Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!lll-winken!lll-lcc!ames!pasteur!ucbvax!GARP.MIT.EDU!henry
From: henry@GARP.MIT.EDU (Henry Mensch)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: RISKS of using the "AT&T Public Phone Plus"
Message-ID: <8804050224.AA01237@garp.mit.edu>
Date: 5 Apr 88 02:24:36 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Reply-To: henry@GARP.MIT.EDU
Organization: The Internet
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Approved: telecom@xx.lcs.mit.edu


The AT&T Public Phone Plus service is most often found in airports, rail
stations, etc.  There is a card reader at the bottom of the phone which will do
the right thing (purportedly) with your AT&T card (I didn't think to try my
FoNCard), a bank card, or an AmEx/DinersClub/etc.

Some days ago I was in Boston's Logan Airport and I spotted one of these phones
so I went up to investigate.  Instead of seeing a "Welcome" sort of screen on
the display, I saw a display which read "if you want to make another call,
press the <frob> button."  Further inspection revealed that the receiver, while
sitting in the hangup hook, didn't fit well enough to depress the lever which
would have terminated the calling session.  Over the next few days I noted that
the same situation existed on other "Public Phone Plus" devices in remote
places (other terminals of Logan Airport, as well as JFK and LAG airports).

Hasn't anyone been burned by this yet?

# Henry Mensch / <henry@garp.mit.edu> / E40-379 MIT, Cambridge, MA
#      {ames,cca,rochester,harvard,mit-eddie}!garp!henry