Revenge by phone, and how best to counteract it - by Captain B

Spend enough time on many hacker/phreaker conferences bridges, IRC
channels, etc, and you're sure to run into a real scumbag or 2. (If It's a
slow day on that particular conf. bridge, IRC channel, etc.  Otherwise,
expect to run into a lot more of them). And, sooner or later, one of these
moronic script kid types may happen to cheese you off to the point where
you feel like exacting a little revenge. After all, some just beg for it
like that. But, if you're in, say, New York City, and the idiot you can't
stand is in California, how do you go about it? For the average Joe Shmoe,
it usually all ends right there. But, for a phreak with a bit of
knowledge, and some time to spare, this is the point where the games
begin. In this file, I'll mention step-by-step my particular way I prefer
to go about it all. I'll also explain how best to counteract each tactic,
so as to cover all ground, and try to give you a fighting chance if you
currently are getting harassed by someone over the phone. Calling someone
during the overnight hours while they sleep is the best way to drive 'em
nuts. But, you may want to limit it to only 1 call per night, as calling
them over and over makes it more obvious to their local phone company that
you are in fact harassing them. (After all, if they're a rotten person to
begin with, it shouldn't surprise you if they go pissing and moaning to
their phone company, and perhaps even the local authorities). All the more
reason why I definitely suggest doing anything mentioned here from
payphones only. It's always the safest way to do anything not completely
legit by phone in the first place. Even if you use *67 and op-divert as
well, It's still a good idea to do it this way, since It's more fail-safe.
Besides, even with op-diverting, there's probably still going to be some
record of the call you placed somewhere on some database. Why leave things
to chance? Now, I realize that in smaller towns out in the middle of
nowhere, it may be 40 miles down the old dirt road to the nearest payphone
at the "last chance" gas station. But, even so, It's no excuse for
stupidity. And, calling from home to harass an enemy is just plain dumb.
It's the chronically stupid that are caught the quickest and easiest. A
true phreak who is good at this stuff understands the vital impotance of
exercising discretion, and good common sense as much as possible. Anyway,
let's move on to how I go about getting revenge by phone one step at a
time.

Phase 1- Before you can even get started, you have to first find out the
number the low-life in question is calling from. So, how do you do this
you ask? If you have caller Id service, that's the first place to start.
Or, perhaps you could use *69 if you don't have CID service. But, not all
numbers can always be gotten through either of those 2 methods. For
instance, if the person used *67, op-diverted, or routed the call through
a calling card, or corporate voice mail system's PBX (Private Branch
eXchange). In which case, you either won't get the phone number, or you'll
get a number other than the one their calling from. I'll talk more about
such stuff later on in this file. You could try to lure the person into
dropping you voice mail in a toll free voice mail box that passes ANI info
(Automatic Number Identification) or, in other words, caller ID. If need
be, have some one else, perhaps someone he/she trusts, record on the
outgoing greeting of your voice mailbox. Also, you could just as soon use
a recording of that person's voice on the outgoing greeting on your voice
mailbox. Now, as long as the person calls from home, and as long as It's a
listed land-line (not a wireless cell phone or payphone) phone number, you
should have him/her. (Although, there are some toll free voice mail boxes
that don't seem to pass on the ANI even with someone using *67. But,
usually, that won't save them). Once you have the number, It's just a
matter of doing a "reverse phone number lookup" via the Internet. There's
a number of web sites that you can do reverse lookups through. Here's a
few: www.411.com - www.phonenumber.com - www.anywho.com -
www.switchboard.com - www.reversephonedirectory.com - www.superpages.com -
www.whitepages.com - and more. Find more reverse phone lookup web sites by
going to Google and typing in "reverse phone lookup", or simply "reverse
lookup". Or, simply punch the 10 digit phone number in a Google search
(seperated by hyphens, like so: Nxx-Nxx-xxxx). I think some phone
companies also have the ability to do reverse lookups via their web sites.
Once you're on a reverse look up web site, It's just a matter of punching
in the person's 10 digit phone number. And, the web site will provide you
with the results. Which is the name (as it appears on that person's phone
bill), the address, city, state and zip code. In other words, everything.
Let me point that it is in fact possible to get unlisted info, but It's
more difficult. I think whitepages.com claimed they give unlisted phone
number info, provided you sign up for an account on there, but I have yet
to verify that. Also, there are web sites dedicated to giving this kind of
info for a fee, and not a small one, either. But, last I remember, there
were 2 kinds of unlisted phone numbers. Ones totally private, that are not
to be given out be directory assistance ops, no matter what. And, ones
that are to be given out only in emergencies. So, depending on what kind
of unlisted number the person has, maybe it could be gotten by claiming
that It's an emergency of some type. I'll leave it to you to decide what
to do as far as that goes.

