TELECOM Digest     Mon, 22 Aug 2005 15:13:00 EDT    Volume 24 : Issue 380

Inside This Issue:                             Editor: Patrick A. Townson

    RSA Security Sees Hope in Online Fraud (Brian Bergstein)
    Amazon Offers Short Stories for 49 Cents (Reuters Newswire)
    Google Bypasses Browser to Scan Hard Drives (Eric Auchard)
    Hacker Underground Erupts in Virtual Turf Wars (Peter N. Spotts)
    Tables Turn in File-Swapping Business (USTelecom dailyLead)
    Re: Local Exchange Not Local in Sylva, NC (Lisa Hancock)
    Re: Local Exchange Not Local in Sylva, NC (J Kelly)
    Re: Two VOIP Boxes on the Same Port (Fred Atkinson)
    Re: Campaigners Prepare to Battle EU Data Storage Bill (Paul Coxwell)
    Re: Hiroshima Marks 60th Anniversary of Atomic Bomb Attack (L Hancock)
    Re: An Exciting Weekend With a Sneak Thief (J Kelly)
    Last Laugh! Doctors are Now Spamming to Get Business (Steven Lichter)

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We must fight spam for the same reason we fight crime: not because we
are naive enough to believe that we will ever stamp it out, but because
we do not want the kind of world that results when no one stands
against crime.   Geoffrey Welsh

               ===========================

See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details
and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest.  

----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Brian Bergstein <ap-tech@telecom-digest.org>
Subject: RSA Security Sees Hope in Online Fraud
Date: Mon, 22 Aug 2005 10:08:38 -0500


By BRIAN BERGSTEIN, AP Technology Writer

It was a Friday afternoon for the computer encryption folks at RSA
Security Inc., and summertime greenery filled the countryside view
from Art Coviello's office.

Even so, the RSA chief could have been excused if he didn't seem
relaxed.  RSA had just announced its second straight set of quarterly
results that didn't dazzle Wall Street analysts, and RSA's stock was
flirting with a 52-week low.

But Coviello shrugged it off. Analysts, schmanalysts. More
importantly, he said, lots of factors are about to turn in RSA's
favor, namely the need for more secure, traceable financial
transactions in a world beset by online fraud and identity theft.

"The whole thing's moving a lot more slowly than it ought to,"
Coviello said. "We've got to keep pounding and pounding until we reach
a tipping point, and we will take advantage of it."

The lack of an obsession over quarterly results isn't the only unusual
thing about RSA, which still bears the marks of an academic past
despite being a $300 million company with 1,200 employees and
customers in government, banking and health care.

RSA is named for three Massachusetts Institute of Technology
professors, Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir and Len Adelman. Though they are no
longer involved with the company they founded in 1986, their invention
of a seminal method of cryptography set the tone for the company and
is crucial in online commerce.

Today RSA is perhaps best known for staging a prestigious annual
security conference and for selling 20 million little devices that
display a six-digit code computer users must type to gain access to
computer networks.  The code, which changes every minute as determined
by an RSA-created algorithm, is unique to each "SecureID" token,
making it useless to a snoop.

The requirement that users enter the code in addition to a password is
known as two-factor authentication, an approach that figures to gain
ground over simple passwords as more and more sensitive data move
online.

Indeed, RSA's sales of authentication products jumped 16 percent last
year, as RSA's overall profits more than doubled, to $35
million. E-Trade Financial Corp. and America Online Inc. began
offering SecureID devices to some customers over the past year. The
Associated Press also uses the tokens for network access.

"It is the Kleenex or Q-Tip of two-factor identification," said Gregg
Moskowitz, an analyst with the Susquehanna Financial Group. "SecureID
is the brand name."

But wide deployment in consumer applications has come slowly.

In theory, every institution that does business on a Web site could
increase its security by offering its users RSA tokens.

But practically, it would be a nightmare to have 20 different devices
with their own codes. And banks apparently don't trust one another
enough to accept a competitor's authentication token.

