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Sprint Cracks Down on TTY Relay Abuses 192

Posted by michael from the do-not-call-list dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Sprint thinks it has found a way to keep West African scam artists from using Sprint's deaf-relay service to defraud people." Our previous two stories have background information.
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Sprint Cracks Down on TTY Relay Abuses More

Sprint Cracks Down on TTY Relay Abuses

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  • Can someone tell me what's up with these west african countries? Nigeria for example, it's all over the scam radar, their area code [rica.net] is synonymous with scam.

    How come we don't hear of scammers from Cuba, Russia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Korea, or any of america's historical and/or current enemies? Is it a media thing to drop west african country names when they refer to these kinds of scam?

    Does Nigeria really have a monopoly on scamming stupid americans? Are their organized crime mobs this pathetic that the best
    • I think that the scams are more effective if they come from a conutry that people don't automatically associate with crime/scams. Obviously if you are aware of these scams you will associate Nigeria with these, but you are not their targets. If Joe@AOL gets an email asking for money to be sent to Russia, he may think twice.

    • Explain what?? (Score:2, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      D00d, 419 isn't an area code. It's the numbered section of Nigeria's penal code that makes the 'Nigerian scam' illegal. See here [419eater.com].

      Perhaps you have not gotten the 300+ Emails that I have gotten ... all people from or claiming to be from Nigeria. (There have been arrests for Nigerian scammers that are Europeans claiming to be from Nigeria). Thus 'Nigerian scam'.

      Perhaps you are relegated to posting at -1 because of the inflamatory way in which you ask questions. Claim that three-digit area-codes could app

    • It's not an area code, it's the section of the legal code, as the page you linked to even points out:

      A Five Billion US$ (as of 1996, much more now) worldwide Scam which has run since the early 1980's under Successive Governments of Nigeria. It is also referred to as "Advance Fee Fraud",

      "419 Fraud" (Four-One-Nine) after the relevant section of the Criminal Code of Nigeria, and "The Nigerian Connection" (mostly in Europe). However, it is usually called plain old "419" even by the Nigerians themselves.

      (Em

    • Speaking as someone with a few Nigerian friends..
      They do it from Nigeria because they can get away with it.

      If you look through your inbox you will notice that pretty much all of the 419 scams ask you to assist in something you know will be illegial(tax evasion, identity fraud, outright embezzelment) in return for a large share of the loot.

      When the Nigerian police get the call for help they simply regard it as one crook ripping off another and don't consider it worth their while.

      So it's all pretty much a

  • Problem looks very familiar (Score:5, Insightful)

    by RobertB-DC ( 622190 ) * on Tuesday April 27, 2004 @01:02PM (#8985787) Homepage Journal
    But one former MCI relay operator said blocking internet addresses will only be a temporary obstacle for abusers of the Internet-relay system. That's because the scam artists can continuously find alternative Internet-protocol addresses...

    I think every popular web-based service dealt with this issue years ago, including Slashdot. I guess nobody involved in setting up the TTY relay services ever ran a message board?

    "Obviously it's had the effect of cutting down these calls, but they're going to find new hosts and call back anyway... It's always going to be a cat-and-mouse game."

    Or to put it in the Slash vernacular, a troll-and-moderator game.

    Grodevant would prefer a system in which legitimate users register in advance to gain access to the system.

    Again, Slashdot provides an example of a solution. Sometimes, you need to be anonymous. But creeps and crooks are among those who prefer anonymity. So you simply flag the calls: "You have a call from a registered TTY user" vs. "You have a call from an Anonymous Coward".

    I can see why the telcos didn't put these protections in place from the beginning, though... preying on the disabled is about as low as you can get. The companies simply didn't realize that these bastards have to look up to even see "as low as you can get".

    • Re:Problem looks very familiar (Score:1, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      They're not preying on the disabled. They're phoning anyone they like.
      • They are preying on the disabled in that they've been using a system designed for disabled people to use, and have consequently damaged that system. Many companies will refuse orders from deaf people now because they've been burned before.

