Bandwidth theft - procedure and contacts to solve

[|tera|]

I'd like to bump this thread to ask for some advice

In 2006, I met someone on an IRC network and he shared his ISP details with me on the IS network. This was end of 2006. We added each other to gmail and we sent a few friendly messages to each other, but the conversation about the ISP details was on IRC and no logs were saved.

In January and February 2007 I used the account briefly for a week or so until my "conscience" told me to contact the guy again. We had an arrangement that I could use a few GB per month, so I did not "steal" anything.

I sent him an email asking if I can still use the account and he informed that he has not had ADSL since that past December, just before Christmas. I told him thanks and told him I won't use the account again.

I sent an email to well known ISP a few days later, asking for advice on the issue, the owner checked the ISP username on his system and he could not tell me which ISP it belonged to, but it wasn't on his systems. He told me not to worry and keep an ear out.

What are my options regarding this at the moment?

I don't have the verbal agreement written down, but I am worrying that the new users of the account (which I didn't know of) might have reported myself accessing the account, thereby I may just as well expect a visit from the authorities.

Will the emails I have as mentioned above be "proof" enough of the arrangement, or should I send this person an email and ask him to write down that we had a verbal agreement?

tera

 

[dominic]

hi tera

highly unlikely that this will occur but if it did they would have to be able to show that you intentionally "stole" bandwidth...the emails you have and your statement would be more than enough to make them not want to bother

 

[|tera|]

hi tera

highly unlikely that this will occur but if it did they would have to be able to show that you intentionally "stole" bandwidth...the emails you have and your statement would be more than enough to make them not want to bother

Thank you dominic, I truly appreciate that you replied.

For conscience sake I just sent the person an email asking for confirmation that we had an agreement. I know my conscience is clear, it was just a bad mistake on my part not "finding out" if the account was still in use by this person.

I'd be happy to pay for my usage.

 

[LazyLion]

http://www.news24.com/News24/Technology/News/0,,2-13-1443_2396340,00.html

Stolen bandwidth? Call the cops
19/09/2008 14:01 - (SA)

# Modems 'easily hacked'

Verashni Pillay

Cape Town - Has your monthly bandwidth of 3GB suddenly dwindled overnight? You may be a victim of bandwidth theft, an easily investigated crime that the public aren't reporting enough, police say.

Stealing a person's bandwidth or internet time by fraudulently using their login and password has been a crime since the inception of the Electronic Communications & Transactions Act in 2002, Saps commercial branch Superintendent Jerome Hardenberg said.

"The Commercial Branch in the Western Cape took the lead in addressing this crime in June 2007," Hardenberg told News24.

But few members of the public were aware that they could file a charge at any police station, and that police can locate offenders within a matter of minutes.

Easy investigation

Hardenberg said underreporting of the crime was a pity, given that it was one of the easiest to investigate.

Offenders can be traced by subpoenaing Telkom for the location of the fraudulent login. "Telkom would then provide the IP address and physical address linked to the specific telephone number of the suspect," he said

The fraudster could then be fined anything between R1 000 and R5 000, given the amount of bandwidth stolen.

Hardenberg urged the public to report any such theft to their local police station. "A docket would be registered and allocated to the Commercial Branch for investigation," he said.

But more importantly, internet users should follow basic instructions by changing their modem password, and not using the default password.

Hardenberg said hackers know the default password of various modems and write programs to search for users logged on using a specific modem. "The info retrieved would give the hacker access to the account page with the user's login details," he said.

The information is then used to download content, which is sometimes shared with other hackers in chatrooms.

At this stage, victims could not be reimbursed for their lost bandwidth.

 

[Mr noodle]

i see there have been quite a number of threads relating to bandwidth theft but it does not seem as if many people have got satisfactory results

i believe that the SAPS now have a specific form dealing with this kind of crime (at least they do in the western cape) but it seems that the problem is finding the right person at the ISP to help out

does anyone have any contacts of people who can assist with this? I am in particular looking for the number of someone in telkom / telkominternet who is authorised to assist users who have had bandwidth stolen...

any help greatly appreciated

SF

i could help work for government

 

[Leostar]

If people are stupid enough NOT to change their default router password, let them get capped.

Btw, you don't "decryped" the password, it is in the HTML source since the web GUI is HTML/js driven.

Maybe Telkom should lower their bandwith costs for a start, that will instantly resolve this problem.

Ok I admid I am stupid.!!
So how do I change the password on the telkom ASDL Mega 105WR router??
No manual no instruction and I am to dim

Telkom suppies the account pasword, so they have access to that!!