RSA hopes to smash such hang-ups by acting as an intermediary,
launching a new "hosted" service this fall in which its servers will
check whether a consumer entered the proper token code -- even if the
token was made by an RSA rival -- then relay the "yea" or "nay" back to
the bank. RSA already provides such a service for companies' internal
access control, but has yet to offer it for consumer applications.

Investors will be watching closely. Although Coviello is confident
that wider trends in access control -- such as rampant identity theft
and abuse of Social Security numbers -- should play to RSA's
strengths, he acknowledges that RSA needs to do more to push the
market rather than wait for it.

That means RSA has to be much more than the company known for
authentication tokens -- a product that some analysts say is coming
down in price because of competition. RSA also hopes to expand its
sales of software and security consulting services, where heftier
rivals such as VeriSign Inc. and International Business Machines
Corp. also lurk.

"When you consider all the identity theft that is taking place now,
the challenge for RSA is to monetize that," Moskowitz said. "It's
easier said than done."

RSA believes one key differentiator can be its research arm, including
the eight people in "RSA Labs," a group so focused on the advanced
mathematics behind cryptography that it is described as an academic
institution within the company.

RSA researchers are expected to dream up ways to expand the use of
two-factor authentication, though sometimes that puts the company a
bit ahead of the market.

One system being developed would use radio-frequency chips in keyless
office access cards so employees wearing one can automatically access
their secured computers as soon as they near them. Such a system would
use a fingerprint reader on the computer to confirm identity. That
product won't be ready, though, for a year or two.

Then there's an effort, led by labs director Burt Kaliski, to give
users a better way to confirm the legitimacy of Web sites -- and avoid
"phishers" who set up phony sites to lure passwords and account
information from the unsuspecting.

Kaliski envisions a system in which Web browsers or even computer
operating systems act as an intermediary between a user and a
site. Through the principles of encryption, the intermediary software
could tell the Web site that the user entered the proper password
without sending the actual password.

In another realm, RSA has created a "blocker tag" that ensures that
radio-frequency identification chips can be scanned only by designated
readers. It could be an elegant answer to the question of whether RFID
chips, which are designed to streamline corporate inventory systems,
might pose privacy risks for consumers. (The chips also are coming to
U.S.  passports, raising fears that American travelers overseas could
be surreptitiously, remotely tracked.)

But for now this and other RFID solutions sit on the shelf, since the
deployment of such tags has been slower than predicted.

"That is the hardest thing for a technology company to do," Coviello
said.  "You have to anticipate a market, not get too far ahead of
customers, but you want to be there when they come around."

But he quickly added: "We've been around 20 years, and I think the
market opportunity ahead of us is richer than ever before."

On the Net:
RSA's security blog:
http://www.rsasecurity.com/blog/about.asp

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. 

NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the
daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at
http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new
articles daily. Additional news at 
http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html

------------------------------

From: News Wire <newswire@telecom-digest.org> 
Subject: Amazon Offers Short Stories for 49 Cents
Date: Mon, 22 Aug 2005 10:01:40 -0500


On-line book store Amazon.com,, in what could be a literary equivalent
of snacking, is now selling short stories, and even alternate chapters
or single scenes from novels, for 49 cents each.

"Amazon Shorts," on sale from Monday, have no printed editions and are
only delivered digitally.

"Amazon Shorts will help authors find new readers and help readers
find and discover authors they'll love," said Steve Kessel,
Amazon.com's vice president of digital media. "We hope that by making
short-form literature widely and easily available, Amazon.com can help
to fuel a revival of this kind of work."

Publishers have always had a hard time selling and marketing the
single, short-form work -- the novella, or the novelette, or the even
shorter "novelini," he said.

Customers can now find Amazon Shorts from accomplished authors, such
as Danielle Steel or Tama Janowitz, in various genres and formats,
including alternate chapters and scenes to well-known stories,
personal memoirs, one-act plays and classic short stories.

No digital rights management software is needed to download and read
Amazon Shorts.

Customers have three options for reading a piece:

-- View now: Takes customers to a Web page to read or print out the
Amazon Short.

