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Telus Puts A Stop To 'Modem Hijacking'

Posted by simoniker on from the relatives-in-sao-tome-most-upset dept.

TheIonix writes "Telus, a major telco in Canada, decided to block long distance direct-dialed calls to four countries to help reduce dial-up 'modem hijacking'. The article explains: 'When the [dial-up] user downloads [certain malware programs], the downloaded file accesses software on their computer and causes the modem to dial phone numbers in foreign countries, resulting in long distance charges.' 4 countries were targeted: Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Nauru and Sao Tome. It is still possible to call to those countries with the operator assistance and the fees are waived. Now let's see if this nice idea will be followed by others."

2 of 293 comments (clear)

  1. Lesser of 2 evils I suppose by tekiegreg · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Granted auto dialers to these countries will no longer function, but I suppose the loss of the one customer who regularly dials Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Nauru and/or Sao Tome in Canada vs. the gazillions of mad people for bum phone bills weighs itself out. However let's see them try this with a bigger country having auto dial issues as well (Thailand, Vietnam and former Russian republics come to mind). A step in the right direction, but not hardly a full solution.

    --
    ...in bed
  2. Internet credibility of a country by gtrubetskoy · · Score: 5, Insightful
    I think we are seeing an interesting trend where some countries are earning a bad reputation on the Internet, which will ultimately affect their economies and ability to participate in international trade.

    E.g. who in their right mind accepts credit card orders from Romania, Russia or Indonesia when it is well known that the vast majority of those card numbers are stolen?

    But I think that what is right now simply a major annoyance to on-line vendors and users (spam, phishing, etc.), will eventually backfire at the countries that are unable (or more likely do not care to) to control Internet fraud of various kind sas they become more and more blacklisted and left out of the Internet economy. This will eventually force their governments to pay attention to the issue. I bet already it is pretty frustrating to be an Internet user in one of such countries and know that most vendors on the internet will not accept any payment from you simply because of your country of origin...