Path: utzoo!telecom-request Date: Thu, 2 May 1991 11:46:34 EDT From: KATH MULLHOLAND Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Third Party Billing Fraud, and New England Tel's Answer Message-ID: Organization: TELECOM Digest Sender: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 331, Message 5 of 10 Lines: 34 Recently, Belanger noted that New Enland Tel offers: > here's what the service rep told me: I could put a "block" on my > line to prevent third-party billing, for the "amazingly-low-price" (my > wording) of $.95 a month per line, and a one-time charge of $11.70 . UNH uses this toll restriction to prevent students from billing third party calls to our lines from whereever they happen to roam. It works very well, as long as the potential "phrauders" considerately use AT&T or their local RBOC. Calls from any other carrier are often charged, and receiving creidt is difficult to impossible. With the proliferation of 0+ vendors our out there, it promises to get even harder to control. I wish the FCC would rule that third party callling is not allowed -- credit cards and other charging alternatives are so prevalent, it seems silly to keep this "dark age billing technology". Kath Mullhland UNH Durham, NH [Moderator's Note: After having IBT set up my two lines and my distinctive ringing number (three phone numbers total) to automatically deny collect and third-number billing, I tried testing it through a variety of carriers to see what would happen. AT&T, Sprint, MCI and Telecom*USA immediatly recognized the block, and their operators would not even bother to inquire (from me) to see if the calls were accepted. Denial was automatic, as it also was via a couple alternate operator services. I had confederates around the country try to get through using the big three carriers, with no success. Someone tried to get through using ITI, and I was called by their automated system, but I refused the charges. PAT]