Internal Phone Company Document

According to internal phone company documents that were sent to us, "Fraudulent collect calling is an issue that has plagued the telephone industry for nearly as many years as the service has been available to the public."  One of the biggest problems is, admittedly, that the United States never implemented the CCITT recommendation to have an internationally recognizable tone sound when a payphone picks up an incoming call.

Prior to 1984, the United States had a numbering scheme.  By using something called the Route Bulletin, operators from other countries were able to tell if they should check with the inward operator in the United States to see if the phone was a payphone ("checking for coin"), "This simple procedure greatly reduced the number of times that the foreign operator had to check with the U.S. operator, yet was effective at controlling abuse."   A major problem now exists because after divestiture, this numbering scheme was abandoned.

Added to this was the introduction of COCOTs (private payphones).  "Confusion over the true status of these phones and the growing number of these instruments caused the local telephone companies to select numbers for these instruments out of the general (non-coin) number pool."  After first suggesting that every country in the world first consult a database before processing any collect calls to the United States, the Interexchange Carriers had a change of heart.  The rest of the world took a rather dim view of the United States imposing its will upon | everyone else and ignoring (as usual) the international standard.  As a result, it's now been suggested by American phone companies that the coin phone recognition tone be implemented.  Apart from everybody else int he world being opposed to it, the disadvantage of relying upon the database included: questions about database accuracy, the fact that training would be required, the fact that validation would require two operators, and that there are no contractual protections for any database failures.

The companies also believe such a tone will help cut down on fraud within the United States.  AT&T says, "Public and coin phones are very often the vehicle used by defrauders.  Posing as telephone company employers, fraud perpetrators convince consumers to accept numerous bills to third calls and to give out their calling card pin.  A signal such as the recognition tone, when nationally recognized by all U.S. subscribers as signifying a coin phone, could spell an end to scammers who conduct business from payphones and leave coin phone numbers as a call hack number to their unsuspecting prey."  The new system, including a voice message, will be tested with Pacific Bell.  BellSouth, however, believes that the database system could still be used from overseas, provided the Interexchange Carriers set up separate trunks to carry 0+ traffic and do the validation themselves.

Among the most common forms of third number billing fraud, the phone companies cite: "Billing to voice mail, scams, cellular (to and from), international, billing to unassigned numbers, recorded acceptance messages, database failures and inaccuracies, as well as no live verification."

AT&T also stated, "With growing frequency, defrauders are establishing telephone service and billing large numbers of calls to that service, with no intention of paying the bill.  This is often done by providing the LEC (local company) with fraudulent information on the service application."

Other issues being discussed within the telco inner-circle include providing COCOTs with their own ANI and apparent Blue Box-type of fraud involving US Sprint.