textfiles/phreak/busts.txt

                      info about recent phreaking busts
                      by pad (phreakers and distributors)
                      compiled and re-edited by acid house
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       before taking off, let me make something perfectly clear. this g-file 
applies to all current and future phreakers. just for the so-called "elite" 
hackers that you heard all the time. if you have phreaked between dec 1988 
and this date, or are planning to start phreaking, this applies to you.  
in addition, this file is not bullshit.  we have consulted many phreakers 
in different areas and they all knew what we said was true because of recent 
incidents in their area. you may have heard about these busts before, but 
its good to read this file just in case.  we wrote this g-file on january 8, 
1989, so all info is recent.

       recently, two services have been very popular to phreak with. they
were both pitifully easy to hack, and they both had superb and quick
connections with boards across the usa.  in addition, thousands of phreaker
used them--through modem and voice, and no one got caught.  the two access
ports were 950-0266 and 950-1729.  the 1729 service is known as "futuretech",
but the name of the 0266 still remains unknown to everyone, and is possibly
a trap set up to catch phreakers.  up until december, 1988, they were safe
to phreak with and didn't even try to catch phreakers.  however, starting
in december, a major attack was relased on phreakers nationwide, and it
is still going on as of this date.
       both servies joined forces with all of the major phone companies in
december to, at first, find who called 950-0266 and 950-1729.  from december
1st-december 31st, a trace was put on those two numbers and whoever called
those numbers was contacted by their phone company and they were asked why
they called those numbers.  we are sure that many people reading this file
received such a call, as some of our members did.  however, since this was
just the first stage of the tracing, and both futuretech and the 0266 company
did not have their tracing equipment in yet, they were not able to tell
what the callers of the access ports did once they were connected.  in
short, giving any story to the phone company about why you called those ports
would do just fine, since they had no record about what anyone did once they
called into the port.  all they had on record was the fact that people called.
however, once they found any phone number as one of those calling the access
ports 950-1729 or 0266, they put a tap on the offending lines and monitored
them carefully.  however, there were still few busts because most people
who got such calls from their phone company about phreaking decided that
they would never phreak again.
     but remember, this was just stage one.  it got worse.  on january 1st,
1989, the phone companies welcomed in the new year with new equipment.  the
company that ran 0266 had the better equipment, and could tell where the
calls were originating, however the 1729 company was only able to tell which
numbers were called.  futuretech (the 1729 company) took immediate action
on the 1st and contacted all of the people and boards who were called, and
asked for info on who called them at certain times, and if the people called
knew any hackers or phreakers.  with that info, they could tell the phone
company to tap phone lines, and a few people ended up getting busted.  there
is rumor of 1729 getting the full tracing equipment in by now, but we have
not verified it as of this date.  overall, it is unsafe to phreak with 1729.
    950-0266's company was much more harsh.  on january 2nd, they found
all of the big-time abusers of their codes, along with a handful of the
"lesser" phreakers who only made a few calls, and took action.  they sent
feds and police to search houses and confiscate entire computer systems, in
addition to throwing people in jail and pressing charges.  this is still
going on.  many phreakers have been severely busted for using 0266,
especially in california.  this a warning: 0266 is very dangerous and any
use of these codes almost guarantees you being caught.  this is not bullshit,
it is the truth.  0266 has a very sophisticated ani system (auto-number
identification system), and they bust everyone that they can get the police
to go after.  if you have been using 0266, stop now!  there is no point to
get your life ruined over a few stupid wares from out-of-state bbs's.
remember, they are busting all phreakers, not just the so-called "big-time"
ones.  even people who make less then $10 worth of illegal calls have a good
chance of getting busted.
    this still leaves the question about what is safe to use from a pay-phone.
do not use 1729 from a pay-phone.  they will investigate the person you called
called, and can put a tap on your line if they find out about the pay-phone
phreaking.  as far as 0266, they are more interested in hitting the
computer phreakers, so it is still relatively safe to use 0266 from a pay
phone, but don't press your luck.  keep your phreaked-pay-phone calls to
a minimum and you will probably be safe.
    your question now is probably, "but what can i do now??  what about
all those rad wares on that board in georgia i'm on??"  well, yes, there
is still one way to phreak that is safe.  pc pursuit.  although several
rumors have gone around about pc pursuit being dangerous, we have contacts
and know for a fact that it is not.  if you have pcp codes, don't give them
out like they are simple to get.  the more people that have them, the faster
they die, and you will find that they are hard to get because there is no
way to get your computer to hack them.  the only way to get a pcp code is
through connections, and if you have no connections, you should really
value your pcp codes.  if any further developments come up with pcp or the
0266/1729's, another g-file will be written.
    in a nutshell, lay off 0266 and 1729.  you are almost guaranteed to be
busted, especially at this point in time.  this file has been true.  it is
not bullshit. and it may just save you from ruining your life.

                    -pirates and distributor