that does. Also, I've made fonts for
- K-Mart, and another local store here in town.
-
-
- INVESTMENTS
- -----------
- For one dollar, at Mervyn's, you can buy a big-ass set of boxes to put
- robes in. This in turn gives you a big-ass bag. I consider the one
- dollar investment to get an actual bag from the store very worthwhile,
- and a little more convincing. You can also use your boxes to return items in.
-
-
- NO NEED TO SHOPLIFT
- -------------------
- Something else you can do, with your new found receipt making skill, is get
- large items right out the door. The K-MART garden shop is always a good
- target door. First, you need to get employee codes and make sure your
- receipt says an employee who's NOT working. (explained later on) Make it
- for about 3 hours before you arrive. Circle the item you're stealing on
- your receipt and write EXCHANGED and scribble some initials. Then, when
- exiting the Garden Shoppe door, show your receipt briefly to the guy picking
- his nose by the cash register. He will let you go with no argument.
- Lots of stores have tape that they put on large items to prove you've
- purchased it rather than bagging it up. Mervyn's, however, just ties or tapes
- a little Mervyn's bag to super huge items. Grab a handful of these tiny bags
- and tape them to the things you want, and walk right out the door. (with
- your receipt!) Also, just pick up your items from the display and take
- them to a register on the other side of the store. Drop them on the counter
- and say, "man, I looked all over my car for a bag but I couldn't find one!"
- and pull out your receipt. This has never failed. $$$$
-
-
- AP LP AND CODE 217
- ------------------
- If ANYONE CALLS for AP (asset protection) LP (loss protection) or extention
- 217 while you're doing something objectionable in Mervyn's, it's a good idea
- to skip that whole store. A typical code would be 217 TO MEN'S, 217 TO MEN'S.
- This means they want someone from asset or loss protection to call up the
- men's department. It also means that it's likely that someone from AP or LP
- is working at the time. They get off work at 6:30 PM, and are hardly there
- when they're supposed to be. You can call Mervyn's and ask for ext. 217 to see
- if anyone answer. "217 TO MEN'S, 217 to MEN'S" OR "217 call 302" Go call 302
- yourself, and find out what department it is. (yes, that's why those phones
- are all over the walls of the store. For your convenience. USE THEM!
- If you're IN the men's department, assume that the call is about you and get
- the fuck out. Of course they can't arrest you unless you steal something, but
- I suggest having the least amount of employees see you as possible. If 217
- TO MEN'S is called while you're in the bedding department, cruise on over to
- men's and listen in on the phone call. It's worth it to go out of your way
- for valuable information.
-
-
- #88 STORE INTERCOM
- ------------------
- You sure as hell can divert any attention from you by having a friend come in
- and pick up any of those phones located around the perimeter of the store,
- and start calling LP over the intercom. They'll be so busy locating your
- friend that they won't see you walk out of the store with a shopping cart
- full of tablecloths...also fun to state in a calm yet serious voice "all
- shoppers evacuate the store immediately" and while everyone's running out
- the doors join them with an armload of stuff.
-
-
- TIGHT PANTS GUY
- ---------------
- It's like, who the fuck wears long tight pants in the middle of summer? Who
- the fuck even wears tight pants these days anyway? Answer: No one except
- Mervyn's and various other stores Loss Protection Officers. If really tight
- ball smashing pants come back into style, it will be hard to tell them from
- the rest of the population, but as for now...if anyone wearing tight pants
- and running shoes is even remotely interested in you, abort the operation.
- Don't worry though, these guys aren't very smooth, and will make themselves
- very obvious to you so you'll have ample opportunity to pretend like you
- were just holding those women's bras (another "Small yet expensive", BTW)
- down your pants for convenience. If tight pants guy actually sees you hide
- something on your person without you noticing, he will go stand outside
- the entrance he saw you enter through and wait. And wait. And wait.
- Until someone radios to him "HEY HE'S GOING OUT THE OTHER DOOR!" By that
- time you're in your getaway car and laughing while tight pants guy comes
- sprinting around the corner to apprehend you.
-
-
- RECEIPT LAYOUT
- --------------
- You'll need to determine yourself what the numbers on the top of the receipt
- are for. I don't exactly remember what position they are in, but there
- are numbers for
-
- Store Number
- Employee Number
- Register Number
-
- You can make these determinations yourself by buying cheap shit from the
- same register, but with a different employee, seeing which number changes
- and which stays the same. I don't think I need to explain the process of
- elimination to you. If I do need to, you shouldn't even attempt the
- aforementioned scam.
- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
- Well, that's it for the second issue. DefCon V is right around the corner, so
- look for us there and tell us how much you love/hate our zine. See you all in
- Vegas!@#$
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-