    • Re:Problem looks very familiar (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Allen Zadr ( 767458 ) * <Allen DOT Zadr AT gmail DOT com> on Tuesday April 27, 2004 @01:19PM (#8986039) Journal
      I can see why the telcos didn't put these protections in place from the beginning, though...

      Remember those pesky laws that guarantee confidentiality of those whom are relegated to using relay services as their only means of communication with non-TTY enabled businesses. Those laws (of course) were written for TTY/vox relay and not Internet/vox relay. That's why the blocking has to be done PRIOR to 'connect'. They'll find open proxies and come from US based addresses soon enough (no disagreement with you there).

    • Hmmm, well first of all, if scammers are using Visas (stolen or not) to make purchases, then the assumption of anonymity of legit callers doing the same is a bit low.

      That is to say, if somebody calls to use the TTY service without using a Visa, whatever, anonymous. If somebody calls to make a Visa purchase... his/her ID is tied to the credit card.

      So the solution would really be to do some of the following:

      a) Assign special ID's/passwords for those legit callers using the system, but have them required

  • Blocking IP addresses? Only a matter of time... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by eaglebtc ( 303754 ) * on Tuesday April 27, 2004 @01:03PM (#8985805)
    From the article:

    ===
    Sprint spokesman Steve Lunceford, would not detail how Sprint is trying to block the calls other than to say the company is looking at problematic Internet-protocol addresses and finding ways to block them before calls go through to operators.

    So far, the effort appears successful. The volume of Internet-relay calls has returned to the level it was in early January, before massive abuse of the system began, Lunceford said.
    ===

    This is only a temporary fix. If they're blocking specific IP addresses, then the scammers will start using proxies. I suppose they could also start blocking anything from a proxy server, but there might be legitimate deaf people using Anonymizer or similar service that would no longer be able to get through.


    Is it possible to tell whether a particular HTTP request is coming from a proxy server, without knowing the IP address? Perhaps there is a descriptor in the packet somewhere that says it is going to be forwarded beyond the "apparent" destination?

  • Nigerian fraud. (Score:4, Funny)

    by Lotharjade ( 750874 ) on Tuesday April 27, 2004 @01:04PM (#8985814) Homepage Journal
    I guess we will just have the Nigerian fraud to keep us company. Glad that one will never go away. Ive almost come to enjoy seeing emails with it in the message. sigh...

  • Reduction in fraudulent sales overseas, I hope. (Score:5, Funny)

    by The I Shing ( 700142 ) * on Tuesday April 27, 2004 @01:05PM (#8985826) Journal
    I hope we'll be seeing a reduction in scenarios like the Midwestern couple who owns a jewelry store:

    Wife: Honey, the deaf Nigerian man is on the phone and he wants another $10,000 worth of raw diamonds. He wants to put the order on five different credit cards.

    Husband: Hot-diggidy! Another vacation in Malibu!
    • Wife: Honey, the deaf Nigerian man is on the phone and he wants another $10,000 worth of raw diamonds. He wants to put the order on five different credit cards.

      Husband: Hot-diggidy! Another vacation in Malibu!

      The store wouldn't react that way. If they ship diamonds to the fraudster, they're going to get burned because those stolen credit card transactions might get approved at first, but will be charged back eventually. If they smelt fraud, they'd hang up and refuse the order...
  • I hope this doesn't mean no more free calls ;)

  • Uh yeah simple... (Score:3, Funny)

    by WwWonka ( 545303 ) on Tuesday April 27, 2004 @01:10PM (#8985903)
    Sprint thinks it has found a way to keep West African scam artists from using Sprint's deaf-relay service to defraud people

    Uh yeah simple...

    You don't allow anyone from West Africa to purchase $30,000 or more worth of laptops from the US!

