TAP No. 85 - 12th Anniversary Issue: The Credit Card Code - 1983

THE CREDIT CARD CODE - 1383by Cheshire CatalystThe 1983 credit card code has rect, as of thiswriting, beer cracked. What this article is about1s the status cf research into cracking the code,ard what you, cur readers carn do to help.First off, the thing is row called a “CallingCard". This is due, I. believe, to a couple coffactors. First off, calling something a “creditcaro” carries with it a number of legalebligaticns that may have beer sticking pointswith gome regulatory commigion&® when cus.omercomplaints came in of sompore using their creditcard number, It may gust be a marketing p.5sy,siree regulations regarding them have changed, inthat if you oplace a Calling Card call from a payphone, it is cheaper than a regular OperatorAssisted call. The rwason for this, of course, isthat The Phorre Company is putting in computers teaccept Calling Card rnumbers touch toned ivi,without needing an cperator, Erge, no operatcr,the operatcr assisted charges are ~s fraud. I'dlove to have been there when they first got calledon that.The first thing one rnoticas about the newCalling Card, is the fact that there are twonumbers on it. There ig your Calling Card number,ard your International Number. The InternationalNuwber is the same old format that we are al}tamsliar with, and I! regret that we've spent somuch time on the domestic numder, that we have'tgetten around to getting the international codebreken. Sarry about that.The Calling Card is laid out as followsrNPA NXXK 1234 5678where NPA ia the arwa code, NXX 1234 is the phonenumber, ard $678 is the “check sum". It was firstthought that pernaps the code used the “Same oldformat”, but used ore for each digit, but we nowthink that there may be some kind of equation thatdreps the !234 down to the 5678 Iccations. Some ofthe cards have the old RAD's in place of tha NPR.These are usually company billing numters. Thereason the RAO's are being phased cut seems to bebecause the irtermixing of Telco revenues anddisberaments via the RAO process is charging underthe new de-regulations of the twlephore "or Sanies.The word we got a few years ago stated thatBall would put every tel@ephone credit card on abig computer somenhbere, and every credit card callwould be checked against the data base. We laughedoff that one as Seing too big a job for even Telcosto pull off, Then we heard about CCIS, the CommonChanne) Interoffice Signalling system that wouldhave computer communications links between al)telephore toll centers, and ati calls would beconnected by having the computers tel? @ach othervnere@e toca awitch the calls to. Now tnat ccis istretalled almost everywhere important, it actually1s possible to reprogram the TSPS coperatcarposition sc that as the cperatcr punches ir theCalling Card rumber, it flashes dowr to the Dallasdatabase, and the database sends back an “ack” or"nack” (acknowledge of negative acknowledge)signal telling the operator whether it feels thecard number was a valid one.If this is the case, then the Ilast fourGigits can be a completely random assignment bythe telco computers. We rack our brains trying tofigure out the coded numbers, and forget to Dreakthe International Number code. Brilliant, thesetelco types.Anyone who wants to make fools of the TAPstaff, can easily do so. In this case it will beeasier still boy showing where we've made terriblemistakes, and mentioning in your letter wherewe've really messed up, and how simple the wholething re@ally is. Another thing you could do, is tosend us any Calling Card numbers you may collectto add’ ‘to our statistical base so that we can tryto determine whether or not there really is somemathod to the Telco madness.By the way, cone of the reasons laid out fr.the brechure about the new method of punching yourCalling Card number into a coiniess pay phone isthat your number won't be overheard in crowdedtrain stations and airports when you tell it to anoperator. Now who would be that unscrupulous? i2th ANNIVERSARY ISSUE1983 ROOM 603147 W. 42 ST.NEW YORK 10036No. 85MAY — JUNE Y, Sseue 832 bytak y wh icl@,Jolly R . at| our many controversia ications, we