419 SCAM?

[tw]

System Signal 7 is the international standard for interconnecting calls via phone systems. (AT&T fought it all the way because it was not invented in AT&). The calling phone company is responsible for attaching the caller's phone number to the data packet. This worked because all phone companies did this cooperatively.

But something new is being attached to the system. Internet calling. Calls that originate on the internet can be missing that information because the call originator telco does not provide that code. Some internet companies are being setup just to service phone scammers and unsolicited sales calls.

I submitted one such violator to he authorities. They traced the call to one of those internet sources that originate overseas. Expect more sales scammers to use these internet call services until international standards (or Federal law) do something.

419 could represent numerous sources such as Telecordia (the CLLI), a connection through an Ohio code, a mobile code from Kuwait, a network identifying code for Qualitynet, or a called originating in Switzerland.