    Duh.
    • Unfortunately, these hackers need only be sucessful once to net thousands in profits. They can be rejected 99.9% persent of the time, but that still nets them an average of hundreds of dollars per attempt.

      That's why spammers can keep going too. They only need a small fraction of payouts to win...

  • Of course... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Tuxedo Jack ( 648130 ) on Tuesday April 27, 2004 @01:11PM (#8985926) Homepage
    There's more fun things to do with a TTY operator than just 419 scams.

    Phone sex with a TTY operator relaying the action... ho, boy. I just hope that the operator in the middle's an uber-prim-and-proper woman who blushes like mad at the whole thing.
    • I think a bored and hormonal 21 year old would make the whole experience more enjoyable...would almost be like phone sex with TWO people at once

    • Re:Of course... (Score:5, Funny)

      by PalmerEldritch42 ( 754411 ) on Tuesday April 27, 2004 @01:40PM (#8986316)
      Actually, I have done this. A deaf acquaintance of mine used to call me all the time and we would try to see how far we could go before the operator would stop translating. Sometimes, we'd get someone who would enjoy it.. Sometimes, we'd get the uber-prim-and-proper type. Those were by far the most fun.

    • Re:Of course... (Score:1, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      My friends and I pranked a TTY operator one time. We used to go around looking for payphones that accepted incoming calls so we could prank people - "If you ever want to see your son again, put the money in the wastebasket behind you and walk away" - and we found a block of payphones that accepted incoming calls and had a TTY keyboard.

      I started a free TTY call to one of the other payphones, where my friend picked up, and we pretended to be a couple having a really bad fight. Towards then end, the operato

    • Re:Of course... (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Obfuscant ( 592200 )
      There's more fun things to do with a TTY operator than just 419 scams.

      I was amazed to hear the guy at the local computer store tell me that they had problems with this. They were getting calls from people trying to order laptops with bad checks. He said they now ask the operator what areacode the caller is in and refuse any call not from the local area. I remember him saying that New York state was a big source of problems.

      He also said that he expected this solution to be just a band-aid.

  • W00t (Score:4, Interesting)

    by forkazoo ( 138186 ) <wrosecrans@CHICAGOgmail.com minus city> on Tuesday April 27, 2004 @01:14PM (#8985956) Homepage
    These TTY scams take up a ton of time for the person who answers the phone. We get about ten TTY scam calls per week, and about 1 legit deaf call per month. That adds up to a lot of wasted time.
  • Implement a one-time password that expires after X minutes of generating it.

    ie - deaf person contacts sprint operator, and proves he or she is deaf by faxing disability papers from the government. They now will have an account with Sprint's TTY service, and before using it, they simply call an 800 number and enter their social security number and PIN number they chose. This will generate a random password they can enter when making a TTY call that will expire 10 minutes after, or maybe after it is used
    • And how do the deaf dial the 800 number without using tty? mmm?

      • I wasn't aware that deafness impaired pressing buttons on a keypad. How would they use TTY if they can't type?

        I suppose there's a risk that they wouldn't know if they'd dialed a wrong number, and therefore might start keying in their login/pin at an incorrect number. Scammers would likely start registering all of the one-off numbers around that 800 number. Plenty of phones these days do display the number as you dial it though, so that's not insurmountable.
        • Oh, they can dial allright. But how do they get the random password?
          • Oh, I blipped over the one time password part. That's just stupid. They ought to just get a permanent password in the mail or something. And by calling that number they are automatically authorizing the receipt of TTY calls to their number, so non-deaf people can call them.

            Or maybe it still wouldn't work on a practical level, I'm really not that familiar with the situation. Still, it does seem like there ought to be a better solution than a blacklist.

      • "And how do the deaf dial the 800 number without using tty?"

        What use is a phone call, Mr Anderson...

