Re: Poor Man's Anonymous Remailer

[Phiber Optik <phiber@eff.org>]

> 
> gg@well.sf.ca.us writes:
> > Duncan's posting about AT&T mail as a "poor man's anonymous mailbox" misses
> > one crucial fact.  The moment you dial an 800 number, you generate a record
> > of your phone number via ANI, which means AT&T gets that information in
> > realtime and can probably correlate it with your phone account and service
> > address and name.  If you want anonymity, never ever ever use any service
> > which requires you call in via an 800 number.  
> 
> There's an easy way to prevent your number from being passed to an 800
> number owner via ANI.  Simply place the call using a TSPS/OSPS ("0") operator.
> Say "I'm having trouble dialing 800-xxx-xxxx, could you please place the
> call for me?" Once the call goes out over another trunk line, your number
> is not passed on.  If you have ever dialed those ANI "Demo" 800 numbers
> that read back your number via synthesized voice, and then tried calling
> them again using a TSPS operator, you'll know exactly what I'm talking
> about. This is at least the way it worked a while ago, I don't know if it
> still applies or of they modified TSPS consoles pass on the number.
> Perhaps Phiber could clarify this a bit and tell us if this still works,
> and if it still works in all areas, or what areas it would not work in.  

It's OSPS, by the way, referring to AT&T's Operator Service Position System,
operating on 5ESS switches, and the successor to TSPS.  And it's double zero,
('00'), not a single one.  '0' gets you your local BOC operator.  Also, TSPS
has been defunct for a number of years.
Currently, ANI is not passed along by OSPS, but the area code is, so you're
not completely anonymous.  I wouldn't expect this to last for any stretch of
time either, it isn't the most difficult thing in the world to simply pass
the entire number along.