Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!unmvax!pprg.unm.edu!hc!lll-winken!netsys!vector!telecom-gateway From: bill@bilver Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Dangers of Wrong Numbers Message-ID: Date: 13 Feb 89 15:05:45 GMT Sender: news@vector.UUCP Organization: W. J. Vermillion, Winter Park, FL Lines: 35 Approved: telecom-request@vector.uucp X-Originally-From: harvard!uiucdcs!uiucuxc!bilver!bill (W. J. Vermillion) X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@vector.uucp X-TELECOM-Digest: volume 9, issue 64, message 2 of 4 In article you write: >X-TELECOM-Digest: volume 9, issue 57, message 2 of 7 >>One thing I didn't see posted was what happens when someone calls a BBS and >>say "Hey, man, great new board at 123-4567. Call it now!" and mistypes a >>few digits in the process. Whoever lives at the wrong number gets a >>mountain of modem calls, usually at 3 AM or whenever the BBS junkies are >>awake. > >A similar problem exists with machines that are programmed to >automatically redial a number until data has been successfully sent. I had a similar experience and it was all MY fault. I gave another site a login, and later they asked me my phone number. Not realizing they wanted the modem I gave them my voice number. About 3:15am on a Saturday morning the phone rang, - nothing there - dead line. Back to bed, phone rings again. Still no one there. Two more times - then it stops. 5:15 - same thing. 7:15am - again. Now I see a pattern. Trying to figure out who I could have offended that was making harrasing phone calls. It continued during the day - and I realized the calls were at the exact time, and the same pattern. Four times, and quit. Ah Ha! Thought maybe someone had printed my voice number in a list of local bbses. (used to run a bbs). Called around - all checked okay. Continues thru Sunday - then late Sunday I had an inspiration - called the local usenet nodes, and voila. Up until I found it was my mistake I was ready to stop at nothing to get the "prankster". I admitted, sheepishly, to my wife that it was my fault. Her side of the bed was closer to the phone and she was about ready to kill me :-) --- Bill Vermillion - UUCP: {uiucuxc,hoptoad,petsd}!peora!rtmvax!bilver!bill : bill@bilver.UUCP