The Anarchist Cookbook (8 page)
does not readily know where you are calling from. She does not have access to unlisted
numbers, but she DOES know if an unlisted # exists for a certain listing.
There is also a directory assistance operator for deaf people who use teletypewriters. If
your modem can transfer BAUDOT [(45« baud). One modem that I know of that will do
this is the Apple Cat acoustic or the Atari 830 acoustic modem. Yea I know they are hard
to find... but if you want to do this. look around!) then you can call him/her up and have an
interesting conversation. The number is: 800-855-1155. They use the standard Telex
abbreviations such as GA for go ahead. they tend to be nicer and will talk longer than your
regular operators. Also, they are more vulnerable into being talked out of information
through the process of "social engineering" as Chesire Catalyst would put it.
Unfortunately, they do not have access to much. I once bullshitted with one of these
operators a while back and I found out that there are 2 such DA offices that handle TTY.
One is in Philadelphia and the other is in California. They have approx. 7 operators each.
Most of the TTY operators think that their job is
boring (based on an official "BIOC poll"). They also feel that they are under-paid. They
actually call up a regular DA number to process your request (sorry, no fancy computers!)
Other operators have access to their own DA by dialing KP+NPA+131+ST (MF).
CN/A operators:
CN/A Operators are operators that do exactly the opposite of what directory assistance
operators are for. In my experience, these operators know more than the DA op's do &
they are more susceptible to "social engineering." It is possible to bullshit a CN/A operator
for the NON-PUB DA number (i.e., you give them the name & they give you the unlisted
number. See the article on unlisted numbers in this cookbook for more info about them.).
This is due to the fact that they assume that you are a fellow company employee.
Unfortunately, the AT&T breakup has resulted in the break-up of a few NON-PUB DA
numbers and policy changes in CN/A.
INTERCEPT Operator:
The intercept operator is the one that you are connected to when there are not enough
recordings available to tell you that the number has been disconnected or changed. She
usually says, "What number you calling?" with a foreign accent. This is the lowest operator
lifeform. Even though they don't know where you are calling from, it is a waste or your
time to try to verbally abuse them since they usually understand very little English anyway.
Incidentally, a few area DO have intelligent INTERCEPT Operators.
OTHER Operators:
And then there are the: Mobile, Ship-to-Shore, Conference, Marine Verify, "Leave Word
and Call Back", Rout & Rate (KP+800+141+1212+ST), & other special operators who have one
purpose or another in the network.
Problems with an Operator:
Ask to speak to their supervisor. . or better yet the Group Chief (who is the highest
ranking official in any office) who is the equivalent of the Madame in a whorehouse.
By the way, some CO's that will allow you to dial a 0 or 1 as the 4th digit, will also allow
you to call special operators & other fun Tel. Co. numbers without a blue box. This is very
rare, though! For example, 212-121-1111 will get you a NY Inward Operator.
Office Hierarchy
Every switching office in North America (the NPA system), is assigned an office name and
class. There are five classes of offices numbered 1 through 5. Your CO is most likely a
class 5 or end office. All long-distance (Toll) calls are switched by a toll office which can
be a class 4, 3, 2, or 1 office. There is also a class 4X office called an intermediate point.
The 4X office is a digital one that can have an unattended exchange attached to it (known
as a Remote Switching Unit (RSU)).
The following chart will list the Office #, name, & how many of those office exist (to the
best of my knowledge) in North America:
ClassNameAbbNumber Existing1Regional CenterRC122Sectional CenterSC673Primary
CenterPC2304Toll CenterTC1,3004PToll PointTPN/A4XIntermediate PointIPN/A5End
OfficeEO19,0006RSURSUN/A
When connecting a call from one party to another, the switching equipment usually tries to
find the shortest route between the class 5 end office of the caller & the class 5 end
office of the called party. If no inter-office trunks exist between the two parties, it will
then move upward to the next highest office for servicing calls (Class 4). If the Class 4
office cannot handle the call by sending it to another Class 4 or 5 office, it will then be
sent to the next highest office in the hierarchy (3). The switching equipment first uses
the high-usage interoffice trunk groups, if they are busy then it goes to the final; trunk
groups on the next highest level. If the call cannot be connected, you will probably get a
re-order [120 IPM (interruptions per minute) busy signal] signal. At this time, the guys at
Network Operations are probably shitting in their pants and trying to avoid the dreaded
Network Dreadlock (as seen on TV!).
It is also interesting to note that 9 connections in tandem is called ring-around-the-rosy
and it has never occurred in telephone history. This would cause an endless loop connection
[a neat way to really screw up the network].
The 10 regional centers in the US & the 2 in Canada are all interconnected. they form the
foundation of the entire telephone network. Since there are only 12 of them, they are
listed below:
Class 1 Regional Office LocationNPADallas 4 ESS214Wayne, PA215Denver 4T303Regina
No. 2SP1-4W (Canada)306St. Louis 4T314Rockdale, GA404Pittsburgh 4E412Montreal No. 1
4AETS (Canada)504
37. Basic Alliance Teleconferencing by The Jolly Roger
Introduction:
This phile will deal with accessing, understanding and using the Alliance Teleconferencing
Systems. It has many sections and for best use should be printed out.
Al iance:
Alliance Teleconferencing is an independent company which allows the general public to
access and use it's conferencing equipment. Many rumors have been floating around that
Alliance is a subsidiary of AT&T. Well, they are wrong. As stated above, Alliance is an
entirely independent company. They use sophisticated equipment to allow users to talk to
many people at once.
