Phreaking
Definition
Tone-based exploitation of the public switched telephone network, pioneered in the 1960s and 1970s. The 2600 Hz tone, generated by a toy whistle from a Cap'n Crunch cereal box, disconnected billing on AT&T trunks while keeping the call up. The modern descendant is signalling-layer abuse on SS7 and Diameter.
Related terms
- CLI Spoofing
- Caller Line Identification spoofing: the caller forges the Calling Party Number sent in the SS7 IAM or SIP From header so the...
- IMSI Catcher
- A rogue base station (commercial: Stingray, Hailstorm, KingFisher; research: USRP plus srsRAN or YateBTS) that impersonates a cellular cell, forces nearby phones...
- QRJacking
- Physical replacement or overlay of a legitimate merchant QR (typically a UPI QR at a shop counter) with a fraudster's QR pointing...
- SIM Swap
- Fraud pattern where the attacker convinces the telco to port the victim's MSISDN to a SIM the attacker holds. Once active, the...
- TRAI 24-Hour Cool-Off
- Telecom Regulatory Authority of India directive (2018 and tightened thereafter) requiring that after a SIM swap the new SIM cannot be used...
Explained in
- Wireless and Mobile Network Attacks: Phreaking, SIM Swap, NFC and QRTone-based exploitation of the public switched telephone network, pioneered in the 1960s and 1970s. The 2600 Hz tone, generated by a toy whistle from a Cap'n C...