    • Re:Here's an idea.... (Score:4, Informative)

      by lish2 ( 194441 ) on Tuesday April 27, 2004 @01:41PM (#8986331)
      You (and a lot of people) are missing a key fact: the relay service is ALSO legitimately used by hearing people to call deaf people. You can't just require everyone who uses the service to "prove you're deaf", or whatever.
      • You (and a lot of people) are missing a key fact: the relay service is ALSO legitimately used by hearing people to call deaf people. You can't just require everyone who uses the service to "prove you're deaf", or whatever.

        It's easy - the operator just has to call them back. If they answer the phone, they aren't deaf.
      • Ummm, the scam doesn't work from spoken to TTY. There is no reason for stopping the voice to TTY calls.

        -RUsty
  • ...this was the sort of thing that could provoke an international incident, even a war. Though, I'll concede Helen of Troy might have a bit more literary appeal than Joe Bloe Nigerian Scammer Dude.

    Now, we suck it up and try to live with it, or work around it.

    Has civilization taken a step forward, or a step backwards? Seriously.

    Xentax

  • Short term solution (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Mr_Silver ( 213637 ) on Tuesday April 27, 2004 @01:17PM (#8986008)
    I read that the main problem was that even when the operators knew it was a scam, their rules stated that they must finish the call.

    So for an effective short term solution change these rules so that any operator who believes that it's a scam can (after some procedures have been followed) terminate the call.

    I'm all for alternative solutions too, but this will make some headway into solving the issue. After the scammers know that you'll terminate the call as soon as it becomes evident then they'll look elsewhere.

    • So for an effective short term solution change these rules so that any operator who believes that it's a scam can (after some procedures have been followed) terminate the call.

      Here on Slashdot, there's a strong "screw the rules" bent, as evidenced by the latest copy-protection crack [slashdot.org].

      So I'm surprised nobody's suggested that the operators simply tell the obvious scammers to go take a flying leap. What's the scammer going to do, report them? "Hello, my name is, um, let's call me John, and the TTY operator
      • Perhaps all the /.'ers realized that the first time some operator made a mistake, flagging a deaf school adminstrator buying laptops perpahs, that they'd be in violation of the federal law applying to these operators?

        Nah, that can't be it.

        -Zipwow
  • This is one of those difficult issues where it's going to be almost impossible to throw out the bathwater without throwing out some of the babies as well. What if someone in Nigeria actually wants to purchase $30,000 worth of laptops? It's not impossible.

    However, since use of this service is not a right, but a privilege, it seems fair to go ahead and throw out some of the babies, and let them get back in the bath on an individual basis. If you get blocked from using the service, there ought to be someone

    • Ah, fax machine.
      Web site.
      If you are a deaf nigerian, the odds are you don't have 30 grand. But if you did, you'd be able to scribble something for your brother/dad/uncle/cousin/business partner to the effect of: can you call this guy and buy the machines?

      Again, it's like saying that a deaf american with 8 million dollars has to make a tty call to order 12 laptops from Dell. Yeah, I think he has an assistant.

      Anyway, I think that using a TTY without being disabled should carry a hefty sentence.
      • You're absolutely right, of course, which is why I don't think implementing these filters is a problem. That this story was posted in YRO implies that there is some sort of question as to whether these filters are interfering with people's rights. While the Nigerian buying laptops is a clear case, there will always be borderline cases which are not so easy to distinguish, and of course the scammers will learn to mimic these cases. This is why it's an issue. Nonetheless, I think the filters are a good idea.
      • >Anyway, I think that using a TTY without being disabled should carry a hefty sentence.

        TTYs are used for incoming as well as outgoing calls... Hearing people have many perfectly legitimate reasons to call using a TTY.

        That being said, from what I know, most hearing people who have to call more than once will just buy the TTY box and be done with it.
    • What if someone in Nigeria actually wants to purchase $30,000 worth of laptops? It's not impossible.

      The TTY Relay service is legally only usuable in the US. So, even if a deaf Nigerian wanted to order $30,000 of computers, they couldn't use the TTY Relay service.

