Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Verizon Tech Accused Of Making $220K In Sex Calls On User Lines

Posted by samzenpus on from the lots-of-lotion dept.

Joseph Vaccarelli, a former Verizon Technician, has been charged with racking up $220,000 in phone-sex calls by tapping into the land lines of nearly 950 customers. Authorities say that he made approximately 5,000 calls, resulting in 45,000 minutes of call time. Verizon estimated that out of a 40-week period, Vaccarelli spent 15 weeks talking on sex lines. How in the world do you have this much phone sex, period, but especially at work, and not have anyone notice?

23 of 218 comments (clear)

  1. You can have that much... by Sinryc · · Score: 5, Funny

    You can have that much by either being very very good, or very very bad at it.

    --
    Yay, I have a sig.
    1. Re:You can have that much... by __aavonx8281 · · Score: 5, Funny

      "How in the world do you have this much phone sex, period, but especially at work, and not have anyone notice?"

      Lol! You work at a phone company if you don't want to get noticed spending too much time on the phone!

      Customer: "What are you doing?"
      Phone Tech: "Uh, checking the line."
      Customer: "No! With your other hand!"

  2. Obligatory... by houstonbofh · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Can you hear me now?"
    "Good!"
    "No, Bad! Very very bad... You have been so very bad!"

  3. Money Making Scheme by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Set up 900 premium phone service.
    Get mate at Verizon to use customers phones to call said service. ...
    Profit.

  4. Great picture. by Korey+Kaczor · · Score: 5, Funny

    But I think most slashdot users won't get it, because they're not used to being on top of things, if you know what I mean.

    1. Re:Great picture. by kirbysuperstar · · Score: 5, Funny

      I installed XP on top of 98 once. That's what you mean, right?

    2. Re:Great picture. by Korey+Kaczor · · Score: 5, Funny

      I'll explain it to you when you're older :'(

    3. Re:Great picture. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      I'd tap that line if you know what I mean.

  5. Shouldn't have turned it down by Big+Nothing · · Score: 5, Funny

    A few years ago I turned down a job offer as a Verizon Technician due to low pay - I didn't know there were these kinds of fringe benefits!

    --
    SIG: TAKE OFF EVERY 'CAPTAIN'!!
  6. How you have this much phone sex? by Anomalyst · · Score: 5, Funny

    How in the world do you have this much phone sex?

    I'd tell ya, but then you'd die of exhaustion.

    --
    There is no right to feel safe thru security vaudeville at the expense of everyone's freedom, privacy and tax money.
    1. Re:How you have this much phone sex? by Firehed · · Score: 5, Funny

      Almost 94 continuous work days of phone sex. I feel terribly sorry for the janitor that cleans out his trash can.

      --
      How are sites slashdotted when nobody reads TFAs?
  7. Not sex but money by moteyalpha · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Did he own part of the phone-sex companies. That would explain that it was just a way to steal money and hide it. Less exciting story though.

  8. 45000/5000 by SportyGeek · · Score: 5, Funny

    9 minute average....better than your average geek. ;)

  9. Why is this on idle? by Kuroji · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Notwithstanding that I think a great number of users here think idle is a waste of space, a headline like this ought to be taken seriously, not treated as if it were a joke. This guy compromised the accounts of nearly a thousand customers, and that is a HUGE breach for Verizon's customers.

  10. People can get away with a lot by Chrisq · · Score: 5, Funny

    I used to think a certain manager where I work had a bad stomach - he would often get up and say "back in 10 minutes". Evidently people in reception thought a certain secretary had a bad stomach too.

    One day security installed a security camera in a stock room because they noticed that things "kept being moved around". Soon all became apparent.

    All I can say is he may have lacked in duration but he made up in frequency!

    1. Re:People can get away with a lot by MadMidnightBomber · · Score: 5, Funny

      They were secretly tidying up the stock room? I don't understand.

      --
      "It doesn't cost enough, and it makes too much sense."
  11. Nope, physical access. by Cyno01 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    He didnt compromise accounts, in the summary it says he tapped into land lines. That can be done with a $5 telephone handset and a pair of aligator clips, and was probably done using an actual linemans handset provided to him by the company. Google "beige box" for more info.

    --
    "Sic Semper Tyrannosaurus Rex."
  12. 1/3 the year on sex lines? by zakezuke · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Presuming a 40 hr work week, that works out to be 1/3 of the year on phone sex lines.

    That's pretty unbelievable, considering that one still needs time to jack into the lines in the first place.

    I've done some slack things at work, and it's pretty easy to get distracted and find out you spent most of the day goofing off. But this would take a real concerted effort to not work.

    --
    There is no sanctuary. There is no sanctuary. SHUT UP! There is no shut up. There is no shut up.
    1. Re:1/3 the year on sex lines? by Konster · · Score: 5, Funny

      I gather that he spent a lot of time jacking into those lines!

  13. Maybe he was in on the business by Britz · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Maybe he was in on the calls business. And he thought if those bills turn up the customers would be too embarressed to compain.

    Imagine how many divorces that guy most have caused.
    How would you explain such a bill to your significant other and how would they react?

  14. This sentence should be taken out and shot by jimdread · · Score: 5, Funny

    He didnt compromise accounts, in the summary it says he tapped into land lines.

    He should have tapped in somewhere later in the system, so his calls wouldn't get charged to a customer. But hey, maybe he wanted to get caught.

    Also I wish to complain about this sentence from the summary. This sentence should be taken outside and shot:

    How in the world do you have this much phone sex, period, but especially at work, and not have anyone notice?

    It's a bad idea to start spelling out your punctuation. As you can see in the above sentence, the author has ended up with the word "period' surrounded by commas. "Period" is supposed to end a sentence. And it is supposed to be written as "." not spelled out with letters. Spelling out "period" in the middle of a sentence, and surrounding it with commas, is madness exclamation mark. See question mark? It's stupid. Please don't spell out the word "period", use the popular abbreviation: .

    1. Re:This sentence should be taken out and shot by Helix666 · · Score: 5, Informative

      He *isn't* spelling out his punctuation.

      "period (mostly North America) And nothing else; and nothing less; used for emphasis."

      Please don't try and grammar/spelling/etc nazi without engaging brain, it makes you look silly.

      --
      Oh, the irony... "Anonymous Coward: If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear!"
  15. After 40 weeks by Moraelin · · Score: 5, Insightful

    He got caught after 40 weeks, or almost 10 months of it. During which he spent 15/40 = 37.5% of his time talking to sex lines.

    So maybe the question "why didn't he get caught?" is technically wrong, it practically begs for the question, "why did it take them so long?"

    I mean, seriously, is stuff like, "hur hur hur, I want to pull down your panties and stick it in your ass" something you'd normally hear around the office when people are talking on the phone? Well, I guess I've had worse tech support before, but never that explicit ;)

    --
    A polar bear is a cartesian bear after a coordinate transform.