The New AT&T Network
by Lucky225
It seems that AT&T was not to fond of my "ANI Spoofing" article that appeared in 2600 (17:4).
Just a few days after it came out, I started noticing a lot of changes in the AT&T network. First they shut off their 800 ANAC. A few days later, calls that were routed to 800-673-7286 by the Verizon Long Distance operator were handled strangely. I began noticing that if I made a call through the Verizon Long Distance operator to 800-673-7286, I could place calls to 800 numbers not on the AT&T network, but that the ANI was being sent as "615-986-9873" or ANI II Pair 23 followed by area code 904. Thus, calls placed through the Verizon Long Distance operator to AT&T's 800 operator could not be used to spoof ANI anymore. The 615 number belongs to a PBX owned by AT&T in Nashville, Tennessee. I could still spoof ANI on the AT&T network if I diverted through my local operator or various other 10-10-XXX long distance carrier operators, but this April it stopped working.
I soon figured out what was happening. AT&T has centers all around the country including Alaska and Hawai'i. The way SS7 works, depending on where you're calling from, an 800 number can be routed to various other places. For example, there could be a nationwide 800 number that allows you to call from anywhere in the country. But a person who calls the same 800 number from Florida could get routed to that business's office on the east coast, and a person that calls from California may get routed to the west coast office. That's what it's like when you call 800-673-7286, you get routed to the nearest AT&T center near you to take the call. So when I was making a call through the Verizon Long Distance operator to 800-673-7286, I would get routed to the Florida AT&T center because the Verizon Long Distance operator I got was based out of Florida (813). That was why when I had the AT&T operator dial an ANAC it would show 23-904 (Florida). However, not all Verizon Long Distance operators are based in Florida, some of them are based out of Kentucky (606) which for whatever reason will get you the Nashville Center. The Nashville Center is the only center I have seen so far that transmits ANI with ANI II Pair "00" and a full 10-digit phone number (615-986-9873)
The AT&T Centers
As I mentioned, there are various AT&T centers throughout the country, and they are also the centers that handle the automated AT&T Long Distance operator services, as well as 800-CALL-ATT and 800-OPERATOR. With the new upgrade that AT&T is implementing (wide spread across the country, I predict) each center is getting a total makeover. There will be no more ANI spoofing to AT&T numbers. They are updating these centers so that you can call any 800 number through the AT&T carrier. Calls to 800-673-7286 that have an ANI fail will no longer use the phone number you give as ANI when calling other toll-free numbers.
Instead, ANI II pair 23 and the area code of the AT&T center will be used. However, the best part is that you can place calls to toll-free numbers without speaking to an operator. Simply dial 10-10-ATT-0 (10-10-288-0) and enter the toll-free number you want to call. The ANI will show up as ANI II pair 23 and the area code of the AT&T center. Op-diverting without even having to speak to the operator! However, you will notice that if you try to dial 800-CALL-ATT or 800-673-7286 it will appear that your ANI still shows up. This is because these numbers are handled by the same AT&T center. However, any toll-free number not handled by the AT&T center (basically any toll-free number that's not used for AT&T operator services) will be processed with your ANI not being transmitted.
There are a few advantages and disadvantages of this new system. The only real disadvantage is that you can not spoof ANI any more. The advantages, however, are that you can place calls to basically any toll-free number you wish without your ANI being passed simply by dialing 10-10-ATT-0 and then pressing in the toll-free number you want to call at the AT&T prompt. You can even use this at payphones to call toll-free numbers that don't allow payphone calls or to get around payphone surcharges.
Op-diverting used to be so hard, local ops not wanting to help you out, and 10-10-XXX carrier ops only being able to be reached from certain parts of the country, and the real downside being that you had to talk to an operator who might listen in to your call when trying to divert to toll-free numbers. But now, thanks to AT&T's new network that you can reach anywhere in the country by simply dialing 10-10-288-0, or even just 00 if you have AT&T, and you don't even have to talk to an operator. You just punch in the toll-free number you want to call on your Touch-Tone keypad. You can even divert to that toll-free number using your modem to find out what that carrier is you always wanted to know is by setting your modem to dial 10-10-288-0, 1-800-XXX-XXXX, without fear of your ANI showing up.
I'm sure AT&T logs your ANI and probably would take action if you were harassing a toll-free number long enough, but for now you can think of 10-10-288-0 as your own free ANI blocking service.