Re: 911 service not prepared for new generation of pranksters

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "David P. Reed" <dpreed () reed com>
Date: February 8, 2009 9:56:56 PM EST
To: dave () farber net
Cc: ip <ip () v2 listbox com>
Subject: Re: [IP] 911 service not prepared for new generation of  
pranksters

It should be mentioned that these pranksters are committing serious  
felonies, and will be prosecuted aggressively.  This is not a gray  
area like "spam".

I don't think we need any "new laws" here - just long prison sentences  
well publicized.

In that sense, the existing "system" is actually *well prepared* for  
this new generation of pranksters.  And I'd be happy to help catch and  
terminate a few of them with prejudice.

(I do wonder why this is being promoted - cui bono? is always a good  
test.  Like the hype about Internet=snuff films and kiddie porn,  
usually this kind of thing arises when a large telecom wants to  
protect its monopoly against new, better technologies like VoIP.  
Perhaps the usual suspects are promoting this - one of the capitol  
lobbyists for telecoms like the Law Media Group, or maybe a new one).

David Farber wrote:
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: Monty Solomon <monty () roscom com>
> Date: February 4, 2009 12:36:38 AM EST
> To: undisclosed-recipient:;
> Subject: 911 service not prepared for new generation of pranksters
>
>
> 911 service not prepared for new generation of pranksters
>
> Prank callers are using VoIP and caller ID spoofing services to pull
> expensive wool over the eyes of 911 call centers. Solutions are
> available to bring these centers into the 21st century, but even the
> cheapest ones are priced outside the realm of the aging service.
>
> By David Chartier | Last updated February 2, 2009 7:30
>
> The Internet and the hooligans who exploit it have evolved over the
> past few years, but sadly, America's 911 service hasn't kept up.
> Pranksters are wreaking havoc on the service and on call center
> budgets by placing fake calls through a flaw in the way the aging
> emergency phone system handles VoIP networks.
>
> After paying a small fee to one of the readily available caller ID
> spoofing services available on the Web, a prank caller with a grudge
> or a serious psychological problem can call 911 and tell the operator
> just about any story he or she wants. Since the 911 system wasn't
> built with VoIP in mind, these calls appear to originate from
> anywhere, and said hooligans take full advantage of the opportunity.
> The practice has been dubbed "swatting," typically because the
> spoofed emergency stories that these troubled individuals make up are
> horrible enough to send police and even SWAT teams to unsuspecting
> victims on the other side of town or the continent.
>
> The AP reports one recent incident that occurred in 2007, when
> 18-year-old Randal Ellis in Mukilteo, WA falsified his location and
> called a 911 support center in Orange County, CA. For 27 minutes,
> Ellis spun a story about drugs and murder that sent the Orange County
> Sherriff's department SWAT team to the house of Doug and Stacey
> Bates. Ellis told the operator that he was high and had just shot his
> sister, and after police stormed the house, Doug and Stacey were
> handcuffed.
>
> This was just one of the 185 calls Ellis made to 911 call centers
> around the US, according to Yahoo Tech, and the Bates family was
> picked at random. After being caught, the teen pleaded to five felony
> felony counts that include computer access and fraud, as well as
> false imprisonment by violence, and was sentenced to serve three
> years in prison. Another major case involved eight people who
> arranged over 300 swatting calls, while another in 2006 involved a
> teen in Dallas, TX who made up a story about killing family members
> and threatening hostages with an AK-47.
>
> ...
>
> http://arstechnica.com/telecom/news/2009/02/911-service-not-prepared-for-new-generation-of-pranksters.ars
>
>
>
>
>
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