Untitled

y D-Recz
For those of you who live in the suburbs or
small towns, did you ever wonder, "Hmm, there
must be more controlling my phone than the
5"xI0"x3" box on the outside of my house."?
Well, right you are. However, the box controlling
your (and all the other people in your hood's)
phones is not behind locked doors . It is usually
on an accessible street, not more than a few feet
from the curb. Look for the big teleo box, it usu­
ally has the teleo name on it and sticks up a good
four feet from the ground. This is the neighbor­
hood tclco box.
Now, one would think, "This box which con­
trols all telecommunication in the area must be
under lock and key, right')" Wrong. Yo ur local
tcleo thinks your lines should have no more pro­
tection than an odd-shaped bolt. This can be un­
done with a special wrench, or with ncedle-nose
pliers. Unless you happen to look a lot like a teleo
serviceman, breaking into one of these boxes
might look a little suspicious, so don't be a damn
fool. So much of hacking/phreaking is just com­
mon sense. A modicum of discreetness can save
you hours of dealing with local police officers.
Once the box is open (it was already unlocked,
I just opened it out of curiosity, officer) you will
feel right at home. The same kind of setup you
have at home (black wire/red wire, sometimes a
jack) is present here, f0!1y-fold. These are all your
neighbors' phonc connections. Unplug onc of
those jacks, pool. there goes Joe Blow's line. Con­
nect your handset to a pair of terminals, and you
have access to this phone line. Child's play.
This system is easy to phreak, but easier to
destroy. Should one be so motivated, one could,
say, rip out all the wires and run. This would
cause havoc among your neighbors, and certainly
make you far less popular with the locals. So, fo r
the sake of people who didn't do anything to you,
please don't go randomly ruining service for a
whole district because you can.
However, people tend to get a little nervous
when their phones suddenly go dead. And, if you
are caught, the redial on your handset can be
used against you. So, for the backyard/suburban
phreaker, here is a list of handy tools you can
use as a "safety net," to ensure Officer Friendly
doesn't suddenly come around the corner.
I. Line in use light - They sell these at Radio
Shack for $12.00. This is a little box with a light
on it - when the light is on, the line is in use. Be­
fore utilizing a random line, check yourself with
this pocket-sized insurance device. Makes a
great gift. (Humor)
2. To ne dialer without redial or memory -
Should you be caught after the fact, won 't you
feel like a dumbshit if the last number called on
the line you phreaked is the number that pops up
when "redial" is pressed on your phone? A tone
dialer prevents all this. Since the phone only re­
members the numbers pressed on the phone key­
pad, you'd be smart to do all your dialing with a
tone dialer, sans redial or memory settings. Al­
though laws are so vague that you can now practi­
cally be arrested for having a phone and alligator
clips, it's better for you if they can't prove any­
thing. Dial with a tone dialer, you play it safe.
Dial direct - too bad, so sad, you 're on your own.
3. Common sense - OK, for all you non-ge­
niuses, first and fo remost - Don 't dial lines con­
nected to you in any way ' That means don't dial
your house, your cell phone, your pager, your
girlfriend, your favorite BBS, your mom, your
boss, or any numbers dialed a lot by your home
phone. Yo u've been warned, they do keep
records. Secondly, clean up after yourself. Wear­
ing latex gloves would be a good idea, but not
leaving business cards also helps out. In conclu­
sion, you weren't there, and you should do every­
thing in your power to make it seem that way.
That means closing the box after you 're done.
"Holy shit, where are my car keys?" is simply not
acceptable.
Keep your head about you, don't do anything
stupid, and watch your back, and you can have
hours of fo ne-phun in your gated community.
Act like a moron and get your ass thrown in the
metal clink. Happy phreaking. Don't tell anyone
I told you so.
I do not, in any way, encourage criminal be­
havior, nor do I promote destruction o{telephone
company property. I also do not condone or en­
courage the activities listed above, nor have l or
anyone I kn ow even performed the acts men­
tioned above. Please: Don 'tfuck with people.
Fall 1998 2600 Magazine Page 23