Article Cross-posted from 0700 - EMAIL @ CHANNEL1 Posted by
GLR@RCI.RIPCO.COM, addressed to SEARCHNET ZEC, on 03/12/94

A Mystery Or Not?

By Glen L. Roberts

There is a national television show called, Unsolved Mysteries. Part of their
show was a mystery to me. The show outlined various crimes that have remained
unsolved and ask the audience to help out. A 1-800 number is given for viewer
response.

Part of the pitch to encourage people to help out is the ``>fact'' that you
can remain anonymous. Well, I called up to find out if this was in fact true.
I first had to argue with the phone receptionist about whether I could ask a
general question about the show, or a specific segment, very frustrating.

The Deception

Finally, she told me that in fact I could make an anonymous report. However,
when I asked if they got my phone number, she said no. I confronted her with
the facts about ANI (automatic number identification). Finally, when it was
clear that the call was going nowhere (and she had previously refused to
connect me with someone that could answer my questions), she referred me to a
supervisor.

Unfortunately, the supervisor also refused to connect me with someone on the
staff of Unsolved Mysteries who could better deal with my questions. She
repeated the same line about not getting your phone number. When I got into
the details and stated that even if, Unsolved Mysteries, didn't care about
phone numbers, the FBI or Police could subpoena the records, the story
changed. Now, all of a sudden the emphasis wasn't on the ability of people to
make anonymous reports, but rather I was told that most people prefer to
state their identity.

I left a call back number with a request that someone contact me to discuss
this further. No one has ever returned my call.

There is nothing wrong with calls to Unsolved Mysteries not being anonymous,
except that the show and inquiries lead you to believe that they can be
anonymous. There is no excuse for such deception.

In The Dark

This attitude of keeping people in the dark about ANI technology and the
non-anonymity of phone calls is not restricted to Unsolved Mysteries.

Companies with 1-800 numbers, receive a monthly printout (or report on
computer tape / disk), which shows the phone numbers, times and dates of all
incoming calls. Additionally, this information is available at the time of
the call on an in-band or out-band (ISDN) basis in different areas of the
country. The technical specifics vary based on the carrier and part of the
country.

However, the key is that whatever the means, the caller's phone number is
conveyed to the recipient of the calls. It is also stored by the telephone
companies and can be subpoenaed in the future by others.

Since real time ANI is not available every where, some companies provide it
to their clients. One company, Tel-Scan offers a service where they provide a
client with an 1-800 number, and fax a report of all callers phone numbers on
a daily basis.

This service is being sold to the FBI*1, private detective agencies,
collection agencies, etc. It is offered as a tool to help locate people.
Anyone who can be enticed into calling the 1-800 number will have their
location disclosed (even unlisted phone numbers are conveyed over ANI
services).

To promote the service, Tel-Scan created a demonstration number that repeated
back to the call, their telephone number. Full Disclosure thought that such a
number would be both educational and good for promoting Full Disclosure.

In discussing setting up a similar demonstration line for Full Disclosure,
Jim Welker, President of Tel-Scan, noted that they didn't want this kind of
thing promoted to the public. That the FBI wanted it kept quiet.

Certainly, the fewer people that understand the ANI technology, the more that
can get ``caught'' by it. However, by relying on people's ignorance to catch
them, simply means that the technologically inclined will escape capture.

Those desiring to ``capture'' wrong-doers need to realize that relying on
ignorance is not an effective technique.

The Light

Not to be discouraged, Full Disclosure contacted the Beverly Hills, company
Private Lines, Inc., which offers the 1-900-STOPPER service to allow the
placement of anonymous telephone calls. Within just a day, a joint
demonstration line was operational. 1-800-235-1414.

The fact that this line was installed and operational so fast, so clearly
that there is nothing particularly special about the technology. When you
call this 1-800 number, you phone number is repeated back. Showing clearly,
how the ANI technology works.