sellAUTONATICTELLER MACHINES CATH: - @nd. Editiow. ATM describes, inail, vulnerabilities Ms and credit cards. Jolly Roger discuss-ed a number of effective methods covered in greater detail in"ATM.” Asome methods not described by him is the easiest and most effective oneall. Stay tuned!"ATH® ia so hot that our ist, Edition was criticized in a 7-page articlesolely devoted to it TATH Report,” Feb, 1, 1982). tt states, “...could costour industry millions --- or even tens or hundreds of millions --- of dollarsi# it gets wide distribution among those criminally inclined.” “ATH Report,”8 preatipious banking industry newsletter, is published by ATM REPORT,IRC., f Mi Trade Center, Sdte 7953, New York (0048, and apparentlysecvices about 730,000 executives in the Banting/ATH world,The baniing/ATH industries are so alarmed by “ATH” that "ATM Re-port,” a its many outrageous remarks, threatened harassmoent-type law-suits. On Page 6 it states,”...Williams should be attacked with multiple law-suits in every sible way,”ATMs are literally gold mines that can be mined by virtually anyone - noexperience or ski]] required’ We have received teports ¢rom all over the coun-try atating that ATM frauds have doubled to Grupled in 1982 from (981!Citibank of New York recently (reluctantly) reimbursed customers for$135,000 - pst a fraction of the ATM fraud trated against that bankalone in jst a few weeks time’ Because of collusion with the tradotiona)rews media, less than 1% of ATM crimes are ever reported - and the arrestand conviction cates are virtually non-existent’ Even the TV documentar-eS, expose’ and talk shows won't touch ATM frauds!ATMs are the biggest mistake mace by the banking industry since theycaused the Great Depression’ Franky, I have zefto sympathy lor any thingThat happens to Danie because most Americans have been cheated out of adecent standard of living by these vulturous money speculators.Now - here it is’ Some less than sympathetic with the hapless plight ofmoney ~specula bankers, have found it to be profitable to use a good dis-guise, or to ° their debit card toa buddy and then fix themselvesup with an alibi. QJome ATMs are monitored by real and/or fake cameras,Care is taken actordingly. When they receive their bark statement, they ia-mediately yell that their card was atolen or counterfeited and demand, under-Regulation £, immediate refund of (he missing monies.Re tion E protects ATM users from frauds against their accounts.Simply by invoking "Reg. ©,” the bank must immediately be prepared to do oneof two things: 1. Prove that one defrauded his account, or 2. Return 100%pf al] mores missing from that account, ATM crimes are hard to orove.force patrons to take lie detector tests or finger-than easily able bank robbers) aganstincredibie ciAnd bar&s will do almost any to avoidbadpublicity.Another method is gaining popularity, ticularly with remote ATMs.A thin phece of sliced American cheese is ted into the ATM card slot (result-in expensive repairs), The little devils simply wait until the repar crewup and opensup the ATH; they then apringinto action,prepa & lawsuit egainat ATH REPORT, INC., at least one pres-On oes a Are, and a whi full of other big-/A collaborators. ex to sue for at least 650 Million.tigative help. are a comtingerncy-feeat-is preparedto be the next F. Lee Bailey or Geraldbust his burve for 327% of a for tune'pers anythingnow, butwe pay 10% of the final“UP among 41] non-attorneys who assisvOrMLroUs 4lurity for Cour pgenus, ad comacien~ i f23;i=LuBecfate ssget: 5g1sq‘tious tters - thesewhofeel that they must do someth about thebarks - those who relish putting their investigative and analyticalskills to full throttle! By the time we get done dredging up big-shot defen-édants and they misdeeds, we expect this case to turn mA to ore of theand sensationalcasesof thiscentury. Your role can at' Arty information you tan provide whateoever about ATH T,INC. its officers,employees and otners involved with them 18 much apore-ciated, Use whatever Dane you want, and wtutever means you lige tobeconsistent with the U.S. CONSTITUTIONand THE DECLARATION OF INDG-PENDENCE to obtain petice in this