      -Brent
      • The TTY Relay service is legally only usuable in the US

        Ah, well, I didn't know that, sorry. I should have used a different example. There are still going to be some false-positive results from any filtering system you could implement. But in this case it's well worth it, since most of the filtered calls really will be scams.

    • REFUSE to accept credit card transactions for non-U.S. customers (primarily those in nations well-known as scamming bases). If they want $30,000 in laptops, they can handle the banking necessary to get a loan and make a wire transfer. Also, the symptoms of these scammers is that they seldom have clear descriptions of what they want. I don't know a single legitimate business that would fork out $30,000 for "whatever your most expensive laptop is".

      I don't handle the finance end of things, but I would sugg

    • Re:Tough Issue (Score:4, Informative)

      by pjrc ( 134994 ) <paul@pjrc.com> on Tuesday April 27, 2004 @02:06PM (#8986639) Homepage Journal
      What if someone in Nigeria actually wants to purchase $30,000 worth of laptops? It's not impossible.

      Unlikely as it is, they have to pay with their own money... not stolen credit cards!

      Our little site gets these Nigerians attempting to purchase with stolen credit cards. It's pretty easy to spot, as we've never has a legitimate order to Nigeria... but it's an annoyance.

      Eventually, I ended up logging their IP numbers and now I just drop any packet that appears to have originated in Nigeria. Worked pretty well so far... might have to imclude open proxies if they start using them. For anyone else faced with the same problem, here's a little list:

      # firewall out all Nigerian ISPs and Cybercafes
      /usr/local/sbin/iptables -A INPUT -s 212.100.64.0/19 -j DROP # Cyberspace Limited (Nigerian internet cafe)
      /usr/local/sbin/iptables -A INPUT -s 195.166.224.0/19 -j DROP # Linkserve Nigeria Limited (ISP)
      /usr/local/sbin/iptables -A INPUT -s 216.139.176.112/29 -j DROP # Q-KON (South Africa)
      /usr/local/sbin/iptables -A INPUT -s 81.199.82.0/23 -j DROP # Communication Trends Nigeria Ltd. (ISP)
      /usr/local/sbin/iptables -A INPUT -s 81.199.84.0/22 -j DROP # Communication Trends Nigeria Ltd. (ISP)
      /usr/local/sbin/iptables -A INPUT -s 81.199.88.0/23 -j DROP # Communication Trends Nigeria Ltd. (ISP)
      /usr/local/sbin/iptables -A INPUT -s 81.199.90.0/24 -j DROP # Communication Trends Nigeria Ltd. (ISP)
      /usr/local/sbin/iptables -A INPUT -s 212.96.2.0/19 -j DROP # Communication Trends Nigeria Ltd. (ISP)
      /usr/local/sbin/iptables -A INPUT -s 217.117.8.0/18 -j DROP # Communication Trends Nigeria Ltd. (ISP)
      /usr/local/sbin/iptables -A INPUT -s 192.116.89.0/24 -j DROP # Sky2net (UK Satellite ISP serving Nigeria)
      /usr/local/sbin/iptables -A INPUT -s 192.116.91.0/24 -j DROP # Sky2net (UK Satellite ISP serving Nigeria)
      /usr/local/sbin/iptables -A INPUT -s 192.116.94.0/24 -j DROP # Sky2net (UK Satellite ISP serving Nigeria)
      /usr/local/sbin/iptables -A INPUT -s 192.116.98.0/23 -j DROP # Sky2net (UK Satellite ISP serving Nigeria)
      /usr/local/sbin/iptables -A INPUT -s 192.116.120.0/21 -j DROP # Sky2net (UK Satellite ISP serving Nigeria)
      /usr/local/sbin/iptables -A INPUT -s 192.116.128.0/23 -j DROP # Sky2net (UK Satellite ISP serving Nigeria)
      /usr/local/sbin/iptables -A INPUT -s 62.128.175.10/23 -j DROP # Iway Africa (south africa and nigeria)

      • /usr/local/sbin/iptables -A INPUT -s 212.96.2.0/19 -j DROP
        /usr/local/sbin/iptables -A INPUT -s 217.117.8.0/18 -j DROP

        These look like typos--the third octet will get zeroed out by the netmask. Are you sure you entered them correctly?