How best to counteract- Before you start harassing anyone, make sure your
number is completely unlisted. And, even then, I still don't recommend you
do anything from your home's land-line phone service.  Either go to a
payphone, a friend's house, or use your cell phone (if you have one). Or,
better yet, maybe your friend's cell phone. But, of course if he/she finds
out what kind of call you want to make from his/her phone line, don't
expect the person to be particularly understanding about it all. I know I
wouldn't want someone making calls like that from any phone of mine. But
also, you may still want to reconsider using any cell phone, since there's
a little concept known as "triangulation" with cell phone service
providers, whereby 3 cell towers are used to pinpoint a cell phone user's
geographical location down to within a triangular shaped radius. So,
there's more to worry about than just simply passing ANI with cell phones.
Anyway, moving on, if It's already the case that someone has your info,
It's more difficualt to do much about it. Granted, you can change your
number, but that can be kind of costly. Although, I think I've heard some
cases where people told their phone company that they were changing
numbers due to harassing calls, and charges were waived. But, I can't
confirm that. After all, corporate America lives for the almighty dollar.
But, you can try telling them. I mean, what's the worst they can say but
"No. We'll change your number, but not for free". But also, even if you
change your number, if the person has your full info (name, address, city,
state, zip code) It's even more trouble. After all, even getting your
number changed, and having the new number unlisted can't change what a
person already knows when it comes to that other info. The best bet is to
play it safe, and try to prevent them from ever getting any personal info
in the first place. Once again, like with most everything in phone
phreaking, good sense and discretion are the key.

Phase 2- Even if you have a calling card, or PBX to use, start off by
placing collect or 3rd party billing calls to your enemy. And, no, I don't
mean through 1-800-Collect, 1-800 Call ATT, or some other toll free number
based method of collect calling. Remember, toll free numbers can collect
ANI info (Automatic Number Identification, or in other words, Caller ID).
And, dialing star 67 or star 82 before placing a toll free call WILL NOT
save you, as any toll free number that's logging ANI will STILL receive
the ANI info. This also holds true for 1-900 numbers, and calls made to
911. There could possibly be other cases with other dialed numbers where
this holds true. Anyway, instead of making collect or 3rd party billed
calls through these 800 collect number services, use the standard fare 0+
Area code+ Number. Or, use a 1010 CAC (Carrier Access Code) also known as
a "dial around", followed by 0+ Area code+ Number. (If you want, you can
dial *67 or *82 before dialing. But, It's not necessary, and I'm not sure
it helps anything anyway). In my experience, I found that dialing this way
is the same equivilent of op-diverting. Which will mean only your area
code, or your area code followed by 000-0000 will be passed along as the
ANI. (This is known as ANI-F, or ANI Fail). And, since this Isn't
recognized as a valid recognizable Caller ID by CO (Central Office) phone
switches, It'll pass along the CID (Caller ID) as being "Out of Area", or
"Unknown". I know for fact this method of revenge works, because I once
knew a total dirtbag in Baltimore who had Caller ID. Also, he had ACR
(Anonymous Call Rejection) for his CID service enabled. But, since dialing
someone this way is not the same as blocking a call through the standard
*67 or *82 blocking method, it didn't help him. And, to this day, I'm
certain he never knew it was me. (Heh, heh, heh!) But, I've heard of some
cases in some areas where op-diverting doesn't work quite the same. By the
way, if you don't already know, line blocking is a service from your telco
(your phone company) that works exactly the same as *67 and *82, except
that it automatically blocks all outgoing calls without having to dial *67
or *82 before placing calls. Instead, you use *67, or *82 to unblock your
number before placing a call. And, unless your telco is different from
mine in this respect, line blocking and all use of *67/*82 is totally
free. Even line blocking service has no monthly charges. But, just
remember, it doesn't work any better than *67/*82. And also remember that
*67/*82 can also be dialed through 1167 and 1182, including even on the
old rotary dial service. Now, with 3rd party billing (also know as 3rd
number billing) things get even more interesting. Because, if you know a
number you want to call, you can try having your enemy pick up the
charges. The best kind of thing to try calling this with is some 24hr.
party line, like the Seatle Donut, the Cleveland Raven, or perhaps a
conference bridge that happens to always be up 24 hours a day. To place a
3rd party billed call, start off the same as if you're dialing a collect
call. (Either dial 0+ Area code+ Number. Or, use a 1010 Carrier Access
Code followed by 0+ Area code+ Number. And, if you like, you can start by
dialing *67 or *82 if you want). After you're connected to the automated
operator, choose your method of billing if It's mentioned in the menu,
then dial the number you want to bill the call to. Other telecom providers
simply have you dial the number you want to bill the call to without
having to select the option of 3rd number billing first. Just as with
collect calling, you'll be asked to record your name, so they can verify
charges. Obviously, you don't do this. Simply make a noise of some type,
or something. Anything execept giving your real name in your real voice.
And, with certain automated operator services, you'll be able to hear
them, and they'll be able to hear you after the called party picks up. If
you prefer, you can make noises, or whatever. Of course, the chances of
any 3rd party or collect call you've made to the person are bound to not
be accepted by the person at that point, since they'll know something is
up. But, you could also try be more tactical instead. In other words, if
you're pretty certain you can fool the person into thinking that you're
someone they know, and would want to talk to, record your name in the
imitated voice and name of that person when prompted. Now, of course, with
collect calls, It's straightforward, since It's that jerk you'll be
talking to. But, with 3rd party calls, if they accept the charges, they'll
be disconnected from the line, and the call will go through to the number
you wanted to reach. And, of course, the jerk will pick up all charges.
So, what you can do is walk away from the payphone with phone off the
hook, and leave it that way. Perhaps you could even bring along a handmade
"Out of order" sign placed over the coin deposit slot, to try to prevent
someone passing by from hanging up and using that payphone. And, if the
moron you're exacting revenge on doesn't want to receive any more
collect/3rd number calls, the only way to block it is to call the phone
company, and have them put "toll restrict" on that line. And, here's the
best part: It'll cost him (or his parents) money to do that. And, if the
moron you're calling is the type that's always on the phone, and doesn't
have call waiting service, you can always use operator services to place
an "emergency interupt" call. (Actually, I always say "emergency interupt
with call completion", as I'm not sure if It's possible to be connected to
the person called unless you say that). But, It's always the case with
emergency interupt that the operator tells the person who the call is from
(which is the name you gave the operator when asked) and asks the person
if they'll free up the line. But, operator services incurr special
charges, so you may want to use this only when routing your call through a
PBX, or while beige boxing. And yes, there ARE certain PBXs that will let
you make 10-10 CAC (Carrier Access) "Dial around" calls, including to the
CAC's operator services. But, not all telecom service providers have to
ability to do emergency interrupt calls with their operators. I think most
RBOC (Regional Bell Operating Companies) do. These would include ones such
as Bell South, Pacific Bell, etc. And, I know for sure that AT&T operators
have the ability to do emergency interrupt.