-- Download: Initiates the download of a PDF file.

-- E-mail: Sends the entire Amazon Short in a plain-text message to
the specified e-mail address.


Copyright 2005 Reuters Limited.

NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the
daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at
http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new
articles daily.

------------------------------

From: Eric Auchard <reuters@telecom-digest.org> 
Subject: Google Bypasses Browser to Search PC Drives
Date: Mon, 22 Aug 2005 10:03:40 -0500


By Eric Auchard

Google Inc. unveils a computer and Web search tool on Monday using
self-updating navigation and personal information software that puts
it in more direct competition with Yahoo, Microsoft and AOL.

The creator of the world's most popular Web search system said it was
branching out beyond pure search to help users manage e-mail, instant
messages, news headlines and music.

Google Desktop 2, as the new search software is known, helps users
locate information stored on their own hard disk, on office network
drives they may use and on the Web. Details can be found at
http://desktop.google.com/features/.

The heart of the system is a tall, rectangular "sidebar" with a set of
panels that provide glimpses into the latest "live" information of
interest to the user. It actively learns from each move a user makes
to personalize what is featured.

"We really want to have people be able to sit back and watch the Web
come to them," Nikhil Bhatla, product manager of the Google Desktop
product, said, adding that: "We have tried to provide a lot of
information in a small amount of space."

Innovative features include a headline syndication system that adds
Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds of frequently visited sites,
without any special user intervention. Aside from searching the Web,
Google will trawl Outlook e-mail and PC program data like Word, Excel,
Adobe PDFs and instant messages.

"All this information is available at one glance," Bhatla said. "You
don't have to manually do anything," he said. Still, each feature is
designed to be easily customized when desired.

SUBTLE PRESSURE

Step back from the screen and increasingly desktop applets, instant
messaging windows, mobile phone browsers and interactive TV menus all
look alike. Lines are blurring between different ways of navigating
computers, phones and television.

Google is moving beyond "Coke Classic" -- the basic experience of
searching the Web through the browser for which it is known. In ways
not always apparent to the user, Google is seeking to control more of
a users' computer experience, the way Yahoo, Microsoft and America
Online do.

Increasingly for Google, this means that users of its information
management tools will not need such tools from Microsoft or Yahoo, and
vice versa.

The downside is that Google Desktop's powerful information-vacuuming
capabilities can compete for a computer's resources with these rival
programs.

"There seems to be parallel development going on among all the major
players," said Greg Sterling, a Kelsey Group analyst. The major Web
media players all are creating "invisible walled gardens" that are
less open than they first appear, he said.

Google's strategy remains focused on search and information
management, but in small yet vital ways, users are being nudged to
choose sides.

Just last week America Online introduced a new version of its popular
AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) that emphasizes e-mail, radio, Internet
phone-calling, text messaging with mobile phone users, even Web-based
TV.

AIM targets people keen on all the new-fangled Internet
communications.  Yahoo lures entertainment fans and socializers.
Microsoft attracts office workers. Google draws the Web-based
information worker, but covets the other audiences too.

Yahoo offers its own "sidebar" within a user's browser, which manages
music, photos and instant messenger conversations alongside whatever
Web page Yahoo users are viewing. Yahoo recently acquired
Konfabultator, which first popularized the modular programs it calls
Widgets among Apple Macintosh computer users. Google's sidebar is
similar.

In a challenge to Microsoft's dominance of the computer desktop, users
of the Google Sidebar are encouraged to bypass the Windows desktop and
"start" navigation menu. The Quickfind feature allows one to return to
recently used applications or Web sites without extra mouse clicks.


Copyright 2005 Reuters Limited.

NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the
daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at
http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new
articles daily.

------------------------------

From: Peter N. Spotts <csm@telecom-digest.org>
Subject: Hacker Underground Erupts in Virtual Turf Wars
Date: Mon, 22 Aug 2005 00:31:17 -0500


http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0822/p01s01-stct.html

Hacker underground erupts in virtual turf wars
A chain of warring virus attacks last week fits an emerging trend.