The Number:
Alliance is in the 700 exchange, thus it is not localized, well, not in a way. Alliance is only in
certain states, and only residents of these certain states can access by dialing direct.
This, however, will be discussed in a later chapter. The numbers for alliance are as follows:
0-700-456-1000 (Chicago)
-1001 (Los Angeles)
-1002 (Chicago)
-1003 (Houston)
-2000 (?)
-2001 (?)
-2002 (?)
-2003 (?)
-3000 (?)
-3001 (?)
-3002 (?)
-3003 (?)
The locations of the first 4 numbers are known and I have stated them. However, the
numbers in the 200x and 300x are not definitely known. Rumor has it that the pattern
repeats itself but this has not been proven.
Dialing:
As stated before, Alliance is only in certain stated and only these states can access them
via dialing direct. However, dialing direct causes your residence to be charged for the
conference and conference bills are not low! !
Therefore, many ways have been discovered to start a conference without having it billed
to ones house. They are as follows:
Dialing through a PBX.
Incorporating a Blue Box.
Billing to a loop.
Billing to a forwarded call.
I am sure there are many more, but these are the four I will deal with.
Dialing through a PBX:
Probably the easiest method of creating a free conference is through a PBX. Simply call
one in a state that has Alliance, input the PBX's code, dial 9 for an outside line and then
dial alliance. An example of this would be:
PBX: 800-241-4911
When it answers it will give you a tone. At this tone input your code.
Code: 1234
After this you will receive another tone, now dial 9 for an outside line.
You will now hear a dial tone. Simply dial Alliance from this point and
the conference will be billed to the PBX.
Using a Blue Box:
Another rather simple way of starting a conference is with a Blue Box. The following
procedure is how to box a conference:
Dial a number to box off of. In this example we will use 609-609-6099 When the party
answers hit 2600hz. This will cause the fone company's equipment to think that you have
hung up. You will hear a
to multi-frequency and dial:
KP-0-700-456-x00x-ST
KP = KP tone on Blue Box
x = variable between 1 and 3
ST = ST tone on Blue Box
The equipment now thinks that the operator has dialed Alliance from her switchboard and
the conference shall be billed there. Since Blue Boxing is such a large topic, this is as far
as I will go into it's uses.
Bil ing to a loop:
A third method of receiving a free conference is by billing out to a loop. A loop is 2
numbers that when two people call, they can talk to each other. You're saying woop-tee-do
right? Wrong! Loops can be
through the beginning procedure, which will be discussed later in this tutorial, dial 0 and
wait for an Alliance operator. When she answers tell her you would like to bill the
conference to such and such a number. (A loop where your phriend is on the other side)
She will then call that number to receive voice verification. Of course your phriend will be
waiting and will accept the charges. Thus, the conference is billed to the loop.
Bil ing to call forwarding:
When you dial a number that is call forwarded, it is first answered by the original location,
then forwarded. The original location will hang up if 2600hz is received from only one end
of the line. Therefore, if you were to wait after the forwarded residence answered, you
would receive the original location's dial tone.
Example:
Dial 800-325-4067
The original residence would answer, then forward the call, a second type of ringing would
be heard. When this second residence answers simply wait until they hang up. After about
twenty seconds you will then receive the original residence's dial tone since it heard
2600hz from one end of the line. Simply dial Alliance from this point and the conference
will be billed to the original residence. These are the four main ways to receive a free
conference. I am sure
many more exist, but these four are quite handy themselves.
Logon Procedure:
Once Alliance answers you will hear a two-tone combination. This is their way of saying
'How many people do you want on the conference dude?' Simply type in a 2-digit
combination, depending on what bridge of Alliance you are on, between 10 and 59. After
this either hit '*' to cancel the conference size and input another or hit '#' to continue.
You are now in Alliance Teleconferencing and are only seconds away from having your own
roaring conference going strong!!
Dialing in Conferees:
To dial your first conferee, dial 1+npa+pre+suff and await his/her answer.
npa = area code
pre = prefix
suff = suffix
If the number is busy, or if no one answers simply hit '*' and your call will be aborted. But,
if they do answer, hit the '#' key. This will add them to the conference. Now commence
dialing other conferees.
Joining Your Conference:
To join your conference from control mode simply hit the '#' key. Within a second or two
you will be chatting with all your buddies. To go back into control mode, simply hit the '#'
key again.
Transferring Control:
To transfer control to another conferee, go into control mode, hit the # 6+1+npa+pre+suff
of the conferee you wish to give control to. If after, you wish to abort this transfer hit
the '*' key.
NOTE: Transfer of control is often not available. When you receive a message stating this,
you simply cannot transfer control.
Muted Conferences:
To request a muted conference simply hit the 9 key. I am not exactly sure what a muted
conference is but it is probably a way to keep unwanted eavesdroppers from listening in.
Dialing Al iance Operators:
Simply dial 0 as you would from any fone and wait for the operator to answer.
Ending Your Conference:
To end your conference all together, that is kick everyone including yourself off, go into
control mode and hit '*'. .after a few seconds simply hang up. Your conference is over.
Are Alliance Operators Dangerous?
No. Not in the least. The worst they can do to you while you are having a conference is
drop all conferees including yourself. This is in no way harmful, just a little aggravating.
Al iance and Tracing:
Alliance can trace, as all citizens of the United States can. But this has to all be pre-