How best to counteract- Obviously, DON'T accept ANY collect or 3rd party
calls from people you don't know. In certain areas, some telcos (phone
companies) have "Call Intercept" service (or whatever equivilent name for
the service in your area) that has callers on incoming calls that display
as "Private" or "Out of Area" or "Unknown" record their name, or enter a
passcode. It's a great way to stop those pesky telemarketers as well.
Speaking of telemarketers, according to what I read in my local white
pages, telemarketers don't have info on people with unlisted numbers. Even
so, with many telemarketers using autodialers, you still will ocassionally
get some random telemarketing calls. Anyway, once someone has your phone
number, and starts trying to collect call or 3rd number billing call you,
the only 2 options I'm sure will work is changing the number (and getting
the new number unlisted as well), or putting "toll restrict" on your line
via your phone company. Other than that, you could either let your
answering machine or home voice mail take the call (if you have either
one), or simply switch the ringer off on your phone during the overnight
hours. 2 other methods are taking your phone off hook for the night, or
unplugging the line cord from either the back of the phone, or from the
phone jack. You could also try using *57 ("call trace" service) if you
want, but It's $1 per use here for my local phone company, and if they're
not calling from home in the first place, it won't be too helpful. I'm
certain call trace works even when someone blocks through *67 or line
blocking, but I'm not sure if it works very well when someone op-diverts,
or calls via collect/3rd party billing calls. You could also try talking
to your telco about harassing calls if you want.

