Swatting - Wikipedia

In the field of information security, swatting is an attempt to trick an emergency service (such as a 9-1-1 operator) to dispatch an emergency response team. The name is derived from SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics), one type of said team.

Swatting has its origins in prank calls to emergency services. Increasing sophistication of the techniques employed and the objectives, notably attempts to direct response units of particular types, and in particular attempts to cause SWAT teams to be dispatched to particular locations, spawned the term swatting. The term may have been coined by the FBI, which investigates these activities.

Caller ID Spoofing, social engineering, prank call and phone phreaking techniques may be combined for Swatters. 9-1-1 systems (including telephony and human operators) have been tricked by calls placed from cities hundreds of miles away.




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Privus Mobile Thinks It’s Time You Knew Who’s Calling You on Your Mobile Phone

New Privus Mobile service provides incoming caller name on calls to wireless phones

Dallas – Aug. 4, 2008 – It’s something we’ve all dealt with – a call comes through on your mobile phone, and you don’t have any idea who belongs to the number displayed on the screen. It’s someone not already loaded into your contacts. Do you answer it? Do you let it go to voicemail? Is it important? Launched today, the innovative Privus Mobile service (www.privusmobile.com) from I D YOU, LLC can tell users who is calling by displaying the incoming caller’s name and number on the screen. It’s the world’s first and only real Caller ID for your mobile phone.

“We’re all looking for ways to have more control over whom we talk to and when – it’s the reason we have mobile phones in the first place,” said I D YOU President Greg Smith. “By showing the names of incoming callers – especially those not already loaded in a phone’s contacts – Privus Mobile gives users the power to make more informed decisions about which calls they take.”

So, who can benefit from using Privus Mobile? The service is a helping hand to the 32-year-old professional whose entire life – professional and personal – is managed from a single wireless phone. It’s a social necessity for the 21-year-old coed who’s hoping that Dave, the one she gave her number to this weekend, gives her a call sometime. It’s a sanity-keeper for the 50-year-old dad who just sat down to a family dinner only to be bombarded by calls from the repair men and painters scheduled to be working at his house tomorrow.

“People are receiving more and more calls on their wireless phones, and they want to know everyone who’s calling them, but this Caller ID service that was commonplace on home phones just hasn’t been available on wireless phones until Privus,” Smith said. “One of the additional benefits of the service is that Privus Mobile will save the caller’s name and number into your contact list with the push of a button; or automatically if you wish. No more tedious entering names for every new person who calls you – when they call, you’ll get all of their contact information on your display.”

Available at www.privusmobile.com, the downloadable real Caller ID application is specifically designed for smart phones. A full list of compatible devices can be found on the site. Those who are interested are encouraged to visit the website and get a free three-day trial of the service.

About Privus Mobile

I D YOU LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Accudata Technologies, has launched the industry-first Privus Mobile service, which provides real Caller ID service to wireless handsets, giving users greater control over who they talk to and when. I D YOU LLC, which is focused on providing the most comprehensive Caller ID service available, is headquartered in Allen, Texas. For more information, visit www.privusmobile.com.

Phone giants' rising rates questioned

NEW YORK — AT&T and Verizon are raising prices for caller ID and other popular phone services by as much as 300%, even as they continue to push regulators to loosen up because of increased competition.

AT&T (T) and Verizon (VZ) have argued they need pricing flexibility to compete with cable TV and others offering Internet-based phone services. Dozens of states have acquiesced, giving carriers freedom to jack up prices.

In California this month, AT&T raised prices for several stand-alone features: Anonymous call rejection now costs $5 from $1.90; caller ID rose to $9.99 from $6.17. Some local toll calls — calls that aren't considered long-distance but don't qualify as local — jumped by more than 200%.

In Ohio, AT&T raised the price of call forwarding and three-way calling from $4 each to $5.99. Automatic call back now costs $1.99 per use, up from 70 cents.

Verizon has made similar moves. Call forwarding now costs $3 a month in Ohio, a 300% increase from 75 cents. Call waiting is now $5 a month, up from $3.

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Comcast Now the Fourth Largest Phone Company in the U.S.

In addition to unveiling Fancast, a new TV-and-movie search site, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts dropped another zinger during his CES keynote on Tuesday. According to Roberts, his company recently jumped ahead of Embarq -- a Sprint spinoff-- to become the fourth-largest residential phone service provider in the United States.

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Cablevision Offers On-Screen Caller ID

NEW YORK — Couch potato alert: If you get telephone service through your cable TV provider, you don't have to get up while watching TV to see who's calling.
Several cable companies have been experimenting with a feature that will display an incoming caller's name and number in a little box in the corner of the TV screen.
Cablevision Systems Corp., which operates around the New York City area, has offered this feature in several areas and now says that as of Friday it will be available to all 3 million of its cable television customers.
Comcast Corp., the largest cable TV operator in the country, offers the service in one market _ which the company declined to identify _ and has plans to offer it elsewhere later.
Time Warner Cable Inc. offers it in several areas.
Cablevision says its on-screen caller ID _ including an option to turn off the notifications _ carries no additional charge. About half of Cablevision's television customers also subscribe to its digital phone service.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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