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Electronic toll fraud devices
NOTICE: TO ALL CONCERNED Certain text files and messages contained on this site deal with activities and devices which would be in violation of various Federal, State, and local laws if actually carried out or constructed. The webmasters of this site do not advocate the breaking of any law. Our text files and message bases are for informational purposes only. We recommend that you contact your local law enforcement officials before undertaking any project based upon any information obtained from this or any other web site. We do not guarantee that any of the information contained on this system is correct, workable, or factual. We are not responsible for, nor do we assume any liability for, damages resulting from the use of any information on this site.
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$ ! ELECTRONIC TOLL FRAUD DEVICES ! $
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This phile is designed to identify various kinds of ETF
(electronic toll fraud) devices and to describe their operation,
according to a booklet put out by Bell entitled: THE
INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF ELECTRONIC TOLL FRAUD DEVICES.
(For official use only).
There are several different types of electronic equipment which
may be generally classified as ETF devices. The most significant
is the "Blue Box". The characteristics of each type of device are
discussed below.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
*BLUE BOX*
----- ----
The "Blue Box" was so named because of the color of the first one
found. The design and hardware used in the Blue Box is fairly
sophisticated, and its size varies from a large piece of
apparatus to a miniaturized unit that is approximately the size
of a "king size" package of cigarettes.
The Blue Box contains 12 or 13 buttons or switches that emit
multi- frequency tones characteristic of the tones used in the
normal operation of the telephone toll (long distance) switching
network. The Blue Box enables its user to originate fraudulent
("free") toll calls by circumventing toll billing equipment. The
Blue Box may be directly connected to a phone line, or it may be
acoustically coupled to a telephone handset by placing the Blue
Box's speaker next to the transmitter, or the telephone handset.
The operation of a Blue Box will be dis- cussed in more detail
below.
To understand the nature of a fraudulent Blue Box call, it is
necessary to understand the basic operation of the Direct
Distance Dialing (DDD) telephone network. When a DDD call is
properly originated, the calling number is identified as an
integral part of establishing the connection. This may be done
either automatically or, in some cases, by an operator asking the
calling party for his telephone number. This information is
entered on a tape in the Automatic Message Accounting (AMA)
office. This tape also contains the number assigned to the trunk
line over which the call is to be sent. The information relating
to the call contained on the tape includes: called number
identification , time of origination of call, and info that the
called number answered the call. The time of disconnect at the
end of the call is also recorded.
Although the tape contains info with respect to many different
calls, the various data entries with respect to a single call are
eventually correlated to provide billing info for use by your
Bell's accounting department.
The typical Blue Box user usually dials a number that will route
the call into the telephone network without charge. For example,
the user will very often call a well-known INWATS (toll- free)
customer's number. The Blue Box user, after gaining this access
to the network and, in effect, "seizing" control and complete
dominion over the line, operates a key on the Blue Box which
emits a 2600 Hertz (cycles per second) tone. This tone causes the
switching equipment to release the connection to the INWATS
customer's line. The 2600Hz tone is a signal that the calling
party has hung up. The Blue Box simulates this condition.
However, in fact the local trunk on the calling party's end is
still connected to the toll network. The Blue Box user now
operates the "KP" (Key Pulse) key on the Blue Box to notify the
toll switch- ing equipment that switching signals are about to be
emitted. The user then pushes the "number" buttons on the Blue
Box corresponding to the telephone # being called. After doing so
he/she operates the "ST" (Start) key to indicate to the switching
equipment that signalling is complete. If the call is completed,
only the portion of the original call prior to the emission of
2600Hz tone is recorded on the AMA tape. The tones emitted by the
Blue Box are not recorded on the AMA tape. Therefore, because the
original call to the INWATS # is toll-free, no billing is
rendered in connection with the call.
Although the above is a description of a typical Blue Box
operation using a common method of entry into the network, the
operation of a Blue Box may vary in any one or all of the
following respects: (a) The Blue Box may include a rotary
dial to apply the 2600Hz tone and the switching signals. This
type of Blue Box is called a "dial pulser" or "rotary SF" Blue
box.
(b) Entrance into the DDD toll network may be effected by a
pretext call to any other toll-free # such as Universal Directory
Assistance (555-1212) or any # in the INWATS network, either
inter-state or intra-state, working or non-working.
