Printable View
If someone has demonstrated the ability to get your unlisted telephone number and make harassing calls (this goes beyond the normal defenses available to the consumer like Caller ID and anonymous call rejection), would switching to a cell phone solve the problem? Are cell phone numbers traceable in the U.S.? I don't mean by using *57. I mean, can you disappear in the telephone universe by using a "permanent" cell phone number as opossed to a discardable cell phone?
in a word.. NO..
You are as traceable as a POTS (landline) phone.. and being mobile, that is as in the moving mobile, your are as locateable.. and if you think that GSM or CDMA calls can not be evesdropped.. sorry.. while it was only the NSA/CIA/FBI who could do this...wrong..
Cheers..
On the plus side you can just not answer ananymous calls on a cell phone because they usually display the incoming caller on the screen.
On that note, that's why they make voicemail. If you don't know the person and don't feel like answering it, just let it go to voicemail and then check it later.
I always do that whenever my caller ID says "No Caller ID" or "Private Call".
But if "someone" is like a telemarketer (or such) company, you should just sign your cell phone number up on the Do Not Call List.
Just a thought...
~AciD
Cell phones are the "New" hacker frontier. Alot of cell phone protocols are open standards, 2 examples are already listed GSM and CDMA. Nothing closed or secret about them at all. Others are more proprietary and a little more closed like iDen. But most of the protocols, even iDen are based on the GSM model. But regarless of the system; you have computing devices connecting through the internet. Hackers Paradise for the sort that is eager to learn new technologies (GPRS has my current interest but there are a handful).
Cell phones are somewhat more secure against harrassing calls. You don't get as many telemarketers because the cell company has to eat the air time. Air time and connection time are big money on a cell site. Most are over crowded anyway so large companies are not eager to sell off cell numbers to telemarketers and even make attempts to block them. Most large telemarketing firms are sub corporations of the same companies that own a cellular system anyway. Cell phone numbers are sold in block to companies so it's easy to block an npa nxx that belongs to a company.
Yeah but then again if you are one of those people who are giving out their cell number as a way to get ahold of them... sometimes it could be sold off due to the fact that the company thinks it's a home phone number. You know what I mean? So it's always good to Block it in that aspect.
Though it is just new technology, so it hasn't been hit that hard by the "hacker" group yet. I'm interested to see new protections and secuirty holes that pop up with cell phones in the next 5 years. Then again they keep changing technologies (as in analog to digital, digital to the newer advanced global system... etc).
I use my cell phone exclusivly. One day after writing a check for 50 to the cell company and then 30 to the phone company, I thought WHY? All I get at home is junk anyway. I get 2 or 3 unlisted calls a day on the cell. Not bad because my mom shows up unlisted as well. She lives in BFE.
The issue with hacking cell phones is radio. The access points over land lines is pretty damn secure. It's like hacking ATT or MCI. Not easy. But with some tools and experience you can go in the "other way" I am not talking about a wireless modem, I am talking about things like an RF Generator, O'scope, RF spectrum analyzer, attenuation pads, antenna radiation theories, etc.
As more people start using services that will change however. I'll use me for an example. Not tooting my horn but I have ATT GPRS. M-life they call it. I am in constant contact with friends VIA phone versions of both AIM and Yahoo instant messenger. I can access my outlook account and Yahoo and Hotmail accounts. I have an e-account with Ticketmaster because I am a concert freak. I have ordered Metallica tickets on my phone while screaming down the interstate at 90+ mph and I have ordered tickets to the local movie theater via a Fandago.com gateway while standing in the super market line. I have used the geo location technology many many times to find sushi bars withing a 2 block radius in foreign cities, then read reviews on them before choosing. I fcking Love it! But there has got to be a way to hack it and get all my info. It's got me a little concerned and excited at the same time. There are already mobile versions of Mcaffee for PDAs and more are coming. It's very interesting.
