Wow! Ireland Begins Blocking Direct Calls To Entire Countries - GoFuckYourself.com

KRL · 09-23-2004, 01:09 PM

This is to shut down Dialer companies apparently.

DUBLIN, Ireland - Ireland has become the first country on earth to cut off direct-dialed calls to entire nations in a bid to crack down on Internet-based fraud.

The crackdown, announced this week and due to come into force Oct. 4, will block calls to 13 locations ? all but one of them far-flung islands ? to deter fraudsters from breaking into people's computers and hijacking their modems for profit.

The government-appointed Commission for Communications Regulation said it was obliged to act after receiving more than 300 complaints this year from Internet users who discovered that their connections had been altered without their knowledge ? with financially disastrous results.

"These people found out only when they got their telephone bill, which might normally be 80 euros ($100), and found out this time it was 780 euros ($1,000)," the commission's spokesman, Tom Butler, said in an interview Thursday.

He said the biggest ripoffs reported so far were two businesses that unwittingly ran up connection costs of around $15,000 and $22,000 respectively. All the victims were users of dial-up modems.

The racket often works like this: The Internet con artist bombards computers with an annoying pop-up message asking a question unrelated to modem use. The computer user clicks "yes" to get rid of it ? and thereby let a so-called "trojan" virus into the computer. The virus then reroutes the computer's dial-up connection to the distant island.

A connection that costs just cents in Ireland is transformed to $4 to $7.50 a minute, with the fraudster taking a cut of the charge. The fraudsters use remote islands, regulators say, because they typically attract the most expensive international call rates.

The commission had a four-month consultation with Internet service providers, phone companies and ripped-off customers before making its decision. During the talks, Ireland's phone companies refused to reimburse any of the customers.

The places facing cutoff are mostly in the South Pacific: the Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Nauru, Norfolk Island, the Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tuvalu, and Wallis and Fortuna.

But they also include the West African nation of Mauritania, Sao Tome and Principe off the Atlantic coast of West Africa and the Comoros islands and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.

Butler said the commission would review whether to remove or add nations to the cut-off list in six months.

He stressed that legitimate calls to each of the 13 locations would be allowed through, but only with operator assistance.

The commission's order, which has been accepted by telephone companies, will require operators to verify whether each call is to a bona-fide voice line, not a fee-collecting machine. Each legitimate number will be allowed to resume receiving direct-dialed calls from Ireland.

In addition, Butler said one of the affected territories, the Cook Islands, had already contacted regulators to say it planned to provide a list of legitimate phone numbers. These numbers ? a so-called "white list" ? might receive accelerated approval for direct-dial services, he said.

polish_aristocrat · 09-23-2004, 01:11 PM

Poland did ( or was considering, but I think they did ) something similar few years ago...

KRL · 09-23-2004, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by polish_aristocrat
Poland did ( or was considering, but I think they did ) something similar few years ago...

If the US does this there go the Dialer scams.

BRISK · 09-23-2004, 01:15 PM

At least the countries on the black list are just small countries in the south pacific and west africa, it sucks to have to use operator assistance, but it's not like people will be making that many calls to those countries anyway

Fake Nick · 09-23-2004, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by KRL

But they also include the West African nation of Mauritania,.

lloll! ! I am from Mauritania ! so If I would live in Ireland I wouldn't be able to call relatives who still live there at all ??

that's just bullshit ! I also do no think it is legal to do this .

Fake Nick · 09-23-2004, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by BRISK
At least the countries on the black list are just small countries in the south pacific and west africa, it sucks to have to use operator assistance, but it's not like people will be making that many calls to those countries anyway

thats not true , Mauritania is a huge country ;) and has nearly 3 000 000 people living there

BRISK · 09-23-2004, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Fake Nick
lloll! ! I am from Mauritania ! so If I would live in Ireland I wouldn't be able to call relatives who still live there at all ??

that's just bullshit ! I also do no think it is legal to do this .

no, people in Ireland can call anywhere, just certain countries will require opreators to put the call through manually

read the article

Pleasurepays · 09-23-2004, 01:17 PM

if we have a nuclear war tomorrow, i think only cockroaches and dialers will survive.

KRL · 09-23-2004, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by BRISK
At least the countries on the black list are just small countries in the south pacific and west africa, it sucks to have to use operator assistance, but it's not like people will be making that many calls to those countries anyway

Yeh, they are insignifcant countries to everyone except the Dialer companies and pay-per-call companies who use these countries extensively.

BRISK · 09-23-2004, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Fake Nick
thats not true , Mauritania is a huge country ;) and has nearly 3 000 000 people living there

Yes, I'm sure there are thousands of legitimate calls from Ireland to Mauritania every day

Fake Nick · 09-23-2004, 01:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by KRL
Yeh, they are insignifcant countries to everyone except the Dialer companies and pay-per-call companies who use these countries extensively.

the coast line of mauritania has the richest fishing area of the world

BRISK · 09-23-2004, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Fake Nick
the coast line of mauritania has the richest fishing area of the world

"fishing", is that what they're calling dialer scams down there these days?