matter. To hel, contact: -PO Drawer 337, Alamogordo, NM 881210 - and pass wordong - we needa)] the help and supportwe can get to effectively fightthese big-shots and win our case! g32i Just Passing Through... card did not exist at all. sy guess is thatlarge corporations that would not notice abuseby The Stainless Steal Rat for one or two months can get # made up CC numberso that it could not be broken by a phreak.Once while using the card the op asked me‘all Kinds of questions such as the name of thefirm, expiration date, location and the nameof my Supervisor. Can 8he call these thingsup On @® computer or is she just vullshiting?The network: If you have automated oreditShoplifting: Let's say (for purly theoreticalreasons) that you are in your local radio rip-off store and you see a nice set of chips thatgo for 10 dollars each and you only have 1 dollar.The chips are behind the counter so you can'ttake them, now what? card (calling card I should say) service, here igJust take something that is worth 20 dollars what happens when you punch in the card number.and easily stolen. The next day walk on in and The number is recieved by the Traffic Servicesay that Uncle Jim got you said product for your Fosition System which checks the card for validity.birthday and that you wish to exchange it. To do this it accesses the local Network ControlMost places will not give you cash unless Point which is a sub-system of the Stored Frogramyou have a receipt, however some places do espe- Controlled Network. The SFCN is a system thatclaly durring the Christmas season. Or you could is made up of CCIS and a computer network madego and steal a book of receipts and write your up of most of the local COs. with the introductionown although 44 is wise to be very careful to of CcrIs these computers are now linked togetherfill it out the right way. This trick can also through the data lines of CCIS, and thus canbe used to write out your own receipts at rest- update each other and run checks to see if aaurants and switch them for the one you are given. card actualy exists.As a matter of fact in some places I have In order to make it possible for the SFCNtaken something right off a shelf and taken it to be updated more rapidly Bell has introduced aup to the refund dept. for cash. Isn't it nice? Data Base Administration System. Currently thisYou have a fence that happily pays you face value system provides Network Control Points with up-for products and you don’t even have to leave to-date on credit card numbers, This systemthe store and risk being caught. Just think of accepts customer information from telephone companyit as an alternative to Social Security! service order systems and sends it to the appropriateFree records: I'm sure most of you have NCP when they are least busy—usually at night.heard of the old trick of sending in applications Some of these DBASS can be reached by a dial-to RCA and Columbia House addressed to a mail drop up terminal. Since the system accesses al) theTf you don't have a drop or can't get one you CC numbers that would work anywhere. One couldare still eligible for free records. Send the also cancel or otherwise manipulate CC informationclub several applications under different names from anywhere of anyone. Anyone who has infoand only fill in one or two of the slots for on this system such as dial-ups etc. drop merecord selection. when the records come you a line c/o TAF.will also get a bunch of certificates for theempty selection boxes. Remove the certificatesand send the records back stating that the clubsucks etc. Now get @ sub under your name anddon't fill in one or two of the boxes. Whenthe records come use the certificates that youhave accumulatedto fullfill the sub agreement, if+:Opening P.O. Boxesr First of all play? reteran abe hattewith mailboxes (wether it’s blowing then Mp or bd ston tyiho hae ire-stealing the mail) is a federal rap so be CAREFUL, quencyandwhowilquoteThe old type of PO boxes (the type that have somebow rates.two wheels marked A to Z) are very simple to Going to trial: Theopen. To find out the combination place your judicialprocessvaries some:whetfrom stateto