TELECOM Digest     Wed, 13 Apr 2005 17:03:00 EDT    Volume 24 : Issue 161

Inside This Issue:                             Editor: Patrick A. Townson

    MusicNet Sold to Private Equity Firm (Lisa Minter)
    Concerns Over ID Theft Mount / LexisNexis Breach Widens (Monty Solomon)
    Tougher Laws, Penalties Will Help Protect us (Monty Solomon)
    Not A Telemarketing Call? (Fred Atkinson)
    Re: Book Review: Goodbye to Privacy (Lisa Hancock)
    Google Searching - Advanced (jwillis@drlogick.com)
    Re: Cellular Phone Harassment from '555-555-1212' (Lisa Hancock)
    Re: Cellular Phone Harassment from '555-555-1212' (Jon Gauthier)
    Re: Cellular Phone Harassment from '555-555-1212' (T. Sean Weintz)

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Date: 13 Apr 2005 12:53:04 -0700
From: Lisa Minter <lisa_minter2001@yahoo.com>
Subject: MusicNet Sold to Private Equity Firm


Terms were not disclosed but a source familiar with the
matter put the deal's value at $20 million to $30 million.

RealNetworks, which owned about 40 percent of MusicNet, said it
received proceeds of $7.3 million and expects another $2.7 million
after escrow arrangements expire.

MusicNet provides the technology to run services for other brand name
digital music providers like AOL Music and Virgin Digital, rather than
offering downloads and subscription services directly to the public
itself.

MusicNet, formed in 1999 by RealNetworks, Bertelsmann AG, EMI Group
Plc Sony Corp and Time Warner Inc., which then owned Warner Music, has
said it serves more than 500,000 subscribers, mostly AOL customers.

Since its inception it has faced increasing competition from companies
like Apple Computer Inc., which has led the market with its popular
iPod player and iTunes service, and MusicMatch, which Yahoo Inc.
bought for $160 million.

The MusicNet sale was not unexpected since RealNetworks, which had
been MusicNet's main stakeholder, bought rival Listen and its Rhapsody
subscription service in August 2003.

RealNetworks posted MusicNet-related losses of more than $4 million in
2004, a RealNetwork spokesman said. The company said in a statement
late on Tuesday that it would provide more details about the deal
during its earnings call on May 4.

"RealNetworks had already indicated it was not going to put any more
money into MusicNet, and to the extent they needed capital, the
company was either going to have to be sold or get capital from the
other partners," said Phil Leigh, an analyst with Inside Digital
Media, a market research company.

Experts said MusicNet has struggled because its profit margins are
much lower than those of direct retailers.

Other MusicNet partners include Virgin Digital, HMV Group and Trans
World Entertainment.

MusicNet said it will be capitalized with the funds necessary to
expand the scale of its operations.

"This is a natural evolution for the company," said MusicNet CEO Alan
McGlade. "We've progressed nicely since the inception. Our partners'
interest was not so much a big return on MusicNet, but in creating a
legitimate marketplace. We have a good reputation in the industry."
McGlade said there would be no major changes as result of the sale.

MusicNet employs nearly 100 people, he said. (additional reporting by
Sinead Carew in New York)

Copyright 2005 Reuters Limited.

NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the
daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at
http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new
articles daily.

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 13 Apr 2005 13:05:46 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: Concerns Over ID Theft Mount / LexisNexis Breach Widens


Concerns over ID theft mount LexisNexis breach widens; GM credit
accounts at risk

By Bruce Mohl, Globe Staff  |  April 13, 2005

Identity theft concerns mounted yesterday as LexisNexis said a
security breach at one of its subsidiaries may have been 10 times more
severe than an earlier estimate, and GM MasterCard rushed to replace
the credit cards of customers affected by a breach at an unidentified
national retailer.

GM MasterCard sent letters to customers late last week telling them
that "a national retailer's computer system has had a security breach
and your credit card account number may be among those that were
compromised." A copy of the letter was provided to the Globe by one
local GM MasterCard customer.