By Peter N. Spotts | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

In the early days of computer attacks, when bright teens could
bring down corporate systems, the point was often to trumpet a hacker's
success. No longer.

In today's murky world of digital viruses, worms, and Trojan horses,
the idea is to stay quiet and use hijacked computers to flood the
Internet with spam, spread destructive viruses, or disgorge e-mail to
choke corporate systems. Not only can networks of these compromised
computers be leased or sold, experts say, they are becoming more
valuable as the number of vulnerable computers slowly shrinks.

That's a major reason that turf wars are emerging among hackers.
Besides infiltrating computer systems, the viruses are now also
designed to kill any other competing viruses in those systems. These
skirmishes have gone on -- quietly -- for several years. Last week, for
the second time in a little over a year, they exploded into public
view. A worm dubbed Zotob infected computers at major media outlets,
industrial companies, and San Francisco International Airport.

Three days after a Finnish computer-security firm discovered Zotob on
Aug. 14, seven variations were on the loose. Five of them were
designed to delete the initial worms that may have burrowed through
the vulnerable spot in Windows 2000 first.

"We've been seeing an increase in these kinds of battles, especially
in the last three years," says Tom Liston, an Internet security
consultant with Intelguardians Network Intelligence, in
Washington. "We're likely to see more."

Often the battles involve "proof of concept" hacker software, says
Curtis Franklin Jr., a senior technical editor with Secure Enterprise
Magazine. The programs' writers use it to test new techniques, so the
viruses carry no "payloads" that can harm a computer system.

But they can backfire. Indeed, last week's outbreak may be a case
where the hackers "didn't expect this to be quite as virulent as it
was," says Mr. Liston. "You had this thing taking off inside a
network, and all these machines were pounding on each other trying to
compromise each other."

It's not the first time. In the spring of 2004, it was dueling
viruses Bagel, Netsky, and Mydoom, notes Mikko Hyppnen, director of
antivirus research for F-Secure Corporation in Helsinki.

The trio went through several variations. Later versions included
taunts to writers of the other viruses, adds Peter Reiher, a computer
science professor at the University of Southern California at Los
Angeles.

"Years ago, people just wanted access to a machine or to do something
they could brag about," says Dr. Reiher. This led to one-upmanship
among hackers. Indeed, he says, even last year's virus wars may have
been more about bragging rights than control over infected machines. 
But it's clear now that there is some of the more serious activity 
going on as well."

One of the noteworthy aspects of this latest outbreak was the speed
with which Zotob appeared after Microsoft announced it had developed a
fix for the vulnerability Zotob was written to exploit.  While not the
fastest piece of hacker software -- or "malware" -- to hit the streets,
its six-day gestation period beat the current average. "In the last 24
months, the average has gone from 21 days to eight days, and it's
continuing to trend downward," Mr. Franklin says.

One reason behind the increased speed: Malware writers appear to be
using prewritten program "shells" into which they can stuff code
tailored to the newest vulnerability, experts say. Meanwhile,
corporate network managers sometimes have to negotiate with other
parts of the corporation before they can speed up the process of
plugging software gaps.

The biggest concern is over what security specialists call "zero-day 
exploits," when malware hits the Internet the same day that the fix 
for the vulnerability is announced.

Zotob's rise and fall highlights what many see as an increasing
ethical dimension to keep a clean machine, Franklin adds. The viruses
of yesteryear, "where something would get on your system and blow away
your boot sector just doesn't happen that much anymore." Today, the
various forms of malware "are all converging in what they do. It's
either looking to use your system without your knowledge to do
something against other systems, or it's trying to collect information
on you and combine it with information from other people" for use in
fraud or identify theft schemes.

An unprotected computer running Windows XP experiences an average
"survival" time of 26 minutes on the Internet before hackers identify
it as vulnerable, according to the SANS Institute, a cooperative
Internet security organization.

www.csmonitor.com Copyright 2005 The Christian Science Monitor.