state, butfinger on the opening button and give it a hardjerk. As vou do this watch the right hand wheelvery closely. You will notice that it moves :\Hl!slightly. Turn the wheel to the next position hey to the arresting officer must aand try again. At one point,you will notice that winning your caseincourti vend. Bee ee end)tne wheel stays absolutly still. This 1s the possible . fomey, attendopening letter for this wheel. Seat then evens te ote va you me mM eeey a nileThe reason why this works is that when the readar-backed speeding ae Too foremost, be ol thestoryand the policeof.button is hit a cam hits the wheel and thus the wicket —-and win? The rnp to try thelr canes igh! ficer tele his. Tha attorneywheel jumps. When the wheel is aligned to its anewercould beyes,Fyott = the roadsiie. Ask the willquizthe officer on alltheopening letter the cam falls into the cut in the Combineyoursenseof HUE Loar)officer a few cordbally hmportant perticulers thatwheel and there is no mov emee ice wth a lee time and Phreced sretons What are Youwere $0 careful to getherRed Boxinge In issue #3€ with Al Bell’s ee Sng to Charles But- you cherged . Chancesred box J has some trouble getting the 1700 Hz let a dre -echacetion nd youve been stopped. for the officer wont remember Foscillator to go low enough without distorting sultant at the American speed. pm bowyouwes he doom know how 30and loosing volume. 3y adding a .00l uF cap Automobile Association anne a ey. anewer your dataded quesin parallel with one of the .005 uF caps the (A.A.A.), there are a heer cperiies ond ¥he hes Bona, you're well on yournroblem cleared up. rumnberofcriveriato lochedin your speedonthe W8Y_=to. disacre his4while ago while I was in I tried to betore make the deci mreen in tee cae You eg you ect ee yourred box on ACTS and the op came on instantly alec ask him where you wereand asked what the problem was. I said that shoud be het cn when he dockedyou. ote money ad KokenI had deposited 15¢. She returned the nickle i unjur or not,” says Butler. wold i consider the scene wuthorof How to TetkYourand told me to start putting in money. So I k's important to remember - Note yourexactloce- Woy Outof « Baffic Ticketput in the old nickle and "beeped" s dime. here that police officerscan =O. Were oe vehicles (Mark Tl Productions),Before oné could say Holy Shit the op started Reahemistakes. nearby you were beteves you sf havet Raderuse has come under mopped? Werethere power chance — but he stresseso get mad and asked what I was trying to pull, ' kn the inesoverhesd?Radarread- wedto which I replied “Your leg”. lewyears er archestedbane can be thrownoffbyin- that you must os oat.Interestingly, when I deposited my nickle thet when the wks are rience ore igh Dome reed Wak lagal andthere was no beep. The earpiece shorted as soon opertted under the wrong ines, CBredding, police safe beck to the sceneas the coin hit the mechanism. There are three conditionsorbyaninexper!- «car's ai conditionerordash and teheenonen?vossibilities as to what had happened. 1) The enced policeman, the ac- boardvibrationsandthecars on how weilop can see if there is a coin in the mechanisa. curacy can be thrown off. that mzround youn nen you do here, theprosecutor2) The sound is transmitted over a different Fighting 2 ticketis by no es res tough maydecideto diemiet yourset of wires, like out of band signaling. 3) ee ene beat, bul youcan improve coe however, notingSome phones use a differnt set of frequencies andpossibly bire « your chances if you know to al eeeard/or timeing and the earpiece is shorted durring Dever. But conider the pin the blame ca ch oat sanrea, youraychoosethe beeps in order to prevent us from finding abernatives. Depending on cumstances — and not on enher & wialor 8trialbyit out and making another red box. _ the type of Violation,youwl~—s he.machine jade Anceyspth tha hayCredit Cards: A friend of mine gave me the Ree(0pay & Aneor nie 8 ¥ youdacide to challenge A judge wil nefuralyCC number from a large corporation in Texas and driver course, or if the ticket, condder Neing on tendtosant thetestimonyofafter a dit of playing I decided to check it Ce drivingrecord