Sprint Cracks Down on TTY Relay Abuses

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.

Comments

Problem looks very familiar

[RobertB-DC]

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

[Anonymous Coward]

They're not preying on the disabled. They're phoning anyone they like.

Re:Problem looks very familiar

[Allen Zadr]

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).

Re:Problem looks very familiar

[PaleBoy]

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.

Short term solution

[Mr_Silver]

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.

Why is anonymity an issue?

[Henry Stern]

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.

Re:Why is anonymity an issue?

[NinjaPablo]

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?

[Tenebrious1]

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.

Do like we do for other countries

[Ra5pu7in]

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 suggest calling the bank and reporting such a suspicious transaction. The bank then calls the customer and verifies that the intended purchase is legitimate. This would hamper these guys in two ways: You wouldn't accept the card and now the legitimate card-holder knows the number is stolen.

BTW -- what are credit card companies doing to deal with these scammers? How can that many stolen credit card numbers (with those kinds of balances) exist and not have MasterCard or Visa heavily on the tails of the perps?

Re:Blocking IP addresses? Only a matter of time...

[cdrudge]

Maybe a deaf person wants to have phone sex. Maybe he wants to be an anonymous whistle blower but can't use just an ordinary pay phone on a street. Who knows. Just because people might not normally have a need to be anonymous doesn't mean that they always won't have a need.

Subsidized service = automatic abuse

[XavierItzmann]

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?