Phase 3- Once you've fully exhausted the collect/3rd party billing call
method, It's time to move on to using calling cards and PBX phone
numbers(Private Branch eXchange) to dial through. With calling cards, It's
simple enough. Either buy one, or copy down to paper the pin/toll free
access number from one at a store that sells them, if possible. As always,
go to a payphone and op-divert first, then dial into the toll free access
number, and enter the pin. It should be mnetioned though that some calling
cards don't allow you to dial into it via op-divert. In which case, you'll
either get a fast busy signal, or dead silence on the line. Either way,
you'll have to dial straight through if that's the case. If you want, you
could still at least use *67 before dialing though. It's a shame when a
calling card doesn't allow for op-diverting, not only because of better
phone number blocking ability, but because op-diverting into a calling
card service allows you to bypass that accursed "payphone surcharge"
nonsense that they tack onto the call charges. If It's a "time based"
phone card (with XX number of minutes availible to use) rather than "cash
based" (with X number of dollars/cents availible to use) they still may
take away a little extra time from the card, just because It's a payphone
you're using. Or, in the case of a cash based calling card, it would be a
little extra from the availible funds that they would take away from.
Which just goes to show that op-diverting is good for more than just
blocking ANI from being passed along, as I said before. By the way, a 3rd
way to try to come by a phone card to use is trying to carck a pin. Which,
without running some kind of computer program to try to help discover if
there's patterns, or any set order, to how a given calling card service
creates pins, can be difficult at best. This kind of computer program
would probably be called something along the lines of a "phone card pin
generator", or something similar. There's been a few times I've found
calling card systems with a simple pin of all of the same digit. (For
example, 9999999999). Or, a simple sequence like: 1234567890 for instance.
But, this seems pretty rare. Even so, I guess It's worth a try, right? If
you just can't get a calling card, use a PBX instead. With this method, it
all comes down to finding a corporate voice mail system with the ability
to dial out on. This requires going into the voice mail boxes on that
given voice mail system. If it has the ability to place calls via the VM
box, it should announce how to do it in the menus. Sometimes, this first
requires dialing 9, then the area code+ number. Or, other times 9+ 1+ area
code+ number. (Which can also be represented like so: (9+ 1+
Nxx-Nxx-xxxx). Still other VM systems don't require dialing a 9 first.
Whatever you do, don't dial 911, and try to avoid accessing these
corporate voice mail systems during the company's business hours. If It's
a corporation that always has the automated system picking up and
answering calls, even during business hours, perhaps then you could sooner
consider trying to do that. Otherwise, you'll have to deal with a live
person answering the phone. And, in which case, you'd need to trying
getting the person to transfer your call to an extension that you have
access to the mailbox of. But of course, if someone usually answers at
that given extension, you may as well give that idea up. To get into
corporate voice mail boxes requires "logging in" to the VM system.
Usually, this is done by hitting either * (star) or # (pound), and then
you'll be prompter to enter your mailbox number (which is the same as the
extension number). Typically, this will be either 3 or 4 digits long,
although some use 5 or more, and other use only 2 digits. Some VM systems
have you hit the # key to enter the info, others don't. Just listen
carefully to all instructions given by the voice mail system as you go
along. If you've entered a mailbox that doesn't exist, or one that can't
be accessed remotely, or whatever, It'll tell you so. Once you've
successfully entered an existing mailbox, you'll be prompted for a
passcode. Which is typically 4 digits long, and as long as It's a VM box
still set to the "default" passcode, It'll most likely be a simple
sequence. Examples: 1234, 9999, 1111, 0000, or even the VM box/extension
number itself as the passcode. Once again, you may be required to hit # to
enter the info, or maybe not, depending on which voice mail system is
involved. Certainly, more files on voice mail box cracking can be found on
the internet. Remember, Google is our friend. So, if need be, search the
'Net for more on that. If you can't get a calling card or corporate voice
mail system's PBX to dial out on, you could also beige box at some telco
can, TNI, or other phone box. But, that should only be as a last resort,
since It's the most chancey prospect of the 3. And, unless you're plugging
into the "test jack" inside someone's TNI, you'll likely need to use
alligator clips connected to a phone line cord to beige box, of course.
Either that, or simply use a lineman's handset (...if you've got one). You
could even set that person's line to forward calls coming in from a
payphone number(s) to your enemy's phone number. Or, perhaps even an
enemy's voice mail number.

How best to counteract- This stuff is difficult at best to defend against.
But, one method I forgot to mention earlier that can be used in all cases
is if you know the number the person is harassing you from, is using "Call
Block" service (or whatever your local phone company calls it) to block a
list of up to 6 phone numbers from getting through. (In which case, the
person's call won't ring through to you, and they'll hear a recording
telling them that calls aren't being accepted from that number). Using a
similar method with a service called "Select Forward" (as It's called by
my telco) you can create a list of up to 6 numbers to forward to a phone
number of your choice. Alternately, if you don't have CID (Caller ID)
service, and if *69 Isn't helping you much, you could use "Priority Call"
(as my telco calls it) to create a "white list" of up to 6 phone numbers.
All phone numbers on the list will ring in a special way when a call comes
in from any of the numbers, to let you know It's someone from the Priority
Call list calling you. All of these services are availible on a "per use"
basis, (50 cents per use is the cost here) as well as by subscribing to
the any of the services with the local telco. Perhaps another method that
could be used is fowarding calls from those numbers to your voice mail
box, if you're only interested in trying to divert the person's calls away
from you. (Assuming you have a VM box). And remember, ff you don't have
caller ID service, you can always try using *69 to find out what number
they're calling from. Other than that, the other methods I've mentioned
about changing your phone number (and getting the new number unlisted) as
well as using *57 (call trace) and talking to your phone company about the
harassing calls you've been getting is about all you can do. But, remember
the most important I've said here before. It's better to do as much to
prevent someone from ever getting your phone number/info in the first
place rather than trying to combat the situation after someone has such
info on you. Have phun, and always remember to be careful and use your
head before doing anything.