Technical information

Introduction
2-2 Issue 7 June 2001
Who is the Enemy?
Hackers and Phreakers
Hackers and “phreakers” (phone freaks) use personal computers, random
number generators, and password cracking programs to break into even the most
sophisticated customer premises equipment-based system if it has not been
adequately secured. Once a hacker penetrates a network and provides
instructions to toll call sellers, large volumes of unauthorized calls can be made
from the switch. Severe cases of communications abuse can also reduce revenue
and productivity when employees are unable to dial out and customers are unable
to call in.
These people are criminals, as defined by the United States Secret Service and
Title 18 Section 1029 of the United States Criminal Code. They attempt to find
your weakest link and break it. Once they have compromised your system, they
will use your system resources to break into another system, and/or advertise that
they have broken your system and how they did it. They will also sell this
information to a call sell operator. Some hackers command up to $10,000.00 a
week for stolen codes.
Call Sell Operations
Most of the high dollar theft comes from call sell operations. These operations
vary from a pay phone thief, who stands next to a pay phone and “sells” discount
calls through
your system, to a full-blown call sell operation.
A full-blown operation might involve a one-room apartment (rented under an
assumed name) with 30 to 40 phones (lines from the phone company are under
the same assumed name). The general pitch is that for a flat fee you can call
anywhere in the world and talk as long as you like. The seller takes the money
and places the call for the buyer, and then walks away so he will not get caught.
Needless to say, a victimized company is paying for the actual call.
The call sell operation is open round-the-clock, and when the victimized company
stops the abuse, the call sell operator moves on to the next number. In a month or
two the call sell operator just disappears (and will usually resurface at another
apartment with another 30 phones and a way into
your system).
The toll fraud industry is growing fast. Originally, the majority of toll fraud was
based in New York, NY. Now call sell operations are springing up in Miami, FL;
Chicago, IL; Los Angeles and San Francisco, CA; and other locations around the
country, even throughout the world.