mcb@tis.llnl.gov (Michael C. Berch) (01/20/89)
Recently I received in the mail a rather curious packet from Pacific Bell:
a new Calling Card (made of paper, not a "credit card" with mag strip
like the last one), and a letter of explanation, from which I quote:
"YOUR REPLACEMENT PACIFIC BELL CALLING CARD IS HERE!
In response to a Federal Court ruling, Pacific Bell has decided to
remove the International Number from its Calling Card. Various
long-distance companies have arrangements for international calling.
Please contact your long-distance company ... [etc.]"
I have a couple of questions about this, which will appear below, but
the main reason for this message is the following:
"We've Added Something New to Make Your Calling Card Even More
Convenient...
Notice those four extra digits at the end of your phone number?
They're your own Special Access Code. You'll need this whenever you
use your Calling Card to make a call. Now that your Special Access
Code is right on your card, you'll never have to worry about
forgetting it."
MY GOD! I nearly fainted after reading this. There goes five years of
anti-fraud progress out the window in one fell swoop of marketing
hype. I looked at it again to make sure I was really seeing it. Yes,
they printed the PIN right there on the card. If a bank did that with
an ATM card, it would probably make the front page of the newspapers.
What PINHEADS!! Every time you think that some people are beginning
to understand some security issues, some bozo in the marketing
department blows it for everybody.
As I have already destroyed the offending card and plan to cancel it
(I have been using it regularly for AT&T long distance; it seemed to
work just fine) and replace it with an AT&T card, can someone explain
what the practical differences, if any, are between the AT&T card and
a calling card issued by a telco? Also, what was the issue with respect
to the international callback number? I only used it a couple of
times, from Japan in 1985, and more recently have used AT&T USA DIRECT
>from Germany and the UK, and recommend it highly.
Michael C. Berch
mcb@tis.llnl.gov / uunet!tis.llnl.gov!mcb / ames!lll-tis!mcbjohn@jetson.UPMA.MD.US (John Owens) (01/20/89)
I have a few comments on the question of PINs on calling cards, after which I'll actually answer the posted question. :-) There's one major difference between calling card PINs and ATM PINs, which is the scope of charges and effects of having the PIN compromised. With a stolen ATM PIN, someone can empty your bank account, and if any recourse is possible, it will be after the fact. In the mean time, you're left with a serious cash-flow problem. With a calling card PIN, someone can make phone calls that are charged on your telephone bill, which you can contest before the money actually leaves your control. In addition, since card reader phones are quite rare, and the vast majority of calling card use is not card reader use, there's practically no purpose to a calling card without a PIN printed on it. Anyway, opinions aside: > As I have already destroyed the offending card and plan to cancel it > (I have been using it regularly for AT&T long distance; it seemed to > work just fine) and replace it with an AT&T card, can someone explain > what the practical differences, if any, are between the AT&T card and > a calling card issued by a telco? I'm not sure that "cancelling" your calling card would be very useful. AT&T gets its PIN number for you from your telco, so any change they would make would (eventually) propagate to AT&T, and if they do disable it, AT&T might not have a hassle-free method of assigning you a number independently. Besides, AT&T isn't allowed to carry intra-LATA calls, and you still want to make local calls from payphones without change, don't you? The only real difference I know of, besides the International Number being on the AT&T card, is that AT&T card reader phones (with the video displays) won't take BOC cards, and that the card reader phones placed by BOCs don't claim to take AT&T cards. And, finally, the AT&T card DOES print the PIN on the card, as do all other long distance carrier cards I've seen.
