54 lines
2.3 KiB
Plaintext
54 lines
2.3 KiB
Plaintext
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The Autodial
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Proudly Presents
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"Phone Hackers take their toll"
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A network of computer hackers obtained a Campbell man's Sprint telephone
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service access number used it to make around $60,000 worth of calls, a company
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spkesman said Tuesday.
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Tom Bestor, a spokesman from the Burlingame long-distance firm, said the
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incident is one of the largest telephone fraud cases of its kind.
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"We have found a lot of people (involved) in three major cities and we are
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pursuing prosecution right now. I think this is going to be a good-sized
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investigation," Bestor said.
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He said hackers - computer enthusiasts - in Atlanta, New York, and Baltimore
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as well as many other cities around the country used Robert Bocek's Sprint
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number to make hundreds of calls in November and December.
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Bestor said it appears that the hackers used so-called "computer bulletin
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boards" to pass the number form person to person.
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Such boards are actually computers equipped to answer the phone, distribute
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information, and store messages. Their phone numbers are often listed in
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publications for computer hobbyists.
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Bocek, an engineer who works for an electronics firm, said he knew something
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was wrong when his November Sprint bill came in at around $4,800 when "our
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normal bill is around $70 to $80."
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At the same time, Sprint notified Bocek and his wife that the company's
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security personnel had discovered that their access code was being abused.
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Bestor said the firm told Bocek not to worry about the bill and changed his
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access code.
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But in the 10 days that it took to change the number, Bestor said the hackers
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were able to run amok,and Sprint warnings to Bocek to expect a large bill for
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the period of time proved correct.
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In mid-December Bocek recieved a 722 page phone bill from Sprint that listed
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17,311 calls. The total charges were $55,562.27 not counting an $8,197 "volume
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discount"
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(article from the San Jose Mercury News..Written by Karen Klinger)
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Phootnote by The Autodial.
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Well it looks like this "damaging" publicity is going to do just that, Damage,
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not the Phreak kingdom but Sprint.. Well if your parents do subscribe to Sprint
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advise them to change to AT&T... They're not only cheaper but they're better.
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It looks like Sprint is going to have to change its ways.. Thank you Nick
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Halflinger.
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