Officials at General Motors had no immediate comment and referred
questions to Household Bank, which issues the GM card. Household Bank
could not be reached for comment.

The GM MasterCard letter said the company had not been informed of the
merchant involved and probably would not be informed. "Due to the
serious nature of this situation," the letter said, GM MasterCard was
advising customers to have their credit cards replaced as soon as
possible.

LexisNexis, a provider of legal and business news, said yesterday that
a review of data search activity at its Accurint subsidiary over the
past two years has indicated that 59 times unauthorized persons had
gained access to such personal-identifying information as Social
Security numbers or driver's license numbers.

Last month the Dayton, Ohio, company had said it was notifying 30,000
individuals whose personal information may have been improperly
acquired. Yesterday, the company increased that number to 310,000. Of
the 310,000 individuals, 6,078 reside in Massachusetts.

http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2005/04/13/concerns_over_id_theft_mount/

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 13 Apr 2005 13:02:47 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: Tougher Laws, Penalties Will Help Protect us


By Tom Mashberg/ Identity Fraud

Tuesday, April 12, 2005 - Updated: Apr. 13, 2005 12:31 AM EST

Last of a three-part series on identity fraud.

After just four days as a data entry clerk at a members' club in
Philadelphia, Stephanie Mobley knew scores of Social Security
numbers. She used the data, Massachusetts officials allege, to commit
12 counts of identity theft against a half-dozen Bay Staters.

But if Mobley is found guilty, she faces no more than 30 months in
prison. Now, officials want to toughen the penalties for identity
theft to deter and punish one of the state's fastest-growing crimes.
http://www.bostonherald.com/identityFraud/view.bg?articleid=78050


Life's been hell and thief still has her SS number!

By Tom Mashberg/ Identity Fraud
Tuesday, April 12, 2005 - Updated: 03:54 PM EST

The woman who stole Cathy Caverly's identity has a lot of nerve.  She
still lives near Caverly's longtime residence in Stoughton.  She never
paid restitution -- despite promising to do so as a condition of her
probation.

She called a credit card firm to complain after Caverly shut off 
a card she was using illegally.

And now, Caverly has been forced to take on the disruptive and
difficult task of getting a new Social Security because the thief
knows her old one.

http://www.bostonherald.com/identityFraud/view.bg?articleid=78049

LexisNexis cyber goof exposed data on 310,000: Initial number doubled

By Tom Mashberg and Jennifer Rosinski/ Identity Fraud
Wednesday, April 13, 2005 - Updated: 12:53 PM EST

Sensitive information on 10,000 Bay Staters was compromised during a
security breach at a nationwide data broker -- more than twice the
number initially reported -- the company said yesterday.

LexisNexis announced that nationally, 310,000 people were affected by
the breach, 280,000 more than was reported in March.

http://www.bostonherald.com/identityFraud/view.bg?articleid=78230

------------------------------

From: Fred Atkinson <fatkinson@mishmash.com>
Subject: Not A Telemarketing Call? 
Date: Wed, 13 Apr 2005 12:51:02 -0400


Earlier today, I got a phone call from a caller that said I was chosen
in a Vegas contest by one of my credit card companies.  I immediately
asked if this was a telemarketing call.  She said no.

She started asking questions.  The first one was if I was married or
single.  I told her I wasn't sure that I wanted to give out
information over the phone.  I immediately heard a busy signal in my
ear.  She did not call back.

I pulled up the call records on my Vonage Account.  This is
interesting since it is a toll-free number: 1-866-221-3437.  I called
that number back and got a busy when I called it.

My number is on the National Do-Not-Call-list.  I therefore should not
have received this call at all.

I suspect it was some kind of telephone scam.  And they are obviously
saavy enough to forge a telephone number on caller ID.  So I don't
think it was just some individual working alone.

I could report it to FTC, but that's kind of redundant since I don't
have a good number on them.