gast@CS.UCLA.EDU (David Gast) (01/24/89)
> I have a few comments on the question of PINs on calling cards, > In addition, since card reader phones are quite rare, and the vast > majority of calling card use is not card reader use, there's > practically no purpose to a calling card without a PIN printed on it. No, the PIN can be on a separate sheet, which you have to memorize. Do you want your computer to print out your password after you type your login name? Further, the card reader phones are just as big of a security problem if you do not have to type the PIN. And they cost more, which raises telephone rates. > > As I have already destroyed the offending card and plan to cancel it > > (I have been using it regularly for AT&T long distance; it seemed to > > work just fine) and replace it with an AT&T card, can someone explain > > what the practical differences, if any, are between the AT&T card and > > a calling card issued by a telco? > And, finally, the AT&T card DOES print the PIN on the card, as do all > other long distance carrier cards I've seen. Allnet does not issue a standard looking credit card so the PIN is not on it. On the other hand, I seem to remember that it is about 10 digits long, so you probably have to write it down, unless you can figure out a good acronym for your random number. Also, they change the number frequently and expire the number if you do not use it for a month or two or so. And they have 2 different numbers depending on whether you are dialing their 950 number or their 800 number. David Gast gast@cs.ucla.edu {uunet,ucbvax,rutgers}!{ucla-cs,cs.ucla.edu}!gast
johnl@ima.ISC.COM (01/24/89)
In article <telecom-v09i0023m04@vector.UUCP> john@jetson.UPMA.MD.US (John Owens) writes: > >The only real difference I know of, besides the International Number >being on the AT&T card, is that AT&T card reader phones (with the >video displays) won't take BOC cards, and that the card reader phones >placed by BOCs don't claim to take AT&T cards. The BOC phones increasingly do take all of the LD carrier cards. The phones at the Denver and Los Angeles airports in fact take AT&T, MCI, and Sprint cards even though the illustrations on the phones are of Visa and Amex cards. High time, too. I was at the Cleveland airport last week and about half of the phones there are a strange hybrid -- it's a regular AT&T coin phone with the dial replaced by a thing about three times the size which includes a tone pad, a mag stripe reader, and a bunch of extra buttons probably intended for carrier selection but currently programmed for 411 and 911. I was unable to make any of these card readers accept any card at all, be it AT&T, Sprint, or Visa. At least the lack of access is equal. -- John R. Levine, Segue Software, POB 349, Cambridge MA 02238, +1 617 492 3869 { bbn | spdcc | decvax | harvard | yale }!ima!johnl, Levine@YALE.something You're never too old to have a happy childhood.
ron@hardees.rutgers.edu (Ron Natalie) (01/25/89)
Actually, there is no excuse for carrying around your telephone credit card anyhow. As I only rarely find a phone with a reader I almost always type it in after the DONG. I just do this from memory. If I'm calling home, which I usually am, at least AT&T lets you hit just the pin after the DONG which is even faster. -Ron [Am I the only one that terminates the call with the # so I can tell the nice lady who says "You may dial another number now," "No, thank you, I'm finished now."
klg@dukeac.UUCP (Kim Greer) (01/26/89)
In article <telecom-v09i0022m05@vector.UUCP> mcb@tis.llnl.gov (Michael C. Berch) writes: >X-TELECOM-Digest: volume 9, issue 22, message 5 > >MY GOD! I nearly fainted after reading this. There goes five years of >anti-fraud progress out the window in one fell swoop of marketing >hype. I looked at it again to make sure I was really seeing it. Yes, >they printed the PIN right there on the card. If a bank did that with >an ATM card, it would probably make the front page of the newspapers. >What PINHEADS!! Every time you think that some people are beginning ^^^^^^^^ That's a good one!! PIN-HEADS (Personal Identification Number) ... Well, anyway, I thought it was funny. o o > \--/ -- Kim L. Greer Duke University Medical Center try: klg@orion.mc.duke.edu Div. Nuclear Medicine POB 3949 dukeac!klg@ecsgate Durham, NC 27710 919-681-2711x223 ...!mcnc!ecsgate!dukeac!klg fax: 919-681-5636
harriss@seismo.css.gov (Martin Harriss) (01/26/89)
In article <telecom-v09i0028m02@vector.UUCP> ron@hardees.rutgers.edu (Ron Natalie) writes: > If I'm calling home, which I usually am, at least AT&T >lets you hit just the pin after the DONG which is even faster. > >-Ron > >[Am I the only one that terminates the call with the # so I can >tell the nice lady who says "You may dial another number now," >"No, thank you, I'm finished now." Also note that you can hit # after entering your pin when only entering the last 4 digits when calling home. If you don't do this you have to wait for the thing to time out and decide that you are only entering four digits instead of the full 14. Martin Harriss alliant!harriss