REMOBS - Remote Observation System
Some of you
may have heard of devices called REMOBS which stands for Remote Observation System. These
Devices allow supposedly authorized telephone employees to dial into them from anywhere,
and then using an ordinary touch tone fone, tap into a customer's line in a special
receive only mode. [The mouthpiece circuit is deactivated, allowing totally silent
observation from any fone in the world (Wire tapping without a court order is against the
law)].How REMOBS Works
Dial
the number of a REMOBS unit. Bell is rumored to put them in the 555 information exchanges,
or on special access trunks [Unreachable except via blue box]. A tone will then be heard
for approximately 2 seconds and then silence. You must key in (In DTMF) a 2 to 5 digit
access code while holding each digit down at least 1 second. If the code is not entered
within 5 or 6 seconds, the Remob will release and must be dialed again. If the code is
accepted supposedly another tone will be heard. A seven digit subscriber fone number can
then be entered [The REMOBS can only handle certain 'exchanges' which are prewired, so
usuallyone machine cannot monitor an entire NPA]. The REMOBS will then connect to the subscribers line. The listener will hear the low level idle tone as long as the monitored party is on hook. As the monitored party dials [rotary or DTMF], the listener would hear [And Record] the number being dialed. Then the ENTIRE conversation, datalink, or whatever is taking place can be monitored all without detection. (There is no current box which can detect Remob observation, since it is being done with the telephone equipment that makes the connection.)* When the listener is finished monitoring of that particular customer, he keys the
last digit of the access code to disconnects him from the monitored line and return to the tone so that he can key in another 7 digit fone #. When the listener is totally finished with the REMOBS, he keys a single 'disconnect digit' which disconnects him from the REMOBS so that the device can reset and be ready for another caller.
History of REMOBS
Bell
has kept the existance of Remobs very low key. Only in 1974, Bell acknowledged that REMOBS
existed. The device was first made public during hearings on "Telephone Monitoring
Practices by Federal Agencies" before a subcommittee on government operations. House
of Representatives, Ninety-Third Congress, June 1974.It has since been stated by Bell that the Remob devices are used exclusively for monitoring Bell employees such as operators, information operators, etc., to keep tabs on their performance. [Suuureee, were stupid]
Possible Uses for REMOBS
The possible uses of REMOBS are almost as endless as the uses of the self created fone line. Imagine the ability to monitor bank lines etc, just off the top of my head I can think of these applications:
Data Monitoring of:
TRW
National Credit Bureau
AT&T Cosmos
Bank Institutions
CompuServe and other Networks.
Voice Monitoring of:
Bank Institutions
Mail Order businesses.
Bell Telephone themselves.
Any place handling sensitive or important information.
Anyone that you may not like.
With just one
REMOBS, someone could get hundreds of credit cards, find out who was on vacation, get
CompuServe passwords by the dozens, disconnect peoples fones, do credit checks, find out
about anything that they may want to find out about. Im sure you can see the value of a
telephone hobbiest and a telecommunications enthusist getting his hands on a few choice
REMOBS.Caution if any reader should discover a REMOBS during his (or her) scanning excursions, please keep in mind the very strict federal laws regarding wiretapping and unauthorized use of private Bell property.
Jolly Roger writer, hereby takes no responsability or liability for anything that happens as a result of reading anything on this page. Users read at their own risk. Thank you.