Oh yes the technology is great, and that's cool that you only have your cell phone. Pump up your day time minutes a little bit, and it's the best home phone anyone could have! If the service area was bigger in my town I would probably upgrade my AT&T cell phone to the same service. It's wonderful how every day that goes by it seems like there is something new to keep us connected to the "big" world of the Internet. Personally I think I will stick to my PDA and whenever I do get the newer service I'll just grab myself a bluetooth card. Though I won't be on I80 doing 90+ ordering tickets, that sounds a little too crazy for me *grin*
Though just like you said, with some skills, you can still hack the cell phones. That's what I worry about. The thing is I just haven't taken my time to educate myself on the big technology of cell phones. But then I just don't see a way of protecting myself anyway. It seems like one of those things that are just out of your hands.
iDen (Nextel) phones use, get this.... JAVA. he he.
Java... as in the what I'm thinking?
As in a common language? Yep
intead of using a cell phone, why dont you block all private numbers from comming into your house, then the person calling is forced to reveal the number and from there you can screen the call.
LOL it doesn't exactly work like that. Blocking your number is not a flip of the switch. Plus half the time telemarketers and such numbers are not blocked, it just looks like a number from out of your local area code (at least in my case). Plus what if you have a few friends who have private numbers? You would never take their calls?
Like RoadClosed said, why pay $80 for a land line and cell phone, when he is basically set with his cell phone? $30 a month is a nice hunk of change to have in your pocket for other things (like cable Internet, dining out, watching a movie at the cinema, etc).
Just a thought...
~AciD
Thank you each for your posts. Briefly, the situation I'm in goes like this:
I am under attack from someone who has insider information of the phone network and possibly possesses esoteric or illegal equipment and who, I believe, has a connection to the phone company (AT&T). This person, who I met briefly years ago, got my unlisted phone number. I get one-ring calls that do not show up on caller ID - the phone must ring at least twice for caller ID to kick in, and hang-up calls that show as "out of area" on caller ID, again no phone number. If I unplug the phone I still get sounds from something in my room, don't know what, ranging from a soft twitter to a loud ping. The one-ring calls come at odd hours of the morning and disturb my sleep, which seems to be the purpose of these calls. The only time I get no telephone-related sounds whatsoever is when I'm right here on the Net; I have single line dialup.
These harassing calls can be traced and I have done so. Unfortunately my local police precinct has shown no interest in the matter. Nor is there any legal remedy since I do not know the full identity (last name) of the harasser; the phone records cannot be subpoenead. The Freedom of Information Act does not apply to the telephone.
So I am faced with some kind of technical fix. One suggestion is that I get voice mail and unplug the phone, which would shunt the call away from my phone. This would only work if voice mail kicks in on the first ring. Another suggestion is to abandon the phone line and get a cell phone. This will only work if the number cannot be hacked, or if the kind of technology that can make sounds in my room even when the phone handset is unplugged will not work with a cell phone. The last line of defense, my last resort, is to have no phone service whatsoever in my apartment.
I would like to hear more from Road Closed about RF Generators, O'scopes and the like. How on earth can you make these sounds against which I seem to have no defense? The reps at my annoynace call bureau either don't know are aren't talking. I need to understand the technology being used against me to mount an effective defense and say goodbye to the ultimate telephone nightmare.
oh and when blocking private numbers if you dial *86 before you call then it unblocks it, so everyone who wants to call him would have to do this if they had a blocked number, but yea i guess if you dont need the land line phone then why bother.
listener you are in the US correct? I would suggest going to the "other" phone company in your area. If you think "this person" is doing this from the inside of your current phone company, just go to the other guys and he won't have the inside track. Other than that I really don't know what more to tell you seeing as you've tried a lot of other options. My only other thought is, who have you pissed off in life and go down that route in trying to figure out who it might be (so you can get a last name at least).
XTC46 thanks for the tip, I did not know that.
Just a thought...