Regards,

Fred

------------------------------

From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com
Subject: Re: Book Review: Goodbye to Privacy
Date: 13 Apr 2005 09:45:35 -0700
Organization: http://groups.google.com


Marcus Didius Falco wrote quoting the book review:

> Goodbye to Privacy
> By WILLIAM SAFIRE
> NO PLACE TO HIDE
> By Robert O'Harrow Jr.
> CHATTER
> Dispatches From the Secret World of Global Eavesdropping.
> By Patrick Radden Keefe.

> In the past five years, what most of us only recently thought of as
> 'nobody's business' has become the big business of everybody's
> business.

This has been going on much longer than merely "five years" -- more
like at least 30 years.  The big three credit bureaus have been around
a long time.

> The computer's ability to collect an infinity of data about
> individuals -- tracking every movement and purchase, assembling facts
> and traits in a personal dossier, forgetting nothing -- was in place
> before 9/11. But among the unremarked casualties of that day was a
> value that Americans once treasured: personal privacy.

That statement is greatly inaccurate.  Yes, things changed on 9/11,
but those changes must be reviewed carefully in context.  Other
incidents like Columbine have affected our privacy just as much.

> The first civil-liberty fire wall to fall was the one within
> government that separated the domestic security powers of the
> F.B.I. from the more intrusive foreign surveillance powers of the
> C.I.A.

That change did not really affect personal privacy.  From a national
security point of view, that change was needed.  The wall between the
CIA and FBI was relatively recent, put in because of dislike of Nixon
and Hoover and in disregard of the bigger picture.  It is known now
that so-called "political dissent" of the 1960s was not merely speech,
but planned and coordinated revolutionary activity purposely designed
to disrupt the country as much as possible -- for the goal of
disruption.  A number of former activists in that movement have
admitted this in their memoirs, collaborated by former FBI agents and
long time news correspondants.  I personally heard activists of those
days squirm out of tough questions about their goals and lash out at
anyone questioning the "party line" they espoused.

> But the second fire wall crumbled with far less public notice or
> approval: that was the separation between law enforcement
> recordkeeping and commercial market research. Almost overnight, the
> law's suspect list married the corporations' prospect list.

Interesting.

Whenever the subject of "privacy" comes up, most people think of
"big brother" as the govt, not the private sector.  The govt really
doesn't care much about you and has enough trouble linking up its
own collections of data.  The real threat is from the private sector.

> Robert O'Harrow Jr.'s "No Place to Hide" might just do for privacy
> protection what Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" did for environmental
> protection nearly a half-century ago.

ABC talked about this book and it sounds like a good one.

> O'Harrow notes that many consumers find it convenient to be in a
> marketing dossier that knows their personal preferences, habits,
> income, professional and sexual activity, entertainment and travel
> interests and foibles. These intimately profiled people are
> untroubled by the device placed in the car they rent that records
> their speed and location, the keystroke logger that reads the
> characters they type, the plastic hotel key that transmits the
> frequency and time of entries and exits or the hidden camera that
> takes their picture at a Super Bowl or tourist attraction.

I don't agree.  People do like the convenience of having their
preferences ready for convenience.  However, almost everyone is NOT
aware of rental car monitors, keystroke loggers, or hidden cameras
everywhere.  If people really knew how much of their life was tracked
in detail and readilly available, they would be quite upset.

What is disturbing is that the data collection industry fights hard
and won all sorts of exemptions from laws trying to regulate their
activities.

Don't forget the news media is inherently anti-privacy and thus not
too supportive of regulations.  They make use of such data for their
news stories.  From the point of view of a newspaper, a person has no
privacy whatsoever -- it's all "the public's right to know".  An
adverse story about you in a major newspaper would do far more damage
to you than an obscure entry in some big database, and there's nothing
you can do about it -- even if the story was wrong.  (It is extremely
hard to prove libel against the news media, and even if you could, the
story is still out there, stored in libraries and computers, while a
correction is buried.)