siready — Stomey. I Man added ax the policeman more thanmarks, t could meen pensz, but i sonviction hel trust yours, claimsagrzinst the RAO codes and check digits listed temporary suspension of means Roenee Robet Kiser. The hey —fn TAP. The RAO did not exist, a the aren Ieense. Theremeyalso and/or of dollars which you've had a hand incode was listed under southern IL. Only the a bigboost in yourauto morein insurancemoney, ff picking — mey becheck digit was OK. The phone number of the ineurenceprembent. may ultmately ba worth &. moresyimpethetic. Phree *estern Union Calls by Doctor Magic FingersFeatern Union hae ea eystem called "Metrofone",t uses 6-digit ewitchIt works like MCI; exceptcodes instead of 5 digits.access and getti+ number, The calof thes:Anahein, CA (714)Atlanta, GA 404hustin, TX 512Paltimore, HD 301Beaumont, TX 713Boston, MA 617Suffalo, KY 716Chicago, IL 312Cincinnati, OH 513Cleveland, OH (716Columbus, OH 614Culver City, CA 213Dallas, TX 214)Dayton, OH 513)Denver, CO 303}Detroit, MI 313El Monte, CA 213Elx Growa, IL (312Yort Yorth, TX (O17Hackensack, KJ eQ)Hartford, CT 203Hawthorne, Nd 201Hinsdale, IL 312Fouston, TX 713Indiananolis, IK 317Yansas City, KS are)Fansas City, MO 816Long Island, NY516“o@ Angeles, CA 213Miami, FL $395Milwaukee, VI 44Finneanolis, MKNew Orleans, LAKew York, KYNewark, NJOakland, CAOklahoma CTY, OK 405Omaha, NE uc2Philadelohia, FAFittsburgh, PAReno, XY7ichmond, VASacramento, CASan Antonto, TXSan Diero, CASan Francisco, 7ASan Jose, CASan Mateo, CASanta Ana, CAFerttle, XASkokie, ILSvracuse, KYToledo, OHYashington, xPhoneFlamA double reverse that worked for the_ Every trme anyone phonesinformationm Sen Francieco the first thingthey hearis a recordingthet goes sormething likethis: “You really con hetp keep: phonejust NFANw FP~nw @=-)&Agrew S oneWEA eM YWOM HOMENOUNA uw 33}}}335 firiilif e£0es thru,the Metrofone numbers below,527223a7a659835%482852B5324186122ha10742228623963350981338487S22Q27986224635214718356293262°?37905667132645B3627242235126]329225accs233Q56047579972382679a72437137 After dialing the metro .A tone, enter 227865 + area codeHere's a list of227865 worka on all705510006057TT00O351|32229200aTnO174751030577007845001576532668471928887016393155000311000566941762843186199954021026330018059008500T743092206900901}13200100572010251920692196000327016276066001951509108120391110462051 On TAPbyTOM A. EDISONThis issue marks the"12th anniversary of TAPand the 9th anniversaryof my association withTAP. They have been 9hard but rewardingyears. I hope to havemany mOre years inassociation with TAP.Our OF STOCK ITSMTAP has sold out of muqs,T-shirts, patches, andtaves. Please do WOTorder them anymore.DELIVERY TIMEOrders accompanied byCASH, money orders, orcertified checks will heshipped immediately.Orders accompanied bypersonal checks will beshipped in 4-6 weeks oruntil your check clearsyour bank.OLD CONVENTION FREEBIESIn cleaning out the TAPoffice recently I cameacross a pile of handoutsfrom the 1973, 1979, and1980 conventions as wellas copies of the oriqinalTAP fiyer that Al Balland Abbie Hoffman passadout at the 1971Washington D.C. anti-warrally. Rather thanthrow them out, I willgive them away FREE toanyone who request themand sends a stamped self-addressed envelope with$.37 postage. Like many flight attendana.WilliamComa, 0. of Miami. often ookodvawtageof an airkine practice called Geadheading.in which employeeshisch ridesto workas-signed flights in other cities. For sirnoet ayear, dressed in a Pan Am uniform. usingan veathorined1D aember andtra was Where XXnumber. Gorry for the inconvienience. Won't Get Fooled Againby Oz ¥. Mandtas“I clip my hat to the new revolution,Take a bow for the new conatitution,Smile an’ grin ac che change al) around,Pick up my guitar and play.Just like yesterday,And 1'11 get on my knees and pray.We don't get fooled again."