 

[Deirdre]

Below is a cheeky email from my hacker who stole about 1 gig a day of my bandwidth last week (I have reported it to SAPS and waiting for them to subpoena Telkom. I don't have much faith in my investigator, as he seems not so bright). The first Telkom online technician told me exactly how many MB's my hacker used and also gave me his name, which is Whitfield from Everton and even read out his username to me but I didn't write it down (stupid fool), now they have gone mum and won't divulge that info again:

Name: rain boot
Email Address: rainboots0214@hotmail.com
Message: Hack again?!

 

[fragtion]

Below is a cheeky email from my hacker who stole about 1 gig a day of my bandwidth last week (I have reported it to SAPS and waiting for them to subpoena Telkom. I don't have much faith in my investigator, as he seems not so bright). The first Telkom online technician told me exactly how many MB's my hacker used and also gave me his name, which is Whitfield from Everton and even read out his username to me but I didn't write it down (stupid fool), now they have gone mum and won't divulge that info again:

Name: rain boot
Email Address: rainboots0214@hotmail.com
Message: Hack again?!

How about changing your password and dropping the whole ordeal? I don't understand why people wish to go through all the effort to find out who's stolen a few paid-for gigs from a few months back. If it's not prepaid, then you technically haven't LOST anything? So what's the point? Just change your password, and protect your router with a better password, and you won't have the problem again (that's right, it's your fault your details were leaked in the first place - so slap yourself and get on with it)

 

[3p1c]

Ok I admid I am stupid.!!
So how do I change the password on the telkom ASDL Mega 105WR router??
No manual no instruction and I am to dim

Telkom suppies the account pasword, so they have access to that!!

Dont fret, we all learn as we go.
Telkom routers usually have the IP 10.0.0.2 to access the web user interface. You will need your username and password which can be located in your manual I've kindly found for you HERE (NB: The default username is admin and the default password is admin.- taken from the PDF - Chapter 9)

Then you can proceed to;
- change routers login and password to something that you desire and only you know.
- change your password for the wireless - so you can prevent people using your bandwidth and block access to your PC and network
- change ISP (if required)
- and more.....

GL

 

[Srack0verflow]

How about changing your password and dropping the whole ordeal? I don't understand why people wish to go through all the effort to find out who's stolen a few paid-for gigs from a few months back. If it's not prepaid, then you technically haven't LOST anything? So what's the point? Just change your password, and protect your router with a better password, and you won't have the problem again (that's right, it's your fault your details were leaked in the first place - so slap yourself and get on with it)

agreed. burnt once, twice shy

 

[Praeses]

My router has a setting in which you limit access to it via LAN and preventing WAN connections from accessing it. Shouldn't this also prevent people from having their account info getting stolen?

 

[Turtle]

My router has a setting in which you limit access to it via LAN and preventing WAN connections from accessing it. Shouldn't this also prevent people from having their account info getting stolen?

Not necessarily. The most common route for passwords to 'leak' is (as far as I can tell) corrupt insiders at Telkom Internet itself. The single-best thing you can do to stop bandwidth theft is to simply stop using Telkom ISP for data. I had quite a few problems until I dropped Telkom Internet and switched to Afrihost for my data - had not one bandwidth theft since. Passwords can also leak via your wireless, depending on your security settings (as exploits have been found for some of the older wireless security protocols - if you're not using your WAN, definitely turn it off - if you are, set your security to at least WPA2 with TKIP+AES) but it's generally less common.

 

[Icarium]

Ah, brings back memories of when I was an internet n00b, and had my account details stolen. Being on a pay-as-you-use account at R100/gb and having someone rack up 40gb in one month was an eye opener.

 

[d7e7r7]

If anyone needs help setting/changing the password on their router feel free to message me...

 

[FNfal]

OK the correct procedure is to open a case with the SAPS .....the investgating officer must then issue a 205 which is a subpoena for the logs to telkom .......telkom will comply with said subpoena ....then the SAPS will know who used the band with from what telephone number .... end of story

 

[FNfal]

Telkom will not and can not help you with bandwidth theft ,,,it is all done by the SAPS that is a criminal matter DO NOT CONTACT telkom is this regard they will not help you

 

[Venomous]

are you not a lil late in offering help?

 

[FNfal]

sorry first time i read this thread

 

[die_pieter]

Maybe Telkom should create a division to work with bandwidth theft and copyright theft etc only...

 

[PostmanPot]

Here we go!