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 13 Apr 2005 14:32:30 -0400
From: jwillis@drlogick.com
Subject: Google Searching - Advanced


Pat

Here is the link to the advanced search features of Google. Hope this
helps a bit ...

http://www.google.ca/help/refinesearch.html

Regards,

Jim Willis


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Thanks for passing that along; it
should be helpful. PAT]

------------------------------

From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com
Subject: Re: Cellular Phone Harassment from '555-555-1212'
Date: 13 Apr 2005 09:53:20 -0700
Organization: http://groups.google.com


Dale Showers wrote:

> I have been receiving calls on my cell phone and the caller id is
> 15555551212 but there is no one on the phone when I pick up.

I would contact your cell phone carrier and request their assistance.
You might want to speak to the tech-support unit rather than merely
customer service.  Keep a log of your calls to them and their
response.

It may be necessary to write them a written complaint.  Use postal
certified mail with receipt, not email; this way you have a hard
record.  Certified letters -- which they have to sign for -- tend to
get more attention.

Earlier in this newsgroup it was reported that mass market calls were
originating out of VOIP lines and giving nonsensical caller id numbers
like 111-111-1111.  (I got such marketing calls during the political
campaign -- the Dems were so desperate they called repeatedly all day
long with recorded pitches.  It was a nightmare.)  Anyway, maybe
hackers on VOIP are able to slur callerID.  It's strange that a number
555-1212 would be used since that's directory assistance, and I can't
help but wonder the originator purposely set that number up to be
seen.  That is troubling.

------------------------------

From: Jon Gauthier <jon.gauthier@ieee.deletethis.org>
Subject: Re: Cellular Phone Harassment from '555-555-1212'
Date: Wed, 13 Apr 2005 13:59:26 -0400
Organization: The MITRE Organization


Dale,

You should be able to hit the "No"/"Hangup" button when you get a call
from that number. Some phones allow you to disable calls from certain
numbers. Some wireless providers may offer a "Deny list" capability
that you edit on their website ...

Jon

Steve Sobol wrote:

> Dale Showers wrote:

>> I have been receiving calls on my cell phone and the caller id is
>> 15555551212 but there is no one on the phone when I pick up.  

> Considering that 555 isn't a valid area code and xxx-555-1212 is Directory 
> Assistance, why do you even bother answering that number?

> JustThe.net - Apple Valley, CA - http://JustThe.net/ - 888.480.4NET (4638)
> Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / sjsobol@JustThe.net / PGP: 0xE3AE35ED

> "The wisdom of a fool won't set you free"
>      --New Order, "Bizarre Love Triangle"

> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Because, if I understood Dale correctly
> in our phone call mid-day Tuesday, his phone just keeps on ringing
> until he _does_ answer.   PAT]

------------------------------

From: T. Sean Weintz <strap@hanh-ct.org>
Subject: Re: Cellular Phone Harassment from '555-555-1212'
Date: Wed, 13 Apr 2005 15:11:33 -0400
Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com


Dale Showers wrote:

> Dear Mr. Townson:

> I have been receiving calls on my cell phone and the caller id is
> 15555551212 but there is no one on the phone when I pick up.  I try to
> call back to that number and it is not a good number.  There is no
> area code of 555.  If any one knows what this and how to stop it
> please let me know at mindlesspugs@yahoo.com . 

> Thank you very much! 

> Dale

This is almost definitely a scofflaw telemarketer calling from a PRI 
line. By using a PRI line, can set the caller ID to be whatever he wants.

You answer and get no-one on the other end because he is using a 
predictive dialer -- a computer dials the numbers, and connects the calls 
to people in the telemarketing call center only when the call is 
answered on your end. If no one is available in the call center to take 
the call, when you answer you get the classic "no one there when I 
answer" effect -- you just hear dead air.

Unfortunately, short of having the cell provider put a trap on the line, 
you are NOT going to be able to track this down.

------------------------------


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End of TELECOM Digest V24 #161
******************************