--The WhoThis month . salute fallen freedom fighter. Chris Boyer,who declared recently, "...1 think the U.S. Covr. needs afew more traitors. Humanity needs a few wore traitors.”Wiee words, indeed.Correction: dAtlan Form. (See ‘Still in Safgon') {s inAtkansas (AR), not Arizona (AZ); the rest of the address (+correct, Thanks to Mr, Phelps for pointing this ouc.FOIA File: The guide to scramblers and encrvpters:"User's Guide: Voice & Data CommunicationsProtection Equipment’, NTIA-CR-80-9, {s available by writ-ing the U.S.Dept. of Commerce, National Telecomm. & Info.Adminiseration, Washington, D.C., 20230. Free. tow.Don't Leave Home Without It: Collodion, available in drug-stores as & liquid or sprav('Mu-akin') for minor cuts, {8 useful for painting or spray-ing on your hands and (ingertips, so that veu don't leavefingerprints when you're on ‘business.’ Protection lastsfor a number of hours & fe'll fuck up the head of anv rookl«cop that tries to take vour prints.Security Alert: The pigs have been known to bring dupe dogsaround for a aniff to thoae cental «corageapaces that have become quite common. So think of someplace else to store vour bales of contraband. The pigsaren't that stupid, they know hawdealers think.The Hypnotized Never Lie: ‘Death .n Washington’Freed’& F.Landis; Westporr,(bv DonaldCT:cLawrence Hill, 1980) is a fascinating, detatled analvsis ofhow the CIA murdered Chile Chrough a campaign of psavch-vorthat preceeded the U.S. sponsored fascist coup. The wholething suemds out of this world, but Dr. Landix« wasarrcstedand then released hy Customs in '82 on a phony charee juseso the CIA could examine the papers {in his briefcase & thatis evidence enough for me thar he was on the mark.Fuck Nat'l Security:: ‘Born Secrec' (bv A.DeVolpi et al.N.Y.: Pergamon, 1981) is a comprehen-sive study of the'Progressive’ H-Bomb caxe hv 4 ArconneNot'l Lab sciencists, Included [s am entice chapter on K-Bomb tech, the complete Morland article & Argonne Letterthe govt. tried to suporess & a number of info. sourcesworth checking up on.In a world cof mutual asyured destruction, we deserve apiece of the action too.Interested in Teflan or other A.P.type ammo? Steel~ jacketed roundsare about o half aw effective, Keil gotmg through 2 vesce.Examples that are widely available include Czech mall. surp-lus 9 mwa, and other imports such as those of Norma Co.(Sweden}, CECO (West Germany) & Lupua (Finland). All vou‘subnational elements’ out there are urged to stock upwhile you can.A wicked fiberglass & nvlon double-edged knife, 6 3/4"rot. jength, weighing less than an oz. is available for37.95 from A.G.Russell, J705 F. Hiway 71 N.. Springdale.AR 72764 (800-255-9034). “It's useful for atlrports orwherever metal detectors are an inconvenience.An armed populace is the first and ulcimacely onlyaefence against tyranny, Delendsa est Carcthago! Silent Leger Lnter Arma: This ts Outlaw Oz. with contributions from Agent Orange.obsefving disdainfully that,‘There's nothing in the streets,Looks any different to me...' Correction to V & H Programby CheshireIn a recent issue that carried a copy of aprogram for figuring out airline distance betweenTelco Rate Centers, there was a "typo". The typocaused by by a daisy wheel type whee! thatdidn’t have the "“*" char in the right place, andhad a **" in it's place. Since I haven't got acopy of the program in front of ma, I think theline should have read:XX@ DaBOR i (VI-V2) *2) 7164 ( (H1-H2)“e)/108are the starving digits of the line 85 Local phone call fee-plan draws fire WASHINGTON — Detpite the re.sance of comsemer groups andstale regulators. telephone compo-Pics across the country are trving (0apey herr long. deslance pricing pro-eeduerrsto local phoneserviceLocal call would be “measwred”- mM Ober words. billed — nm thebas of tome-of-day. day-of weekthe length af a call and distance —yest hhe Seng distance The mdustryealk such pricing Local MeasuredService oe UMS for shortTriephoee néfciaix assert that Lo-eal Messured Service ofirrs the bextoption 10 skvracketing fecal rateswhile peeperiy forcing thewho wt the peome Reiwork the moxttn pay for thal meThe Florida Public Service Com-Minow recemly reyected a bed bySouthern Beil to off)r LAS as an op-thon Part of the problem. says Com-mnwnner Sesen BW Leinsner “was Hpri gO ine camepbraitd {nr consemers Theres reality moO way toherp track of \owr call or verilyChar posAnd Soosern mever realty jtsts.hed the seriuble ext by clemendsbor example. dors a really