201 lines
9.9 KiB
Plaintext
201 lines
9.9 KiB
Plaintext
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
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$ ! ELECTRONIC TOLL FRAUD DEVICES ! $
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$ !-------------------------------! $
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$$$$$$$$$$$$-=>Lex Luthor<=-$$$$$$$$$$$
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$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
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This phile is designed to identify various kinds of ETF (electronic toll fraud)
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devices and to describe thier operation, according to a bookled put out by Bell
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entitled: THE INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF ELECTRONIC TOLL FRAUD DEVICES.
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(For official use only).
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The characteristics of each type of device are discussed below.
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-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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*BLUE BOX*
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----- ----
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The "Blue Box" was so named because of the color of the first one found. The
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design and hardware used in the Blue Box is fairly sophisticated, and its size
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varies from a large piece of apparatus to a miniaturized unit that is
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approximately the size of a "king size" package of cigarettes.
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The Blue Box contains 12 or 13 buttons or switches that emit multi- frequency
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tones characteristic of the tones used in the normal operation of the telephone
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toll (long distance) switching network. The Blue Box enables its user to
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originate fraudulent ("free") toll calls by circumventing toll billing
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equipment. The Blue Box may be directly connected to a phone line, or it may
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be acoustically coupled to a telephone handset by placing the Blue Box's
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speaker next to the trans mitter or the telephone handset. The operation of a
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Blue Box will be dis- cussed in more detail below.
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To understand the nature of a fraudulent Blue Box call, it is necessary to
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understand the basic operation of the Direct Distance Dialing (DDD) telephone
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network. When a DDD call is properly originated, the calling number is
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identified as an integral part of establishing the connection. This may be
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done either automatically or, in some cases, by an operator asking the calling
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party for his telephone number. This information is entered on a tape in the
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Automatic Message Accounting (AMA) office. This tape also contains t+number
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assigned to the trunk line over which the aall is to be sent. The information
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relating to the call contained on the tape includes: called number
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indentification , time of origination of call, and info that the called number
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answered + call. The time of disconnect at the end of the call is also
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reForded.
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Although the tape contains info with respect to many different calls, the
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various data entries with respect to a single call are eventually correlated to
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provide billing info for use by your Bell's accounting department.
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The typical Blue Box user usually dials a number that will route the call into
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the telephone network without charge. For example, the user will very often
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call a well-known INWATS (toll- free) customer's number. The Blue Box user,
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after gaining this access to the network and, in effect, "seizing" control
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qcomplete dominion over the line, operates a key on the Blue Box which emits a
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2600 Hertz (cycles per second) tone.This tone causes the switching equipment to
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release the conn ection to the INWATS customer's line. The 2600Hz tone is a
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signal that the calling party has hung up. The Blue Box simulates this
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condition. However, in fact the lo,1trunk on the calling party's end is still
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connected to the toll network. The Blue Box user now oterates the "KP" (Key
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Pulse) key on the Blue Box to notify the toll switch- ing equipment that
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switching signals are about to be emitted. The user then pushes the "number"
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buttons on the Blue Box corresponding to the telephone # being called. After
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doing so he/she operates the "ST" (Start) key to indicate to the switching
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equipment that signalling is complete. If the call is completed, only the
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portion of the original call prior to the emission of 2600Hz tone is recorded
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on the AMA tape. The tones emitted by the Blue Box are not recorded on the AMA
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tape. There foref, because the original call to the INWATS # is toll-free, no
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billing is rendered in connection with the call.
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Although the above is a description og a typical Blue Box operation using a
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common method of entry into the network, the operation of a Blue Box may vary
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in any one or all of the following respects:
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(a) The Blue Box may include a rotary dial to apply the 2600Hz tone and the
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switching signals. This type of Blue Box is called a "dial pulser" or
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"rotarySF" Blue box.
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(b) Entrance into the DDD toll network may be effected by a pretext call to any
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other toll-free # such as Universal Directory ASSistance (555-1212) or any # in
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the INWATS network, either inter-state or intra- state, working or non-working.
