Path: utzoo!utgpu!utstat!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!killer!vector!nobody From: johnl@ima.ISC.COM Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: PINs and Calling Cards as credit cards Message-ID: Date: 30 Jan 89 03:24:49 GMT Sender: chip@vector.UUCP Lines: 16 Approved: telecom-request@vector.uucp X-Originally-From: harvard!ima.ISC.COM!johnl (John R. Levine) X-Submissions-To: telecom@bu-cs.bu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@vector.uucp X-TELECOM-Digest: volume 9, issue 38, message 4 In article comdesign!ivucsb!steve@apple.com (Stevie Lemke) writes: >Is the four digit PIN on a calling card computed from some sort of algorithm >or is it randomly assigned for each phone number? ,,, It's random. My cousin who runs a little telco in western Vermont had to write a program for his computer to make up PINs for his few customers who want calling cards. The PINs are all stored in a huge replicated data base. He said that there is a very complicated multi-step procedure to get his updates into the data base. As has been noted before, AT&T shares calling card numbers with the local operating companies, other LD companies generally don't although they are starting to now. Regards, John Levine, johnl@ima.isc.com