coalThem more if yeu Hav ne the phonebor 38 minutes mmiead of 15 min. wie” Vi Lenper attreberes SouthernBells defeat ta an overabotrng to-Cal reachom | thimh a kX of the optear came fram retizees from NewYork. where tbcy had dt and haied The debate ever Local MeasuredService ix not new Cites like NewYork and Chirago have operatedun-éct Various types of LMX billing forGrrades The comtroversy is banidng.however, because of the pendingbreakup of the Beil System. majorchanges ja regulation and suspicionsthat the phone cempames want tomake LASmandatory’ But the main obelacte is the verymateral. instinctive reaction against A Man CalledBorisA Bulgarienexile Ihing in Jtah ts doinghis part to bring down theSen jet eeonorn.The man. who calk hinselfBoris. writes a letter everyweek to a Soviet déisaldent andimeiiews @ for $400. Since ibeSos iets never deliver letters todissidents. ltalian postal withorittes reimburse Borks. Inthen sendthe bill to Moscow,which mum pay up or bekicked out of the Imtey-astione!Posta) Unica.Boris saya he$20.000 a sear writing thebetters. Ef everyone used histrick. he onyx. the Sovieteconomy wouldcolle pse.makesume change.” sy3 spokesmanPic Wag.per of ATKT.Therets also the matterofmoney,WHA any pricing system. there arewinners aad losers. Joseph R. Fogar-ty, a memberof the Feeders} Commy-meceteion. Commission, ib fond ofporting out 2 parent with teen-agerstg not gomg le be a winner with mea-sored serviceThat's the polit, eounterd PaloceMomgomery of Illinois Bel! Should ametghbor who doesnt place manycalls subsidise that teen-ager? A [atrate can'| be offered, she notes, with-ow averaging every customer's us-age“Chicago telephone rates arearnong lke lowest in the commry be-cause Customers pay for what theyese,” Misa Montgomery contendsAccording 10 Wagner. the vast ma-jority of Americans stl] obtain localphowe serviceon a flat ratebesia —meaning ihey are allowed to pleceen yalinuied member of local callsfor # set mnorthlyfeeOnty about 13percent of Betts residential cysiom-Crs "9@ Some type of measured ser-vice,hesays.Ou the other hand. he com ineen,more thun S® percent Of (he Bet] Sys-lem's buaincss cuxtormers mene someform of measured service — svail-able as an option m more than 40malesThe problem with such statistics.however. is that they onclede altforms of LMS — simple systermwhere here is a flal charge per call,to “fullelemem LMS” where thebilling takex account ef lime. day.duratienand drsiance. rhe "Gitrerish” column,“teinbeck mentions use cf an Crabland, California"OFZINT numberTM (415) @22 5915.to *hat number ond found that, instead of wetting a ais)fore, IT ert a reatine comnanv on tre iine, ;4f To wag reqshireaS"ke mumher mustC% 5SC15,have teer cryinred, One example of (he former is anOptom known as Economy Service inthe Deatrict of Colorndva A customerpeys $2 20 a month,plus 4.9 cents foreeck bocal call.“Weve supported that idea nf aper-caill] biiling option for years.”says Dr. Lee Richardson, a mariet.ing professor at the University ofBaltimore aad vice president of theConsumer Federation of America“Bat tee telephone companies haveGecided they want the full-fledged.so-called local long-dwtance syslem.”“And We are ardently opposed tnthat.” adds Sarmwe! Simon. the execu\ive director of the Telecommeanica.tlons Research and Action Center, aWashington-based public interesgroup “It's too complex — enaeccs-sarily complex — and the averagecomumer won't be able ta ender.itand and accurately gauge hismonthly esage ~The January [984 breakup ofAT&T has rarsed expectations (hatthe 22 Bell companies will have toraise local rates to maintain profris-bility For ome thing. the system o!Subsidizing local phone compsalex<with long-distawce revenue is beingoverhauledWhbowt new sptions. cestomerswill be locked inio flat local rate.that cowl doubleortripteIn Chicago, for example. thecheapest flat rate (or unlimited localcalling lg now $32 85 a month On theCther hand. a Chicago reskient cantake an LMS option [hat cats 88 $4 2month, covering @ (alls within thecity. ty Joctor 3agic -“ingersin ].sue "79, fre?I boxed a callrszeaarf tre alery “WELL,WELL, ELL, WHADDYA KNOW... GAS LIN@S/” ~“newares