Telkom ISP and bandwith Theft

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Bincx

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Location
Cape Town
Anyone ever experience bandwith theft? I recently had my account compromised (where either my username and password was taken from Telkom's system or my router was hacked). Approx 4Gb of data was stolen for the month.

The funny thing was I got my daily email usage alert which showed approx 700mb of unaccounted usage. I immediately phoned Telkom and was told not to worry, i should ignore the email and go according to there ADSL web tracker tool. What they didnt tell me was that the web tool reports a day or two in arrears. So the next day, when the web tracker tool showed that extra 700mb, i once again called Telkom.

1 week later, after spending roughly 10 hours on the phone with them, of which 9 hours i had to deal with morons, and 7 different reference numbers, they confirm that my account has been compromised and that i need to change username/password etc. By then 4gb was already stolen from account of which the bulk was taken on the very day they confirmed the theft.

In the meantime, i have tried to get into contact with a Telkom manager to negotiate a temporary account for the month but no one seems interested in calling me back... i'm not surprised as that is typical Telkom.

They also expect me to go to the Police station (which would prob cost another few hours), then i would have to spend another 10 hours dealing with those morons again explaining my story and giving the police case details, etc. By the time the issue is resolved, I would be in another month i.e. no need for that stolen bandwith.

For me the easier option is to cancel my Telkom ISP account so that I wont have to deal with this disgusting level of customer service again.

I know the battle against Telkom is prob useless so just thought i'd share this story with as many people as possible.
 
Your Username&Password combination is encrypted on the Telkom system. No way they can see/get it. Your router was hacked or malware or even a friend's compromised PC on your network could have caused this.
 
Can we assume that you had changed the defaul;t username and password on your router?
 
I have seen this many times before! Don't bother going to police thats a joke!
And don't bother trying to talk to Telkom about it (even bigger joke)
Change your Telkom password on www.telkomsa.net (password tool).....
DO NOT do it verbally over the phone with a service consultant!
Fully secure your router and scan all computers in your network for virus/malware/spyware
 
Phone the cops - there are groups that have been set up to combat bandwidth theft.

Bincx, I see you're in Cape Town. Phone the Commissioner House in Bellville and speak to Captain Niemand. She can find the person using your bandwidth and nail them with a R1500 fine and maybe a criminal record/court case.
 
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Username and Password might be encrypted however Telkom consultants can see it when bringing up your profile because one Consultant actually told me my password and that was after i changed it.

PostmanPot - If can handle the cop situation over the phone and skip all the queues i would gladly do it, but i dont think its worth wasting hours in a queue because by the time this is resolved, i'll be in another month already. I'm very close to Bellville so i'll try to get into touch with Captain Niemand. Thanx for the tip.
 
Bincx, I see you're in Cape Town. Phone the Commissioner House in Bellville and speak to Captain Niemand. She can find the person using your bandwidth and nail them with a R1500 fine and maybe a criminal record/court case.
Click to expand...
It's true! It works!
 
Bincx said:
Username and Password might be encrypted however Telkom consultants can see it when bringing up your profile because one Consultant actually told me my password and that was after i changed it.
Click to expand...

Well there is very very few and select persons who can see your password on our systems, so it's very unlikey anyone you speak to telephonically would be able to see your password.

Any username you use via your line gets logged onto the system, so yes we can see which isp you use, how much bandwidth was used, how long you were connected etc...

But your username and password is basically your own responsibility, changing the routers default username and password is also advisable from the start. You could have been 'hacked' via many different ways, wirelessly, remotely via sniffing...

I've dealt with a few cases of bandwidth theft, but unfortunately havn't foreseen them all the way to the end. You would need to email [email protected] and they would normally reply with a detailed email with the procedures, you'd then need to obtain an affidavit from police and then they would liaise with T.I and SAIX etc...

There are unfortunately the sad part is, that there is a lot of bandwidth occurring without anyone knowing. Sometimes it goes on for months and months on end and only is found out down the line.
 
ld13 said:
Your Username&Password combination is encrypted on the Telkom system. No way they can see/get it. Your router was hacked or malware or even a friend's compromised PC on your network could have caused this.
Click to expand...

not true. I often have to confirm adsl details for stores i do work for, and the consultant verifies the password i tell them.
 
If u say they that good at catching Net thieves...

just wish they could do the same for our everydy crime...
 
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