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From: jbaltz@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu (Jerry B. Altzman)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Automated Collect Calling
Message-ID: <11302@accuvax.nwu.edu>
Date: 24 Aug 90 15:18:43 GMT
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X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 592, Message 8 of 12


In article <11243@accuvax.nwu.edu> v116kznd@ubvmsd.cc.buffalo.edu
writes:

>[Moderator's Note: A few days ago, someone said they recieved such a
>call, said NO and got billed anyway. Was your call from a telco
>payphone or from a COCOT, or could you tell?  Phone phreaks love the
>easy way fraud can be committed with this system: When asked to tape
>record their name, they say, "Call me at xxx-xxxx" or otherwise
>deliver some message. A live operator would never accept that for a
>'name', but the equipment can't tell the difference. It calls and
>tells me there is a collect call from 'call me back at xxx-xxxx', and
>will I accept the charges. I say no, but that's okay; the message was
>delivered!  PAT]

My freshman year of college, when I was poor and not yet employed by
Columbia (who is not speaking for me now, by the way! DISCLAIMER!) I
used to call home collect, and my parents would refuse the charge, and
call me right back. Well, Bell of PA saw this pattern happening on a
regular basis (this was before a cousin's wedding, and we had to talk
on an every-other-day basis to get info back and forth) and decided to
bill my parents for the *refused* collect call, their (unsaid)
reasoning I suppose being "We know what you're doing, so you can't get
away with this..."

Mom didn't take lightly to this, and raised hell as only a mom can :-)
in the local BPA office. The charges were later taken off.

Has anyone else seen this? I was giving my full name to the operator,
not some code like "yes, my name is 'callmeback Altzman'"

As always: DISCLAIMER: This isn't Columbia. This is me. Columbia is them.


jerry b. altzman        212 854 8058
jbaltz@columbia.edu     jauus@cuvmb (bitnet)
NEVIS::jbaltz (HEPNET)  ...!rutgers!columbia!jbaltz (bang!)