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(c) Entrance into the DDD toll network may also be in the form of "short haul"
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calling. A "short haul" call is a call to any # which will result in a lesser
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amount of toll charges than the charges for the call to be completed by the
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Blue Box. For example, a call to Birmingham from Atlanta may cost $.80 for the
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first 3 minutes while a call from Atlanta to Los Angeles is $1.85 for 3
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minutes. Thus, a short haul, 3-minute call to Birmingham from Atlanta,
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switched by use of a Blue Box to Los Angeles, would result in a net fraud of
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$1.05 for a 3 minute call.
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(d) A Blue Box may be wired into the telephone line or acoustically coupled by
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placing the speaker of the Blue Box near the transmitter of the phone handset.
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The Blue Box may even be built inside a regular Touch-Tone phone, using the
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phone's pushbuttons for the Blue Box's signalling tones.
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(e) A magnetic tape recording may be used to record the Blue Box tones
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representative of specific phone #'s. Such a tape recording could be used in
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lieu of a Blue Box to fraud- ulently place calls to the phone #'s recorded on
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the magnetic tape.
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All Blue Boxes, except "dial pulse" or "Rotary SF" Blue Boxes, must have the
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following 4 common operating capabilities:
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(a) It must have signalling capability in the form of a 2600Hz tone. This tone
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is used by the toll network to indicate, either by its presence or its absence,
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an "on hook" (idle) or "off hook" (busy) condition of the trunk.
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(b) The Blue Box must have a "KP" tones that unlocks or readies the
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multi-frequency reciever at the called end to receive the tones corresponding
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to the called phone #.
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(c) The typical Blue Box must be able to emit MF tones which are used to
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transmit phone #'s over the toll network. Each digit of a phone # is
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represented by a combination of 2 tones . For example, the digit 2 is x-mitted
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by a combination of 700Hz and 1100Hz.
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(d) The Blue Box must have an "ST" key which consists of a combina- tion of 2
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tones that tell the equipment at the called end that all digits have been sent
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and that the equipment should start switching the call to the called number.
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The "Dial Pulser" or "Rotary SF" Blue Box requires only a dial with a
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signalling capability to produce a 2600Hz tone.
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-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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*BLACK BOX*
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------ ----
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This ETF device is so-named because of the color of the first one found. It
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varies in size and usually has one or two switches or buttons. Attached to the
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telephone line of a called party, the Black Box provides toll-free calling *to*
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that party's line. A Black Box user informs other persons beforehand that they
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will not be charged for any call placed to him. The user then operates the
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device causing a "non-charge" condition ("no answer" or "disconnect") to be
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recorded on the telphone company's billing equip ment. A Black Box is
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relatively simple to construct and is much less sophisti- cated than a Blue
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Box.
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-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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*Cheese Box*
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------- ----
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This device is so-named for the container in which the first one was found.
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Its design may be crude or very sophisticated. Its size varies; one was found
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the size of a half-dollar.
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A Cheese Box is used most often by bookmakers or betters to place wagers
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without detection from a remote location. The device inter-connects 2 phone
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lines, each having different #'s but each terminating at the same location. In
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effect, there are 2 phones at the same location which are linked together
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through a Cheese Box. It is usually foundn in an unoccupied apartment
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connected to a phone jack or connecting block. The bookmaker, at some remote
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location, dials one of the numbers and stays on the line. Various bettors dial
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the other number but are automatically connected with the book maker by means
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of the Cheese Box inter connection. If, in addition to a cheese box, a Black
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Box is included in the arrangement, the combined equipment would permit
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toll-free calling on either line to the other line. If a police raid were
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conducted at the terminating point of the conversations -the location of the
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Cheese Box- there would be no evidence of gambling activity. This device is
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sometimes difficult to identify. Law enforcement officials have been advised
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that when unusual devices are found associated with telephone connections the
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phone company security representitives should be contacted to assist in
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indentification. (This probably would be good for a BBS , especially with the
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Black Box set up. and if you ever decided to take the board down, you wouldn't
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have to change your phone #. It also makes it so you yourself cannot be
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traced. I am not sure about calling out from one though)
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-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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*RED BOX*
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---- ----
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This device it coupled acoustically to the handset transmitter of a single-
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slot coin telephone. The device emits signals identical to those tones emitted
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when coins are deposited. Thus, local or toll calls may be placed without the
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actual deposit of coins.
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-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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$$$$$$$$$$$$-=>Lex Luthor<=-$$$$$$$$$$$
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