© Entrance into the DDD toll network may also be in the form of
"short haul" calling. A "short haul" call is a call to any #
which will result in a lesser amount of toll charges than the
charges for the call to be completed by the Blue Box. For
example, a call to Birmingham from Atlanta may cost $.80 for the
first 3 minutes while a call from Atlanta to Los Angeles is $1.85
for 3 minutes. Thus, a short haul, 3-minute call to Birmingham
from Atlanta, switched by use of a Blue Box to Los Angeles, would
result in a net fraud of $1.05 for a 3 minute call. (d). A Blue
Box may be wired into the telephone line or acoustically coupled
by placing the speaker of the Blue Box near the transmitter of
the phone handset. The Blue Box may even be built inside a
regular Touch-Tone phone, using the phone's pushbuttons for the
Blue Box's signalling tones.
(e) A magnetic tape recording may be used to record the Blue Box
tones representative of specific phone #'s. Such a tape recording
could be used in lieu of a Blue Box to fraud- ulently place calls
to the phone #'s recorded on the magnetic tape.
All Blue Boxes, except "dial pulse" or "Rotary SF" Blue Boxes,
must have the following 4 common operating capabilities:
(a) It must have signalling capability in the form of a 2600Hz
tone. This tone is used by the toll network to indicate, either
by its presence or its absence, an "on hook" (idle) or "off hook"
(busy) condition of the trunk.
(b) The Blue Box must have a "KP" tones that unlocks or readies
the multi-frequency receiver at the called end to receive the
tones corresponding to the called phone #.
© The typical Blue Box must be able to emit MF tones which are
used to transmit phone #'s over the toll network. Each digit of a
phone # is represented by a combination of 2 tones . For example,
the digit 2 is x-mitted by a combination of 700Hz and 1100Hz.
(d) The Blue Box must have an "ST" key which consists of a
combination of 2 tones that tell the equipment at the called end
that all digits have been sent and that the equipment should
start switching the call to the called number.
The "Dial Pulser" or "Rotary SF" Blue Box requires only a dial
with a signalling capability to produce a 2600Hz tone.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
*BLACK BOX*
------ ----
This ETF device is so-named because of the color of the first one
found. It varies in size and usually has one or two switches or
buttons.
Attached to the telephone line of a called party, the Black Box
provides toll-free calling *to* that party's line. A Black Box
user informs other persons beforehand that they will not be
charged for any call placed to him. The user then operates the
device causing a "non-charge" condition ("no answer" or
"disconnect") to be recorded on the telphone company's billing
equipment. A Black Box is relatively simple to construct and is
much less sophisticated than a Blue Box.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
*Cheese Box*
------- ----
This device is so-named for the container in which the first one
was found. Its design may be crude or very sophisticated. Its
size varies; one was found the size of a half-dollar.
A Cheese Box is used most often by bookmakers or betters to place
wagers without detection from a remote location. The device
inter-connects 2 phone lines, each having different #'s but each
terminating at the same location. In effect, there are 2 phones
at the same location which are linked together through a Cheese
Box. It is usually found in an unoccupied apartment connected to
a phone jack or connecting block. The bookmaker, at some remote
location, dials one of the numbers and stays on the line. Various
betters dial the other number but are automatically connected
with the book maker by means of the Cheese Box interconnection.
If, in addition to a cheese box, a Black Box is included in the
arrangement, the combined equipment would permit toll-free
calling on either line to the other line. If a police raid were
conducted at the terminating point of the conversations -the
location of the Cheese Box- there would be no evidence of
gambling activity. This device is sometimes difficult to
identify. Law enforcement officials have been advised that when
unusual devices are found associated with telephone connections
the phone company security representatives should be contacted to
assist in identification.(This probably would be good for a BBS ,
especially with the Black Box set up. and if you ever decided to
take the board down, you wouldn't have to change your phone #. It
also makes it so you yourself cannot be traced. I am not
sure about calling out from one though)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
*RED BOX*
---- ----
This device it coupled acoustically to the handset transmitter of
a single- slot coin telephone. The device emits signals identical
to those tones emitted when coins are deposited. Thus, local or
toll calls may be placed without the actual deposit of coins.
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$$$$$$$$$$$$-=>Lex Luthor<=-$$$$$$$$$$$
Remote Sysop
of
Plover-Net
516-935-2481
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