Paul · 09-27-2004, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by BRISK
Yes, I'm sure there are thousands of legitimate calls from Ireland to Mauritania every day

Quote:

Originally posted by BRISK
"fishing", is that what they're calling dialer scams down there these days?

Bahahaha !!!

If it helps curve the amount of dialer scams and people getting fucked over then I see this as a good thing

The positives would seem to far outway the negatives of this new law

mardigras · 09-27-2004, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by BRISK
"fishing", is that what they're calling dialer scams down there these days?

Maybe he meant phishing

korzon · 09-27-2004, 04:46 PM

wow that is a huge step to take!

jimmyf · 09-27-2004, 06:42 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mardigras
Maybe he meant phishing

GTS Mark · 09-27-2004, 06:46 PM

I don't blame the Irish for doing this, that lost money to dialers could have gone towards more beer!!!

Éireann go Brách

DH

09-23-2004, 01:09 PM	#1
KRL Entrepreneur Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: USA Posts: 31,429	Wow! Ireland Begins Blocking Direct Calls To Entire Countries This is to shut down Dialer companies apparently. DUBLIN, Ireland - Ireland has become the first country on earth to cut off direct-dialed calls to entire nations in a bid to crack down on Internet-based fraud. The crackdown, announced this week and due to come into force Oct. 4, will block calls to 13 locations ? all but one of them far-flung islands ? to deter fraudsters from breaking into people's computers and hijacking their modems for profit. The government-appointed Commission for Communications Regulation said it was obliged to act after receiving more than 300 complaints this year from Internet users who discovered that their connections had been altered without their knowledge ? with financially disastrous results. "These people found out only when they got their telephone bill, which might normally be 80 euros ($100), and found out this time it was 780 euros ($1,000)," the commission's spokesman, Tom Butler, said in an interview Thursday. He said the biggest ripoffs reported so far were two businesses that unwittingly ran up connection costs of around $15,000 and $22,000 respectively. All the victims were users of dial-up modems. The racket often works like this: The Internet con artist bombards computers with an annoying pop-up message asking a question unrelated to modem use. The computer user clicks "yes" to get rid of it ? and thereby let a so-called "trojan" virus into the computer. The virus then reroutes the computer's dial-up connection to the distant island. A connection that costs just cents in Ireland is transformed to $4 to $7.50 a minute, with the fraudster taking a cut of the charge. The fraudsters use remote islands, regulators say, because they typically attract the most expensive international call rates. The commission had a four-month consultation with Internet service providers, phone companies and ripped-off customers before making its decision. During the talks, Ireland's phone companies refused to reimburse any of the customers. The places facing cutoff are mostly in the South Pacific: the Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Nauru, Norfolk Island, the Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tuvalu, and Wallis and Fortuna. But they also include the West African nation of Mauritania, Sao Tome and Principe off the Atlantic coast of West Africa and the Comoros islands and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. Butler said the commission would review whether to remove or add nations to the cut-off list in six months. He stressed that legitimate calls to each of the 13 locations would be allowed through, but only with operator assistance. The commission's order, which has been accepted by telephone companies, will require operators to verify whether each call is to a bona-fide voice line, not a fee-collecting machine. Each legitimate number will be allowed to resume receiving direct-dialed calls from Ireland. In addition, Butler said one of the affected territories, the Cook Islands, had already contacted regulators to say it planned to provide a list of legitimate phone numbers. These numbers ? a so-called "white list" ? might receive accelerated approval for direct-dial services, he said. __________________ If you would like to develop your domains, you can lease inexpensive foreign labor from the leaders in the field at iWebmasters.com TO LOWER YOUR COSTS AND INCREASE YOUR PRODUCTION! * * * * * * * * * * * * Domains Adult News KRL's Newsletter Biz Tips Just Listed Domains

09-23-2004, 01:11 PM	#2
polish_aristocrat Too lazy to set a custom title Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 40,377	Poland did ( or was considering, but I think they did ) something similar few years ago... __________________ I don't use ICQ anymore.

09-23-2004, 01:15 PM	#4
BRISK Too lazy to set a custom title Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 12,240	At least the countries on the black list are just small countries in the south pacific and west africa, it sucks to have to use operator assistance, but it's not like people will be making that many calls to those countries anyway __________________ I post on GFY so that when people ask me what I do, I can tell them that I work with the mentally retarded.

09-27-2004, 04:46 PM	#15
korzon Confirmed User Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 1,524	wow that is a huge step to take! __________________

09-23-2004, 01:17 PM	#8
Pleasurepays BANNED - SUPPORTING TUBES Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: I live in a pile of boogers Posts: 11,913	if we have a nuclear war tomorrow, i think only cockroaches and dialers will survive.

09-27-2004, 06:46 PM	#17
GTS Mark Vrume Mark Industry Role: Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 20,912	I don't blame the Irish for doing this, that lost money to dialers could have gone towards more beer!!! Éireann go Brách DH