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------------------------------

Date: Mon, 22 Aug 2005 13:14:52 EDT
From: USTelecom dailyLead <ustelecom@dailylead.com>
Subject: Tables Turn in File-Swapping Business


USTelecom dailyLead
August 22, 2005
http://www.dailylead.com/latestIssue.jsp?i=24019&l=2017006

		TODAY'S HEADLINES
	
NEWS OF THE DAY
* Tables turn in file-swapping business
BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH
* Qualcomm prepares for future
* Report predicts big growth for residential gateways
* Q-and-A with China Netcom's CEO
USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT 
* Enter the digital age with PBX Systems for IP Telephony
HOT TOPICS
* Telcos forge ahead with IPTV
* VoIP growth: Behind the numbers
* Report: IPTV set-top box market overcrowded
* A nationwide Google Wi-Fi net?
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES
* Video ads served up to mobile phones
* Viacom celebrates "Star Trek" 40th with phones
REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE
* Telecoms vie for defense contracts

Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others.
http://www.dailylead.com/latestIssue.jsp?i=24019&l=2017006

Legal and Privacy information at
http://www.dailylead.com/about/privacy_legal.jsp

SmartBrief, Inc.
1100 H ST NW, Suite 1000
Washington, DC 20005

------------------------------

From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com
Subject: Re: Local Exchange Not Local in Sylva, NC
Date: 22 Aug 2005 08:22:00 -0700


Fred Atkinson wrote:

> All he should have to do is call their provider and confirm that it
> is a local exchange.

What difference should it make if the number is "local"?

Some of my co-workers live across the street and walk to work.  Some
live in a different state and have a 90 minute commute.  I think every
workplace is like that.

So, in order to call people at home, in some cases they will have to
use long distance.

Anyway, today corporate long distance is so cheap why is that even a
problem?

Years ago when toll rates were expensive, PBX extensions had a
three-tier option:  1) interal PBX calls only (most common, esp on
phones anyone could use), 2) outside local calls only (low level
supervisors, secretaries), 3) all calls (big bosses).

Frankly, I don't see what's changed.  If a manager needs to call you,
he probably has long distance access already.  It's pretty hard to
conduct business today without long distance.

The other issue raised here is keeping switching equipment up-to-date
with new exchanges.  This has been an ongoing problem for years since
the explosion of area codes and new exchanges.  I believe official
bulletins are issued describing new exchanges and where they're
located.  (In the old days the Bell System handled this automatically
internally).  Any organization with a PBX that has internal tables
must subscribe or contract with someone who subscribes to these
bulletins and keep the internal tables updated.  What happens if a
valued customer gets a new phone number and you can't reach them?

------------------------------

From: J Kelly <jkelly@*newsguy.com>
Subject: Re: Local Exchange Not Local in Sylva, NC
Date: Mon, 22 Aug 2005 12:29:34 -0500
Organization: http://newsguy.com
Reply-To: jkelly@*newsguy.com


On Sat, 20 Aug 2005 22:10:16 -0000, bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com
(Robert Bonomi) wrote:

> In article <telecom24.377.4@telecom-digest.org>, Fred Atkinson
> <fatkinson@mishmash.com> wrote:

>> I recently moved to Sylva, NC to work in nearby Cullowhee, NC (it's
>> about a fifteen minute drive (tops) between the two places).

>> Our local calling area is between three small cities, Sylva,
>> Cullowhee, and Cashiers.  Anything outside that zone is long distance
>> for us.

>> I acquired Voicepulse VOIP service when I moved here.  They offered
>> Sylva and Cashiers, NC telephone exchanges.  I got a Sylva number on
>> the 534 exchange.  It's been working fine.

>> Today, I tried to dial into my home number from work so I could
>> check my voicemail.  I dialed 9 and then 53 and got no farther.  It
>> retuned a busy signal.  We tried it from several different phones
>> and got the same results.  I called the telecom guys and told them
>> of this dilemma.  Despite the fact that I had explained about it
>> being from a VOIP provider, he asked me several times if it was a
>> Verizon exchange.  I told him no, it wasn't.  It was a special
>> services exchange in the Sylva, NC area.

