European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 13, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Magazine Cotton off of unto of by Telephone in few Urt Ted state re the Frog of Fortt Caff of unlimited duration at Black Market rate. Long distance fraud Telephone scan costs companies millions by Robert d. Mcfadden a few York times t bus and rail vermin ass and other places of anonymity in cities across the United slates a new Breed of Hustler has made an appearance in a fast growing Raul Simillion Dollar scam Selling illicit Long distance Telephone Calls with the aggressive sometimes faintly salacious phrases of hustlers who sell sex and drugs these High tech vagabonds seek out prospective customers at Banks of pay telephones Wilh offers of Calls of unlimited Dura lion at Black Market Rales. At the port authority bus terminal in new York City hustlers charge $2 for Calls anywhere in the country and As Little As $41cr Calls almost anywhere in the world. The hustlers do the dealing using Billing codes stolen irom Long distance Telephone companies by computer hackers and distributed through Loose networks of middlemen in much Tho same Way that drugs arc trafficked. It s a serious business for All the Telephone companies including us Sai d John Houser a spokesman or Sci telecommunications the second biggest . Long distance company Flor american Telephone & Telegraph co.  Are unknown experts say Tho scam accounts or a substantial portion of the nation s $500 million annual Cost of illegal Calls. Long distance companies and a directly the millions of clients who subscribe to them Are the victims. No single person can be charged because there is no Prool they were aware the Calls were made fraudulently hundreds of phone hustlers have been arrested across the country including j90 m new York cily alone last year bul the police assign the scam a Low priority. Phone companies despite aggressive tracing Elloris. Have been overwhelmed by the Nus lie increasingly sophist rated methods according Loho communications fraud control association an Independent group formed by to. U s up nil and at to in 985 to fight crimes involving communications the phone hustlers Are especially evident in cities with targe i Rami s. Abuhamdeh the association s ene Culive director Saiof the fraud half mushroomed in the past two years Wilh the growth of Long distance Lel Ephonzo companies such As my and  sprint whose Billing codes and interdependent dealing systems arc particularly vulnerable to communications Crooks. The fraud usually begins Wilh a computer Hacker. Years ago said Del Wnorow ski the general counsel of  up nil we thought these were just computer whizzes bul now we re finding Oul there Are housewives doctors and lawyers who Are hacking codes Oul of the system to  penetrating a Telephone company s to be Clioma Hies and extracting secret Laig codes the numbers it uses id determine who makes a Call and whom to Bill s a difficult but not insurmountable task for a Hacker with a relatively simple program and a Telephone Modem Hookup to hackers most Billing codes Are too much Trouba to ferret Oul. Of Hoci s 8 million customers far example 7 million use their Home numbers As Well As a four digit suffix so a Hacker would have to crack a 14 digit code. But \ million still make Calls on an old system Steirly being phased of using  codes and these Are vulnerable. The Hacker Hen Sells the codes in batches to middlemen usually people who Are contacted through computer Balboa Raj services and they Are distributed to hustlers. Tho Price Lor a single Billing code is up to Moo Wnorowski said hustlers must act last to capitalize on their investment for the life of a stolen code is Short perhaps Only a Lew Days the hustlers procedure is simple As shown on a recent May Al Iho porn authority bus terminal in new Vowk after agreeing to a Price a customer gave a Hustler the desired number and he dialled it along win the let Ephonzo company s Access number and a Billing Coop when the parly answered Ina Hustler collected his Money handed Over the receive and loll. When the Call was Over he was Back to Oiler another Call. During one Complex Call he had to summon a nearby "supervisor1 to instruct him in dealing procedure. Lonj Raj slant Calls to Caiafo maj and Massachusetts were $2 can Calls to we in German and Ecuador were $4 because Many Long  companies Are not equip pc Dlo i sch a l countries Ahr cad. A Citi galore monday july 13. 1987 say it is sometimes necessary Lor a Hustler to use a More Complex method of Patching a Call through this involves a Confederate operator often in another City using special equipment to tap into an at to Long distance line to Complete the Call abroad. Telephone companies say they Are aggressive about tracing illegal Calls hackers who steal codes and Clandestine operators. A variety of equipment from alarms Hal go Oil when a Long distance line is lapped la software thai detects High volume on Billing codes is being used and live digit codes Are being phased out for harder to steal codes. Bul Telephone companies competing for customers Are reluctant to make bilking code systems Moc complicated and they arc simply overwhelmed by the volume of illegal Cairo. There Are a lol of entrepreneurs Oul there who want to create Ifie own Telephone companies said Abuhamdeh. The Way the system is set up now. They candid " High tech Hustle rare out foxing phone companies. The stars and stripes Page 13