sxnahm@bbncca.ARPA (Steve Nahm) (04/10/84)
<..--..>
I just received the new AT&T "Calling Card" (it may be called something
else). It has the same account number as the Calling Card that the local
phone company sent after breakup, but instead of being paper, it's
plastic-with-a-magnetic-stripe. It's supposed to be used for the new-fangled
phones AT&T are planning, which operate sort-of like those automatic-teller
machines. As far as I can tell, there's no secret identification code to
enter on these phones, just stick the plastic in the hole.
This seems very dangerous to me. I normally never carry my Calling Card,
instead I memorize the four digit code which comes after my phone number in the
Calling Card account. This new plastic card would mean people would have to
carry the new card around all of the time.
What protections are there for when you card is lost or stolen? I know the
phone company is usually willing to cancel charges for calls you claim you
never made, but I'm sure there's no credit-card like protection. Any info or
opinions? Should I burn my new plastic?
--
Steve Nahm
sxnahm@bbn-unix.arpa (ARPA)
{decvax,ima,linus,wjh12}!bbncca!sxnahm (Usenet)smk@axiom.UUCP (Steven M. Kramer) (04/11/84)
I read in TIME mag where the info you will have in the future may be
only the 4 digit check. You have to supply your phone number as the
key. This certainly is much better than the alternative. BTW -- since
there are 'only' 10000 possible check digits (only -- for a micro) is the
acct shutdown after a number of unsuccessful tries? or did I just goof
and spill the beans on YASP (Yet Another Security Problem)?
--
--steve kramer
{allegra,genrad,ihnp4,utzoo,philabs,uw-beaver}!linus!axiom!smk (UUCP)
linus!axiom!smk@mitre-bedford (MIL)ron@brl-vgr.ARPA (Ron Natalie <ron>) (04/11/84)
But the problem is that the damn 4 digit code is stamped right into the plastic. Carrying your Calling Card around with you guarantees that if you lose your wallet someone can start running up phone charges. With my bank card at least they have 4 digits to guess. -Ron
scw@cepu.UUCP (04/12/84)
<DDT>
My home phone is in GTE, when I got my Calling Card I checked the number on
it, there is no (clear) relation between the number and my home phone number
(either one). So ya just gotta carry the sucker around. TPC seems to be fairly
reasonable about calls charged to your CC # (cf. those $40,000 phone bills)
that you didn't make. I suspect that if your card is ripped off, they will
cancel it for your right away.
--
Stephen C. Woods (VA Wadsworth Med Ctr./UCLA Dept. of Neurology)
uucp: { {ihnp4, uiucdcs}!bradley, hao, trwrb, sdcsvax!bmcg}!cepu!scw
ARPA: cepu!scw@ucla-locus
location: N 34 06'37" W 118 25'43"max@bunker.UUCP (Max Hyre) (04/13/84)
[Burp!]
Funny thing about that--I got a call yesterday from AT&T (relayed from
a roomer at my home: they were quite insistent about it) to say someone
had reported *finding* one of my Calling Cards. They were quite upset
about it on my behalf, canceled the number immediately, and started the
process to mail me new ones immediately. If I had needed it then, the rep.
would have gotten the new one from his terminal and given it to me for
(I presume) same day use.
From this, I take it that 1) they are quite concerned about someone
ripping off your number (obviously--look at the $X,000 bill the might have
to eat), and 2) they're also eager to make cancellation and replacement as
easy as possible.
As to how it might have happened--last year I lent my sister (who has
no phone) a card. This year, the magic four-digit code was unchanged from
last year's, so the card continued to be good, and she misplaced it. (I
haven't called her yet to verify.)
All my Calling Cards (all in Bell territories) over the last 10 years
have been based on my home phone number, and the rep. referred to the
four digits that make it a credit card number as my PIN (Personal
Identification Number), as for a bank card, so I guess this is how Bell
(or whoever they are now) does it.
Max Hyre
(Somewhere in the vicinity of decvax!ittvax!bunker!max)