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SPIT - Spam over Internet Telephony
You probably know what spam is but what about it's cousins spim and spit?
Most people are probably aware of SPAM. Not the canned-ham type of SPAM but the
unsolicited mail you receive in your e-mail box. It's frustratingly difficult to
delete it from your mailbox and the SPAMmers themselves are devilishly cleaver
and getting past all sorts of SPAM filter software. However there are other
types of SPAM, known as SPIM and SPIT...
SPIM
The emergence of mobile phones and the popularity of instant messaging protocols
like SMS and IM has heralded the start of SPIM - that's Spam over Instant
Messaging. If you've ever received an SMS advertising something, you've probably
been a victim of SPIM. One of my mobile phones was with a populat mobile carrier
and they regularly sent me messages urging me to top up or take advantage of
some deal. I realise that I was their customer but I often thought they were foraging
in SPIM territory.
SPIT
So what do you get if you mix SPAM and voice
over Internet protocol (VOIP) you get SPIT - that's SPAM over Internet
Telephony.
Because VOIP reduces the cost of making phone calls many SPAM houses are
switching tracks to use VOIP to cheaply call someone and then play them a
pre-recorded message advertising some sort of deal.
I recently had a SPIT attack with a difference. My mobile phone rang once and
then stopped and I saw that I had missed a call. When I rang the number of the
missed call I heard an answering message advertising some sort of word game. Now
this is really annoying. I usually ask unsolicited sales calls to identify who
they are and what company they work for so that I can boycott them in future but
with SPIT there's no one to talk to and no one to harass!
How telcos make money from SPAM
What's interesting is the complete lack of interest that the telcos and
telephone manufacturers display in helping us solve the problem. It's only
really really recent phones that even let you block calls from certain numbers.
It's like the phone manufacturers have done some sort of back-room deal with the
telcos. They won't implement any kind of SPIM or SPIT filter into the phones so
that telcos can continue to earn top dollar by giving SPAMmers access to our
phone numbers. In return, the telcos will stock those phones in their retail
outlets.
Sell your
numbers to SPAMmers
Telcos sell your phone number in huge lists to telemarketers, charities and
SPAMmers. The list doesn't just include your number, it will often include you
name and address and other personally identifying information. For the cheaper
companies there's nothing wrong with picking up a copy of the local white pages
and using that as your call list. After all it's all cheap VOIP calls.
Charge you to remove your number from the phone book.
When you think about it, it's crazy much they charge you to get your phone
number removed from the phone book - you'd think it would be the other way
around, ie they'd charge you to have your phone number listed in the phone book.
This means that no new lists will have your number, but it won't automagically
remove your number from any databases or existing lists in use.
Charge you way too much for SMSs
SMS's are possibly the most expensive way to send information known to man.
In Australia an SMS will set you back about 20 cents for 80 characters
(letters). Run that through a calculator and you'll find that SMS's go for more
than $300 a megabyte. Compare that with broadband costs of $0.10 cents a
megabyte and you start too see how much of an earner for the telcos this is....
Charge you for simple Caller ID
CallerID works great, but it shouldn't cost money. Most mobile phones do it, so
why is it so expensive to provide this over normal phone lines. You have to buy
a phone that supports caller id so having to pay a monthly fee for it seems
crazy.
Blocking SPAM and SPIT
So the Telcos and Mobile phone manufacturers tell us that it's too hard to
block SPIM and SPIT but it's damnably simple if you ask me. Look at popular
computer authentication methods such as
Challenge-Response. Simply ask the user to provide a response to a really
simple random question. The question might be something as simple as what day it
is, or something more personal like the person you are calling's favourite
colour.
"this phone number is being filtered, you
will need to enter the following random digits into your phone to be connected;
345.."
Obviously some people may know the date but i suspect that many call centers
won't provide their operators with keypads. When a telemarketer calls from a
large off-shore telecenter the call is usually placed by a computer that grabs
your number from a database. The computer rings you and when you pick up the
call is routed to an operator. The operator's phone then rings on their desk.
The delay you get when you pick up is usually the operator being slow to pick up
your call. The phone they have doesn't have any keypad or dialout controls so
they can't key in any numbers on their phone etc..
The real caller would be able to key in the correct three numbers and then
the call would be connected, otherwise it would be disconnected. This would stop
recorded SPIM and SPIT messages dead.
I guess this filtering technology is a little distant at the moment but there
is a way to play a message to the operator. I recently found a great little
program that would allow you to record a voice message and play it down the
phone line using an old modem. If you've got an old 56k or even a 14.4k modem
lying around these work great for playing messages down the phone line. You can
pre-record a message saying something like
"Your call has been terminated due to a breach
of our telephone policy. No un-solicited sales calls will be accepted. If you
believe this decision has been made in error, please call <mobile number>"
Next time someone calls you to try and sell you something simply press play on
the program to play the sample down the phone line and then hang up the phone.
The sales person on the other end of the phone will then hear the breach message
and then the modem will hang up. The mobile number is in there in-case you get
it wrong and hang up on someone important, at least they'll be able to call you
back on your mobile. It will stop the telemarketers because they don't usually
dial the phone numbers themselves and they probably don't have a keypad phone
extension,
To do this you need an old modem, with drivers installed and some software to
play wav or mp3 files into the phone line via the modem. You'll need a
microphone too, so that you can record your message for the telemarketers.
If you want something simple
Modem
Spy by
SoftCab
Inc does a good job, but there are other options such as
old modems
and making your own
Telephone-To-Sound-Card Interface
In the mean time we look at the top 5 ways of getting back at telemarketers
when they call you;
- Tell the telemarketer that you're not the person they need to speak to
and that you will just go and get them. Then put the phone down and go back
to watching television or whatever it was you were doing before they called.
They'll wait on the phone for a while before they get the message
- Tell the telemarketer that you will put them through to the person
responsible and then dial 123 on your phone and hang up. The telemarketer
will think you're dialing the extension number, but in reality you just hung
up on them.
- Tell the telemarketer in broken English that you're an illegal immigrant
and beg them not to tell anyone that you're in the country.
- Repeat everything the telemarketer says to you back to them. Don't
bother to use a fake accent, it works best if you make no attempt to
disguise your voice. Keep repeating until they hang up.
- Mess with their heads... Ask them where they are... ask them if they're
near a window that they can jump out of? I had a great discussion with a
telemarketer when I asked him what the time was. The telemarketer was
obviously briefed not to tell people where he was, so when I asked him the
question he just hung up... exactly what I wanted...
If you can think of any other hilarious ways to annoy telemarketers please
submit them in the form below.
If you're interested in VOIP and WiFi don't miss our great articles on
VOIP
solutions and
WiFi Pranks.
Rob (Wednesday, 16 August 2006)
Mac users, plug in your ipod and play them hold music for hours...
http://www.dplay.com/tutorial/Mac2tel.html | Peter (Thursday, 17 August 2006)
The delay before they answer works in your favour. Since telemarketers always come up as "CALL" on my caller ID, I know when to expect them. If I say 'hello?' too quickly, I now resist the temptation to say 'hello?' again. If they're sitting there waiting for me to say something, it means a) they're not harrassing anybody else and b) it's costing them money (lost productivity). I wondered if maybe they just hang up after a while, but when I tested this recently I discovered they were still there waiting for me to say something after at least a minute of silence. | Earl (Monday, 17 December 2007)
Do you realise you can say no thank you and hangup. Many "telemarketers" work for onshore companies and do work for charities and or emergency servises such as fire and ambulance. So have a brain, stop being so childish. |
Zoneminder
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