Duncan's posting about AT&T mail as a "poor man's anonymous mailbox" misses one crucial fact. The moment you dial an 800 number, you generate a record of your phone number via ANI, which means AT&T gets that information in realtime and can probably correlate it with your phone account and service address and name. If you want anonymity, never ever ever use any service which requires you call in via an 800 number. -gg@well.sf.ca.us
gg@well.sf.ca.us writes:
Duncan's posting about AT&T mail as a "poor man's anonymous mailbox" misses one crucial fact. The moment you dial an 800 number, you generate a record of your phone number via ANI, which means AT&T gets that information in realtime and can probably correlate it with your phone account and service address and name. If you want anonymity, never ever ever use any service which requires you call in via an 800 number.
There's an easy way to prevent your number from being passed to an 800 number owner via ANI. Simply place the call using a TSPS/OSPS ("0") operator. Say "I'm having trouble dialing 800-xxx-xxxx, could you please place the call for me?" Once the call goes out over another trunk line, your number is not passed on. If you have ever dialed those ANI "Demo" 800 numbers that read back your number via synthesized voice, and then tried calling them again using a TSPS operator, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. This is at least the way it worked a while ago, I don't know if it still applies or of they modified TSPS consoles pass on the number. Perhaps Phiber could clarify this a bit and tell us if this still works, and if it still works in all areas, or what areas it would not work in. Still, like I recommended in my previous post, the best way to implement a poor man's anonymous mailer scheme is to use a notebook/handheld PC and making all calls from payphones using coins or 800 dial-up, never using your calling card. Murdering Thug
gg@well.sf.ca.us writes:
Duncan's posting about AT&T mail as a "poor man's anonymous mailbox" misses one crucial fact. The moment you dial an 800 number, you generate a record of your phone number via ANI, which means AT&T gets that information in realtime and can probably correlate it with your phone account and service address and name. If you want anonymity, never ever ever use any service which requires you call in via an 800 number.
There's an easy way to prevent your number from being passed to an 800 number owner via ANI. Simply place the call using a TSPS/OSPS ("0") operator. Say "I'm having trouble dialing 800-xxx-xxxx, could you please place the call for me?" Once the call goes out over another trunk line, your number is not passed on. If you have ever dialed those ANI "Demo" 800 numbers that read back your number via synthesized voice, and then tried calling them again using a TSPS operator, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. This is at least the way it worked a while ago, I don't know if it still applies or of they modified TSPS consoles pass on the number. Perhaps Phiber could clarify this a bit and tell us if this still works, and if it still works in all areas, or what areas it would not work in.
It's OSPS, by the way, referring to AT&T's Operator Service Position System, operating on 5ESS switches, and the successor to TSPS. And it's double zero, ('00'), not a single one. '0' gets you your local BOC operator. Also, TSPS has been defunct for a number of years. Currently, ANI is not passed along by OSPS, but the area code is, so you're not completely anonymous. I wouldn't expect this to last for any stretch of time either, it isn't the most difficult thing in the world to simply pass the entire number along.
participants (3)
-
George A. Gleason -
Phiber Optik -
thug＠phantom.com