Damien Thorn wrote an article for Nuts and Volts Magazine about Caller-Id and
ANI. It had a few inaccuracies, mostly due to the lack of an ability to test
ANI first hand. After receiving the demonstration number we set up,
1-800-235-1414, he wrote an update:

``This month's column opens with a correction -- there was a factual error in
my Caller ID article appearing in the April issue of Nuts & Volts. I'm happy
that it was not an error on my part, but rather false information provided to
me by Dori Lee Bailey of Pacific Bell's San Francisco Corporate
Communications office.''

``Ms. Bailey informed me that Pacific Bell protected the privacy of their
subscribers with non-published numbers by not sending complete automatic
number identification (ANI) information (the calling person's phone number)
through the network when these subscribers called toll-free "800" telephone
numbers. She said only the area code and prefix were sent. According to her,
Pacific Bell felt this was enough information to provide demographic data
about callers to the company with the "800" number while protecting the
privacy of the subscriber with a non-published number.''

``Ms. Bailey's statement was completely incorrect. Pacific Bell, along with
probably every other phone company, provides the complete telephone number of
every caller to the business with an "800" service line, whether or not the
caller has his number unlisted or non-published. Most companies receive this
information printed on a detailed summary of line usage at the end of each
month, while others receive it as real-time data when the call is completed
-- a service that is very similar to Caller-Id. Except it can't be blocked
from delivery.''

Conclusion

I think that Unsolved Mysteries owes us an explanation of how they can
broadcast on national television that you can make an anonymous report with
them. You can see clearly that the phone network knows who you are, by
calling our demonstration line. Why do they want to keep us in the dark?

*1 The FBI in Washington, DC has also failed to return a phone call we placed
to get comment on this issue.

Resources

TEL-SCAN
2641 N. Taft, Loveland, CO 80538 Phone: (303) 663-1703 Fax: (303) 663-1708

Unsolved Mysteries
1-800-876-5353

Private Lines, Inc.
400 S. Beverly Dr, Suite 214 Beverly Hills, CA 90212 Phone: (310) 364-3444
Fax: (310) 858-7455

Nuts & Volts
430 Princeland Ct Corona, CA 91719 Phone: (909) 371-8497 Fax: (909) 371-3052

Glen L. Roberts is host of Full Disclosure Live, heard every Sunday 7 to 8 pm
(central) on WWCR shortwave (5,810 khz). He is also editor of Full Disclosure
Magazine ($29.95/12 issues). Contact: Superior Broadcasting Company, Box
734-N, Antioch, Illinois 60002. Phone: (708) 356-9646. Fax: (708) 838-0316.


-!-
  RM 1.3 00257   (THANK [Insert Deity Here  ]!)



On December 31, known cyberspace rights advocate, EFF member and
author of "Zen and the Art of the Internet", Brendan Kehoe, was involved in
a car accident. This accident almost cost him his life, and even now he is
unconscious and will be crippled for life.

 The "accident" is no coincidence. This was an attempt on Kehoe's life.
Earlier that day, a CIA "black operations" squad tampered with his car
severing the brake lines. The assassination attempt was sanctioned by
the National Security Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the
National Reconnaissance Organization. Kehoe was a thorn in the side of these
powerful interests, because he was a senior figure in the Electronic Frontier
Foundation. The EFF has opposed the US Government/International Media
Corporations attempts to restrict cyberspace, bring the flow of information
under central CFR/Bilderberg/Trilateral/MJ-12 bolshevik control and to
abolish privacy on the network.

 Now that Kehoe has been neutralized, the assassins will be going after
his successor and other advocates of individual freedom and net privacy.
NOBODY IS SAFE UNTIL THEY SUCCEED IN MAKING THE INTERNET A POLICE STATE.
ONE  NET UNDER SURVEILLANCE, WITH MAIL INTERCEPTS AND  WIRETAPS FOR ALL.
-!- Synchronet

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