>> He told me he couldn't get it added to the switch without going
>> through a bunch of hoops (a number of people had to sign off on it).
>> I couldn't believe it.  All he should have to do is call their
>> provider and confirm that it is a local exchange.

> Your place of work has a PBX.  Your home exchange is not known to the
> 'dialing plan' for that switch.

> "Company policy" has a problem, regarding handling exchanges assigned
> to CLECs.

> This is not an issue that _you_ need to fight.  See to it that your
> *boss* has your home phone number, for 'emergency' use.

> Make sure said boss knows that you _cannot_ be reached via a 'company'
> phone due to a 'programming problem' in the company's switch.

>> Meantime, my colleagues cannot call me at home (from work) when a need
>> arises.

> Isn't that a SHAME!  <*grin*>

> You cannot be disturbed on your non-work time, because the company you
> work for won't let other employees call and bother you.

> Some people would _pay_extra_ for that kind of an arrangement!  :)

I know I would!  Sign me up!

------------------------------

From: Fred Atkinson <fatkinson@mishmash.com>
Subject: Re: Two VOIP Boxes on the Same Port
Date: Sun, 21 Aug 2005 17:16:33 -0400


> Details of 'fixing' the situation depend on the gory details of your
> set-up.  Do you have multiple IP addresses available to you?  Or only
> a single address?  Are you using DHCP?  Are you using NAT/PAT?
> Depending on those answers, you _may_ be able to do the necessary
> things entirely in the Cisco 831.  Or, you may have to access the
> configuration stuff for the VoIP devices.

No, I only get a single IP address on my Mediacom cablemodem.

Yes and no.  I have a virtual DHCP server in my Cisco 831.  But all of
the permanent devices on my home network have private/static IP
addresses assigned to and programmed into them.

Yes, I am using NAT/PAT.

Can you suggest a solution?

Regards,

Fred

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 21 Aug 2005 23:05:13 +0100
From: Paul Coxwell <paulcoxwell@tiscali.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Campaigners Prepare to Battle EU Data Storage Bill


> Telecom firms and civil liberty groups are readying themselves to
> influence a battle next month between European Union member states and
> the European Commission over rival plans to log calls and emails to
> combat terror.

> A council of EU justice and interior ministers put forward a
> data-logging plan after the March 2004 Madrid train bombs, saying
> retaining such data would help tackle terror and other crime. The
> attacks in London in July revived the plan.

Yet another reason why we in Britain should pull out of the totally 
corrupt and dictatorial EU.


- Paul

------------------------------

From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com
Subject: Re: Hiroshima Marks 60th Anniversary of Atomic Bomb Attack
Date: 22 Aug 2005 07:51:47 -0700


jtaylor wrote:

> No, it was not "sleaziness".

> The Japanese government fully intended to stop the peace negotiations
> before the attack occured, but the diplomatic staff at the Japanese
> emabssy was too slow decoding the message sent from Japan.

Geez, so the break off diplomatic relations five minutes before the
attack?  Somehow that makes it ok?  No, I don't think so.

> And it's a diplomat's job to do whatever his government tells him to,
> regardless of whether or not he knows its intentions in advance.

The point is the Japanese government was lying.  Note that its attack
fleet had to leave Japan a week before (it's a big ocean to cross)
under radio silence.

I suppose we could buy their argument that the Bataan death march was
due to a shortage of transport.  I don't.  I suppose we could believe
that the 1930s bombing and rapes of civilians in China was normal
warfare.  I don't.

The Empire of Japan had a run up a long record of atrocities by 1945.
It does not make sense to suggest to give them the benefit of doubt
regarding their cease fire proposals.

It should also be noted that the Japanese military command had a very
selective view of "honor".  They had no problem teaching their troops
to never surrender and to die for the emperor.  But when it came to
saving their own necks, it was another story.  They refused any
serious attempt at surrender because they knew of their guilt in war
trials.