~AciD
Those things I mentioned are devices to manipulate the RF spectrum. You must have some decent knowledge of electronics to do anything. But if you are really interested the ARRL Handbook can get you started on the path of Radio Electronics (http://www.remote.arrl.org/). Note that this will take years off your life, after 10 or so I am still an amateur. ļ
You have a serious problem and it sounds like you pissed off someone who has decent knowledge in phreaking or actually does work for the phone company. He/she has you pegged and there is nothing you can do about it until (and it probably won¡¦t) it becomes criminal in nature.
Hmmm, I would contact ATT fraud unit directly. They are concerned about phone fraud and maybe you can play it off as such and get them interested. http://www.att.com/fraud/
If that doesn't work, cancel ATT and get another land line, or even better wireless. Then never give out that number. Make up one if someone asks you or give out your corporate number for anyone except close and trusted friends. It's drastic but a phreak is on your ass and they are like the Sys Admin from Michigan. Very determined.
If this person gets your number again go to DEFCON 4. Never let a personal piece of information leave your house in tact, shred it. Nothing, not even a post it note. I do this already because I caught some teenagers going through my friggin garbage a couple years ago.
Now a counter point: If it is just a hang up and not much more, that is scary, but you can get voice mail and screen your calls and wait for this to blow over. If it doesn¡¦t blow over, try these things or get a private detective to see if he can work out something through an attorney. It¡¦s cheaper to change numbers though, and don¡¦t forget to change the phone company as well.
Oh and I almost forgot. If ATT isn't handling the matter seriously or you feel their service has problems contact the PUC in your state. They can usually light a fire. Public Utilities Commission.
RoadClosed, thanks for your posts with ARRL and AT&T links. This already is or would be a criminal case of aggravated harassment except that my local precinct just isn't doing the job. They claim they never received the phone traces from my phone company (Not AT&T), which by law cannot come directly to me. In other words, they claim incompetence. I believe my phone company sent the traces. This is a Brooklyn precinct where kids steal patrol cars from the parking lot, so they have bigger worries than me.
I became suspicious that this person was connected to AT&T when I began receiving an unusual volume of solicition calls to switch to AT&T, sometimes twice in the same day or on consecutive days. It dawned on me that these were not real solicitation calls but just another form of harassment by this one obsessed, determined individual - my number was being continually fed into their call list by this individual or a friend or accomplice. Those calls stopped abruptly in May. Someone might have said, "X, this is just too risky." I have since listed my number with the national do not call registry, so if these calls pick up again after Oct. I can collect up to $11,000 a pop.
It might be worth a try to contact the AT&T fraud unit except I don't have this person's last name. She is now of retirement age and may never have worked for them but might have a friend or accomplice who does - not real good info for anyone to go on.
The key is to get the phone traces and aggressively investigate those numbers. They may appear as autodialer numbers, but someone is behind them. You don't get one ring solicitation calls at 3 AM. You just don't. The problem is the way the law is written. You can't investigate the traces if you don't know the perpetrator's last name and phone number, and you can't find out who is doing this unless you can attach a name to these traced calls. So I'm stuck with Catch 22.
My outstanding technical questions are: A - what kind of device can make sounds through the phone line in my apartment even when the handset is disconnected and out of the room as I described earlier? Some kind of radio equipment? I'm tempted to offer a reward for this information, but I'm afraid the moderator of this board might not go for that. If I can get that golden nugget of info then I can better work out a counter strategy to stop these calls. Will voice mail stop or shunt a one ring call? These are the calls that wake me up at odd hours of the morning and cost me sleep.
And B - Are cell phone numbers unobtainable given that there is no national registry of them? Could someone with this person' s level of knowledge ferret a cell number out? Can the police get them? I'm told that the penalty for phone harassment, even without necessarily going to court, is loss of phone service including cell for 10 years. This suggests to me that there are ways of tracing the purchase of a cell phone, possibly through credit card transactions. If that is the ONLY way to get cell numbers, then the trick becomes a payment issue - to make your montly payment by check or cash. Would this work?
And now to get some sleep.