FC: AT&T offers prepaid (anonymous?) Internet service

From: Declan McCullagh (declanat_private)
Date: Wed Jun 11 2003 - 05:25:22 PDT

  • Next message: Declan McCullagh: "FC: AccuCard Service: More privacy invasion (and viral marketing?)"

    [Any reason to think AT&T would *not* be recording caller ID information 
    from their prepaid-dialup users? Even in the absence of possible government 
    pressure, it might be useful as an anti-fraud move. I don't know enough 
    about the phone system to know whether AT&T would have access to ANI (which 
    would give them your number even if you block caller ID). There's also the 
    secondary issue of a prepaid ISP possibly recording URLs you visit and the 
    identities of your email correspondents and preserving those logs in case 
    the FBI or a subpoena-happy divorce lawyer comes visiting... Like other 
    solutions for anonymity, there are many ways your identity can leak. See 
    AT&T's site at: http://www.consumer.att.com/prepaidcard/prepaidinternet/ 
    --Declan]
    
    ---
    
    Date: Sun, 08 Jun 2003 14:19:28 -0700
    Subject: Re: FC: Steve Schear on Internet providers getting serious about
    	privacy
    From: Bret Fausett <bafat_private>
    To: <declanat_private>, <politechat_private>
    
    Declan,
    
    Over the last six months I've started seeing pre-paid Internet access cards
    by AT&T in airports. It's like a long-distance card, and you can buy them in
    various denominations ($20, $50). I haven't tried it, so I can't vouch for
    the degree of anonymity, but if you pay cash I wonder how they would trace
    you.
    
         Bret
    
    
    
    
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