[comp.dcom.telecom] 800 Scrambled ANI

lemson@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu (David Lemson) (02/10/91)

penguin@pro-igloo.cts.com (Mark Steiger) writes:

> A friend of mine said that with a touch-tone phone and his "secret
> code" you could eliminate any records of you calling the 800 number.
> He said, you dial the number, wait a second, then dial this number.
> Your phone number won't show up on their bill (if they have that
> service).

This sounds like an "extender" in phreaker-ese.  In order to mask your
phone number, you dial into a "special" dial-in line of a PBX system,
dial a special code (sometimes), and then get a dial tone.  Now,
you're on an outgoing line from the PBX as though you were physically
located on the premises of the PBX.  Sometimes, you can make LD calls
this way and have it billed to the company owning the PBX, sometimes
(often, nowadays) LD calls are blocked and the only use for this is
masking your own number to SS7.  The ANI at the 800 center will show a
number allocated to the company's PBX instead of your own.  Obviously,
illegal and immoral.  (Unless you happen to have the permission of the
company owning the PBX, or its your own :-)

I read somewhere (probably TELECOM Digest) about a 900 service where
you dial the 900 then get a dial tone, dial another number, and get
connected to whomever you want.  The final party does not get your
phone number through ANI, and the intermediate company gets some money
charged to you as the 900 call.  Another way to do this, without the
phreaking element.


David Lemson    U of Illinois Computing Services Student Consultant
Internet : lemson@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu   University of Illinois, Urbana


[Moderator's Note: Does anyone remember those two 900 numbers? I went
to look for the little plastic card I recieved and I can't find it.  PAT]

john@zygot.ati.com (John Higdon) (02/10/91)

Mark Steiger <penguin@pro-igloo.cts.com> writes:

> He said, you dial the number, wait a second, then dial this number.
> Your phone number won't show up on their bill (if they have that
> service).

You are being put on, big time. When you dial any number, the switch
you are dialing into is programed to "pre-translate" or expect a
certain number of digits based on the first digits you dial. If you
dial "1-800" the switch will expect seven more digits and then becomes
deaf to any more. There are no secret back doors here.

This reminds me of when I was a kid and had other kids in school claim
to have "secret numbers" that would do strange and wonderful things.
Now, as then, what you describe is a fantasy.


        John Higdon         |   P. O. Box 7648   |   +1 408 723 1395
    john@zygot.ati.com      | San Jose, CA 95150 |       M o o !


[Moderator's Note: Do you think he might have been referring to one of
those schemes where you call an 800 number; give the switch some 2600
tone -- ergo it more or less forgets about you; then you are left out
there free to call where you want? I am being purposefully vague, but
you know the idea.  PAT]

forrette@cory.berkeley.edu (Steve Forrette) (02/10/91)

I believe one of the numbers was 1-900-STOPPER.


[Moderator's Note: I found the little card they sent me. The above is
correct. For international calls the number is 1-900 RUN WELL. The fee
is $2 per minute on domestic and $5 per minute on international calls.
Dial the above numbers; when you hear new dial tone dial the number
you are trying to reach.  PAT]

dave@westmark.westmark.com (Dave Levenson) (02/11/91)

In article <74381@bu.edu.bu.edu>, john@zygot.ati.com (John Higdon) writes:

In reply to what

> Mark Steiger <penguin@pro-igloo.cts.com> writes:

> You are being put on, big time. When you dial any number, the switch
> you are dialing into is programed to "pre-translate" or expect a
> certain number of digits based on the first digits you dial. If you
> dial "1-800" the switch will expect seven more digits and then becomes
> deaf to any more. There are no secret back doors here.

Some of MCS's 800 service subscribers receive ANI from MCI in the form
of a string of DTMF immediately after they answer, and before the
voice channel is cut through.  If the called party's CPE is stupid
enough, it may be possible to send _it_ some extra DTMF digits after
the voice channel is cust through, and fool it.  At best, however,
this would only work with those MCI customers who use brain-damaged
ANI receiving systems. 


Dave Levenson		Internet: dave@westmark.com 
Westmark, Inc.		UUCP: {uunet | rutgers | att}!westmark!dave
Warren, NJ, USA		AT&T Mail: !westmark!dave 
Voice: 908 647 0900     Fax: 908 647 6857

jeffj@uunet.uu.net (Jeff Jonas) (02/15/91)

>I read somewhere (probably TELECOM Digest) about a 900 service where
>you dial the 900 then get a dial tone, dial another number, and get
>connected to whomever you want.  The final party does not get your
>phone number through ANI, and the intermediate company gets some money
>charged to you as the 900 call.

My phone list shows +1 900 STOPPER as the number.  I do not recall the
fees, but it was charged per minute as well as an initial charge.


Jeffrey Jonas    jeffj@synsys.uucp    synsys!jeffj@uunet.uu.net


[Moderator's Note: $2 per minute on domestic calls; $5 per minute on
international calls. Of course the catch they are not telling you is
that there is no such thing as caller ID on international calls *yet*
nor across LATAs, etc. They'd like you to think their service is
really valuable, when in fact for the indefinite future there is very
little to be blocked. Try them in a couple years when it will be worth
perhaps a little more.   PAT]