| ==Phrack Inc.== | |
| Volume Two, Issue 21, File 7 of 11 | |
| ()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()() | |
| () () | |
| () Non-Published Numbers () | |
| () ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ () | |
| () An Observation Of Illinois Bell () | |
| () () | |
| () by Patrick Townson () | |
| () of The Portal System (TM) () | |
| () () | |
| () Special Thanks to Hatchet Molly () | |
| () () | |
| ()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()() | |
| All examples in this message pertain to Illinois Bell Telephone Company, which | |
| covers the Chicago metropolitan area, and quite a bit of the rest of Illinois. | |
| - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - | |
| There are three types of phone numbers which do not appear in the printed and | |
| publicly available directory; | |
| (1) Too new to list | |
| (2) Non-listed | |
| (3) Non-published | |
| The third category of numbers not in the phone book or available from the | |
| Directory Assistance Bureau are non-published numbers. Non-published numbers | |
| are NOT available at the directory Assistance level. Inquiries about same | |
| which are input into a DA (Directory Assistance) terminal simply come up with a | |
| message that "at the customer's request, the number is not listed in our | |
| records; the number is non-published." | |
| Well, who does keep non-pub records then? The Business Office has no handy way | |
| to retrieve them, since they depend on an actual phone number when they pull up | |
| a record to discuss an account. Once a service order is processed, the number | |
| and associated name are no longer available to the average worker in the | |
| central office. | |
| There was for several years a small group known as the "NonPub Number Bureau" | |
| which at the time was located in Hinsdale, Illinois. Needless to say, the | |
| phone number to the NonPub Number Bureau was itself non-published, and was only | |
| available to specified employees at Illinois Bell who were deemed to have a | |
| "need to know clearance." Now with all the records being highly computerized, | |
| the keepers of the Non-Pub phone numbers are themselves scattered around from | |
| one phone office to another. | |
| When there is some specific need for an employee at the phone company to | |
| acquire the non-published number of a subscriber, then certain security | |
| precautions kick into place. Only a tiny percentage of telephone company | |
| employees are deemed to have a "need to know clearance" in the first place; | |
| among these would be the GCO's (Group Chief Operators), certain management | |
| people in the central offices, certain people in the Treasury/Accounting | |
| office, and of course, security representatives both from Illinois Bell and the | |
| various long distance carriers, such as AT&T, US. Sprint, and MCI. | |
| Let us have a hypothetical example for our correspondent; Your mother has taken | |
| seriously ill, and is on her deathbed. Your brother is unable to reach you to | |
| notify you of this because you have a non-pub number. When his request for the | |
| number has been turned down by Directory Assistance, simply because they do not | |
| have it, he asks to speak with a supervisor, and he explains the problem. He | |
| provides his own name and telephone number, and the supervisor states he will | |
| be called back at a later time. The supervisor does not question if in fact an | |
| emergency exists, which is the only valid reason for breaking security. The | |
| supervisor may, if they are doing their job correctly, ask the inquirer point | |
| blank, "Are you stating there is an emergency situation?" | |
| Please bear in mind that the law in Illinois and in many other states says that | |
| if a person claims that an emergency exists in order to influence the use (or | |
| discontinuance of use) of the telephone when in fact there is no emergency is | |
| guilty of a misdemeanor crime. You say yes this is an emergency and I need to | |
| contact my brother/sister/etc right away. The supervisor will then talk to | |
| his/her supervisor, who is generally of the rank of Chief Operator for that | |
| particular facility. | |
| The Chief Operator will call the NonPub people, will identify herself, and | |
| *leave her own call back number*. The NonPub people will call back to verify | |
| the origin of the call, and only then will there be information given out | |
| regards your brother's telephone number. It helps if you know the *exact* way | |
| the name appears in the records, and the *exact* address; if there is more than | |
| one of that name with non-pub service, they may tell you they are unable to | |
| figure out who it is you want. | |
| The NonPub person will then call the subscriber with the non-published number | |
| and explain to them what has occurred, "So and so has contacted one of our | |
| operators and asked for assistance in reaching you. The party states that it | |
| is a family emergency which requires your immediate attention. Would it be | |
| alright if we give him/her your number, or would you prefer to call them back | |
| yourself?" | |
| Based on the answer given, the number is either relayed back to the Chief | |
| Operator, or a message is relayed back saying the non-pub customer has been | |
| notified. If the customer says it is okay to pass his number, then the Chief | |
| Operator will call you back, ask who YOU are, rather than saying WHO she wants, | |
| and satisfied with your identification will give you the number you are seeking | |
| or will advise you that your brother has been given the message by someone from | |
| our office, and has said he will contact you. | |
| Before the NonPub people will even talk to you, your 'call back number' has to | |
| be on their list of approved numbers for that purpose. A clerk in the Business | |
| office cannot imitate a Chief Operator for example, simply because NonPub would | |
| say that the number you are asking us to call back to is not on our list. | |
| "Tell your supervisor what it is you are seeking and have them call us..." | |
| Other emergency type requests for non-pub numbers would be a big fire at some | |
| business place in the middle of the night, and the owners of the company must | |
| be notified at their home; or a child is found wandering by the police and the | |
| child is too young to know his parent's (non-pub) number. | |
| They will also handle non-emergency requests, but only if they are of some | |
| importance and not frivolous in nature. You have just come to our city to | |
| visit and are seeking a long lost friend who has a non-pub number; you are | |
| compiling the invitations to your high school class fiftieth re-union and find | |
| a class member is non-pub. Within certain reasonable limits, they will pass | |
| along your request to the desired party and let them make the choice of whether | |
| to return the call or not. But always, you leave your phone number with them, | |
| and in due time someone will call you back to report what has been said or | |
| done. | |
| You would be surprised -- or maybe you wouldn't -- at the numerous scams and | |
| stories people tell the phone company to get the non-pub numbers of someone | |
| else. Fortunately, Bell takes a great deal of pride in their efforts to | |
| protect the privacy of their subscribers. | |
| -PT | |
| _______________________________________________________________________________ | |