MONEY INCORPORATED DIGEST #52

I'M TO LAZY TO MAKE THE REGULAR HEADER....SO SUE ME!

TODAY'S TOPIC HOW TO GET CUSTOMER NAME/ADDRESS

  CN/A services are available to employees of the phone company, but increasing awareness of the
abuse of these services has led phone companies to require account numbers or passwords. The old
days of calling and getting a subscriber's CN/A are fast waning, and any information about current
account numbers or passwords will become outdated quickly.

  Here is a method that still works, and I believe will continue to work for some time. It requires
that the telephone number be long distance from your phone, or that you have a calling card that
allows you to make long-distance phone calls, or that you have a long-distance friend willing to
help. It also requires that you do not mind if it is possible for the subscriber to trace you,
albeit with a modicum of work, and given the method he will probably never have cause to go looking
in the right place unless a major crime is involved, and I would never, never condone such an
action.

  First, call the subscriber long-distance and feign a wrong number. Do it on the weekend for the
lowest rates. Use any of the methods above, but the important thing is that you be billed for the
call. I know this goes against the general philosophy of "all information should be free" but it'll
only cost you spare change.

  When the bill comes in the mail, call the customer service number for your long-distance provider
at the top of your statement. Your friendly customer representative will ask you for your phone
number or calling card number and the name the account is billed to. Often he will ask for the
billing address as well. Once that's done, say "Hey, there's this charge here on my long-distance
bill that I don't recognize at all. Can you tell me who that belongs to?" The rep will dutifully
tell you the name of the subscriber you called, even if that number is non-published, because they
don't know that fact. They're just trying to keep you happy about your phone bill. Getting the
address is more complicated, as they're more reticent to give that information out. You can try
things like "Oh, yeah I recognize that call now. That's on Maple Ave., right? No? What street is
that listed on?" You might not be able to scam the entire address from one representative. Simply
hang up and call the toll free number again, get a different rep and try again, now with additional
information. (Remember to be polite to the people you scam for information. It's a karma thing.) If
you know the number is not non-published try directory assistance using name and street to scam the
street address. Or use just the name and go to the library and look it up in the appropriate phone
directory.

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