Slashdot Mirror
Data Center Raid About Unpaid Telco Fees
craig writes "CBS11 News reports that the raid on Core IP networks is in the result of an investigation into unpaid telco access fees paid by CLECs and VoIP carriers to terminate calls on their networks. They also report that this raid is linked to the March 12th raid on Crydon Technology's datacenter, which also hosted VOIP providers. Anyone in the telco business will tell you access fees to other carriers are a total mess and lots of carriers have unpaid balances out there. It gives you the feeling that the FBI is acting as a collection agency for AT&T and Verizon."
Incidentally, isnt it sort of in the FBI's realm to investigate large-scale fraud?
Yes. We won't have any idea what the truth is until someone gets a copy of the federal warrants used in the raid, or until we get information that charges are being filed.
512 MB RAM, 20 GB disk, 200 GB transfer, five datacenters. $19.95/month.
In that case, the NSA is probably on the way as well.
Or long gone without a trace!
If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
Incidentally, isnt it sort of in the FBI's realm to investigate large-scale fraud?
Yes. But Slashdot users have a propensity for Libertarian anarchism.
If it's the FBI doing its job in enforcing copywrite law then they're henchmen for the recording industry Mafiaa.
If it's the FBI doing its job in enforcing fraud then they're henchmen for the telecommunications industry.
Remember the government should be small to non-existant. And instead of changing legislation we should just be ignoring the laws that are on the books.
Is it reasonable that a kid downloading a song is a felony? No. But that's a legislative and judicial issue. The FBI is in the executive branch and its job is to respect and uphold the law. That means if someone is believed to be breaking the law then they're obligated to enforce it.
What's the alternative? Police officers deciding to selectively enforce laws on a case by case basis (which unfortunately does happen). I would much prefer the executive branch was consistent in enforcement instead of cherry picking cases than them attempting to make decisions of guilt and innocence before there being a fair and open trial. Obviously there has to be some exceptions to this rule (otherwise everyone would get arrested and have a day in court every time a crime is commited) but by and large I support the FBI actually doing its job when fraud is reported.
TFA mentions Verizon going to the FBI months ago, believing it had discovered a plan to defraud the telcos out of fees (i.e. illegal access to and use of the telephone network, hence the FBI involvement).
Seriously, it's days like this I hate Slashdot.
> It gives you the feeling that the FBI is acting as a collection agency for AT&T and Verizon.
"I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for the International Banking House of Brown Brothers in 1902-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies in 1903. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested. Looking back on it, I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents."
- Maj.Gen.Smedley Butler, 1935, awarded 2xCMOH
Discuss the use of Federal agencies in protecting commercial intersts of large corporations. 2000-3000 words. Citations in Harvard style.
The first article was spun into "FBI raids datacenter, believed to be because of MPAA requests on movie piracy." The entire piracy spin was added by slashdot (or the submitter, which should've been caught at the editor). There was no mention of it *anywhere* in the facts. Turns out it was false. They really seem to be trying to rile people against the FBI in this.
While poignant, I hardly think a quote from damn near a century ago is particularly relevant. You might as well be quoting Shakespeare.
Because the world is so different now?
Let's update it a little then:
"I helped make Iraq a decent place for the Haliburton boys to collect revenues in....I tried to bring light to Afghanistan for the Unocal Central Asian oil pipeline in 2002."
The first step in repeating history is failing to see the relevance of past lessons. Whenever someone says "but things are SO different now" my bullshit detector goes off. Human beings aren't any different now than they were a thousand years ago.
Perhaps we should all quit contributing to the spin until the exact reasons for this raid are resolved.
The causes still seems pretty speculative, at this point. What's not speculation is that the FBI disrupted a whole lot of businesses in pursuit of what was apparently something that didn't involve all of them - which is wrong.
Seriously, it's days like this I hate Slashdot.
It's times like this that make me despise media journalists who don't bother to wait until the facts come out to get a story out, because they have to get "the scoop".
Why, yes, I just finished re-reading Varley's "Steel Beach". Why do you ask?
SB
It's old. The more humans I meet, the more I like my cats. At least they are honest.
There are stupid people everywhere, it's good that you're one of few to check sources and actually think about what you read. Keep it up, keep complaining - we need more of you.
The main sign that a company is about to go under is when they get the law involved. For some examples see the record labels, film studios and patent trolls. Even Apple is infamous for being excessively litigious prior to their current windfall.
Normally business arrangements are reciprocal and it's in the best interests of a company to avoid publicizing that their partners are in breach of a contract. There are plenty of collections agencies in the private sector that they could have consulted instead, but instead it's being treated as a criminal matter. This is the sort of behavior you see when a company realizes that their business model is flawed.
Oh COME ON. I know the feds have a bad rap on slashdot, but now you're accusing them of being back-scratching goons on behalf of AT&T?
"Court documents show it's all part of an alleged massive fraud scheme against AT&T and Verizon."
It's right there in the frikkin article. Large scale fraud is indeed the purview of the FBI, no conspiracy required.
Though now I'll get modded down for this won't I. I better come up with some ludicrous conspiracy scheme instead.
Verizon and AT&T did what they were told by our government overlords, and were protected. These companies didn't hand over their VOIP logs to the NSA like good little citizens, and now they have to pay. No doubt those records are on their way to the NSA right now! I bet they're looking for records of terrorist activies, and will just end up poring over the comm logs of honest upstanding americans, and sticking something on them when they don't find anything. And of course none of the mainstream media are covering it, they're in on it!
There, that should do it.
Remember kids, it's all fun and games until someone commits wholesale galactic genocide.