    • since use of this service is not a right, but a privilege

      No, it is a right. It's required by the Americans with Disabilities Act. That's why turning it off for these scammers is so hard.

  • Why is anonymity an issue? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Henry Stern ( 30869 ) <henry@stern.ca> on Tuesday April 27, 2004 @01:24PM (#8986115) Homepage
    Whenever I make a telephone call, for whatever purpose, it is associated with my telephone number. Thus, I am accountable for the use of my communications equipment.

    Why should it be different for people using TTY services? Provisions for anonymity only allow people to abuse the telephone system.
    • The problem is scammers are using websites which let you make TTY calls. The source number traces back to a legitimate website used by both the deaf and scammers. Blocking that number will stop the scammers, but also stop deaf people using the service.

      • Re:Why is anonymity an issue? (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Tenebrious1 ( 530949 ) on Tuesday April 27, 2004 @01:47PM (#8986403) Homepage
        Right, the parent is saying why allow such anonymous access? When a non-deaf person makes a phone call, their phone number, the number they called, the duration of the call, all that info is logged. Yet calls through TTY are not.

        TTY users should have privacy in their calls, but that does not mean they should have complete anonymity to make such calls. Requiring them to register and login to TTY relay websites isn't any different from the rest of us having to give all our details to the telco to get a phone line. There's privacy in the calls, but not the fact we're making a call and to whom the call is made.

        • I'm all for registering to make TTY calls via websites. While it might be a pain to setup initially, it's the only viable neutral solution (better than having TTY operators drop a call if they 'think' it's a scam)
        • Not to mention, doesn't some of that nasty nasty Patriot Act require tracability in the phone system?

          Operator: Hello, this is the righteous wrath of Red Front calling to order fertilizer.

  • What about deaf scam artists? (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    AFTER ALL THIS MIGHT EXPLAIN
    WHY SOME SCAM ARTISTS LIKE
    TO SHOUT... :)

    Here is an honest scammer:

    DEAR MADAME

    I AM DEF AND DISABLED DUE TO
    A TERRIBLE TRAFFIC ACCIDENT
    THAT OCCURED ON JULY 21ST IN
    LAGOS CITY.

    MY LEGS WERE PULVERISED WHEN
    A BEER LORRY CAREENED OFF THE
    ROAD AND INTO MY STALL.

    I AM NOW REDUCED TO ENJOINING
    FOREIGNERS WITH CONSIDERABLY
    MORE WEALTH THAN MYSELF FOR
    CERTAIN FORMS OF ASSISTANCE.

    I DO NOT HAVE $50MM IN A BANK.
    I DO NOT EVEN HAVE AN ACCOUNT.
    BUT YOU ARE STILL WELCOME TO
    SEND ME SOME MONEY. US$200

  • Just in case you have not heard about "419" (Score:4, Funny)

    by Curly-Locks ( 772578 ) on Tuesday April 27, 2004 @01:34PM (#8986236)
    Wonderful scam on scammers: check this out - Ha ha ha ha [419eater.com]. Some guy out there is a genius, funniest site in years.
    • I think that one of the most disgusting images on the 'net can be found at that site [419eater.com].

      (note: Image is safe for work. Contains no nudity or profanity. It merely contains a phrase that is utterly revolting and could cause nausea, vomiting and a desire to dig your eyeballs from your skull with a spoon if you understand the reference made in it).