------------------------------

From: J Kelly <jkelly@*newsguy.com>
Subject: Re: An Exciting Weekend With a Sneak Thief
Date: Mon, 22 Aug 2005 12:25:13 -0500
Organization: http://newsguy.com
Reply-To: jkelly@*newsguy.com


The problem with checks is that all I need is your routing and account
number, and guess what?  Those are printed on every one of your checks
in plain human readable numerals.  I can print up new checks on my
computer with any ID on them I want, and your account number.  I can
start passing them around town same as your sneak thief.  And guess
what?  I can easily get a fake ID to match the ID of the person I put
on the check.  Checks are terribly insecure.

On Fri, 19 Aug 2005 19:10:44 -0500, J Kelly <jkelly@*newsguy.com>
wrote:

> A few months back some dirtbag got ahold of my debit card number. No
> idea how.  They debit $500 to a poker website.  I caught it within 24
> hours and had the bank to a hot card.  I was told that FDIC rules
> require the bank to CLOSE an account in which any of the imformation
> is known to have been compromised.  I'm curious why they didn't close
> your account, especially since physical checks were stolen.

> Of course, if they did, and you opened a new account the info would be
> compromised as soon as you write a new check.

> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The sneak thief got two of my
> _original_  boxes of checks, numbered 101 through 125 and 126 through
> 150. They had never been opened, since it is very rare that I ever
> write a manual check. The guy did not get my debit card or any
> access to my bank account otherwise. The bank manager simply noted
> my account 'no manual checks ever written on this account' and said
> she would watch my account for a few days in case Walmart (or some
> other store of that ilk) had gotten a check. No word on that yet, so
> maybe they did not take a check, since the thief would have not had
> any of my identification anyway, which Walmart (hopefully) would have
> insisted on but local merchants probably would not have required since
> so many of them know me and the missing checks _were_ imprinted with
> my address and phone number (but not my SSN).  PAT]

------------------------------

From: Steven Lichter <shlichter@diespammers.com>
Reply-To: Die@spammers.com
Organization: I Kill Spammers, Inc.  (c) 2005 A Rot in Hell Co.
Subject: Last Laugh! Doctors are Now Spamming to Get Business
Date: Sun, 21 Aug 2005 20:01:29 GMT


Thank you:
You will be contacted by one of our Plastic Surgery Consultants within
45 minutes.

TO SHORTCUT THIS PROCESS CALL
1-800-346-8104
NOW TO RECEIVE YOUR FREE CONSULTATION.

1-800-346-8104
Business Hours, Eastern Time:
8:30 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday
8:30 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. Friday
10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
googleAds.com Inc., All Rights Reserved

The only good spammer is a dead one!!  Have you hunted one down today?
(c) 2005  I Kill Spammers, Inc.  A Rot in Hell Co.



[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I am not so sure the doctor was spamming.
Based on that opening phrase "thank you; you will be contacted by one
of our consultants within 45 minutes ..." it looks to me more like an
autoreply or auto-ack thing. It would appear someone either clicked on
a 'contact me' button on an ad, or maybe had send email to some
address given for the doctor and (as assurance he got the message) an
auto ack was sent out. I know the people who write here to the Digest
(even if it is spam that did not fall into the Spam Assassin trap)
also get an autoack based on my assuming they were a real, serious
person. Did you receieve any followup email or phone calls from the
staff?  

I had an instance one day where I apparently sent an auto ack to
someone who had 'written' me (well actually they had not written 
me they had spammed me [well actually 'they' had not spammed me, some-
one else unknown to them had done it in their name]) and that person
decided I needed to have my backporch remodeled as a result, and
they wrote back to me saying it was spam and they were go turn me
in to the authorities. I wrote them back in person that time (although
they had gotten a second auto-ack as a result of their actual letter)
and after enumerating what I feel are the better points in my life,
I said it did me good to get abused now and then, and thanked the
person graciously for taking the time to write me. PAT]

------------------------------


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End of TELECOM Digest V24 #380
******************************