  • hardware based challenge/response system (Score:5, Interesting)

    by pneuma_66 ( 1830 ) on Tuesday April 27, 2004 @01:55PM (#8986507)
    In the past, anyone who needed to use the tty system had to own a piece of hardware to communicate to the relay, however, now with internet based relay calls, they only need to access a computer hooked up to the net.
    I think the requirement for specialized hardware is the key to ending the abuse of the system. My idea would be to use a device, where the relay gives you code, and then you input it into the device, and it spits out a response. This would still keep the calls anonymous, but, would add a level of security to stop the scammers.
  • When my obscure relatives who were involved with shady deals die?
  • (From the article)
    ...the company is looking at problematic Internet-protocol addresses and finding ways to block them

    What's this new "Internet-protocol address," and how do I get one?!? ;)
  • When is it that Sprint is going to educate and "empower" their phone operators to cut off the scandalous calls? This kind of action, I feel, would have a more daunting effect on 419 trollers.

  • Financial Survival of the Fittest (Score:3, Interesting)

    by mabu ( 178417 ) on Tuesday April 27, 2004 @02:21PM (#8986796)
    I still don't understand why people fall for these scams. As far as I'm concerned, it's a litmus test for stupidity. Anyone foolish enough to ship $30k worth of equipment to a person they don't know in a foreign country without checking the integrity of the transaction deserves to lose their money and learn from the experience.

    One of the sites on my server is a classified ad site, and we've had several reports of people getting fleeced with the Nigerian forged-cashiers check overpayment scam. Again, why someone selling something would accept overpayment and then wire the difference back to the party or their agent is beyond stupidity. Ironically the best thing that could happen to these people is for them to get ripped off so some of that naivety will be summarily stripped from their barnacle-encrusted brains.

    I'm not saying the scammers should be allowed to operate, but any action taken by "authorities" should be considered more of a favor for stupid people, than a responsibility. No amount of enforcement or technology will ultimately keep a fool and his money from being separated.
    • Anyone foolish enough to ship $30k worth of equipment to a person they don't know in a foreign country without checking the integrity of the transaction deserves to lose their money and learn from the experience.

      This isn't the point. The point is that the TTY operators are not permitted to drop the calls. But I do wonder about XYZ Company that spends a HOUR (example given many times) with theses scammers before terminating the call. I mean, since when can it possibly take more than 10 minutes MAX determini

  • :-) Works for my email. Why not for a TTY? Heck they are probably sending the same message they send to my inbox numerous times.

    Just send a message on occassion, with:

    Blocked 299413 Spam and Transfered 0

    That way people can "SEE" the difference.
  • The IP TTY relay service costs taxpayers $1.39 per minute.

    It is available for free to anyone, anywhere, 24x7.

    They will even make long distance calls on your behalf.

    Is anyone truly surprised that the system gets abused? Think about it. You, the taxpayer, are paying for scams, phone sex, student college jokes, and pizza. Is this how you want your tax dollars spent?

  • Input from a TTY veteran... (Score:3, Informative)

    by arfuni ( 775132 ) on Tuesday April 27, 2004 @10:29PM (#8992594) Homepage
    I worked for one of the internet relay companies for a year and a half. The nature of the service really prevents a lot of options that seem common sense to techies unfamiliar with the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act). The internet service needs to emulate the anonymous call setup - no logins, IDs, etc., unless you want to profile yourself or use spell dialing. Registration isn't allowed. The services can (but often don't) block IP ranges, but I think we all know how easy that is to get around. Using a proxy with a dial up connection from Africa makes the service incredibly slow.. so they are prone to drop out, although a lot of fraud callers will keep up 10 conversations at one time. Their strategy is making hundreds of calls and eventually one gullible American is going to fall for the scam. One successful $5,000 fraud a week is a lot more than they could make there. These calls are NOT going to stop as long as there are internet relay services. The big relay companies make money of each call even if they're fradulent, so they have no incentive to block the service other than to stop the tide of bad press and quitting employees. It's a wonderful service for the deaf and speech disabled (TTY phone technology is a joke), but I think it's a matter of opinion as to whether or not it's worth the flood of American taxpayer dollars going down the drain to pay for fraud.

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