IP Relay Service Abuse

[DNR]

IP Relay Abuse and current/proposed legal legislation
compilation by DNR 6/2/06

Eample of IP Relay Services:


http://www.ip-relay.com/services.html
https://www.sprintip.com/index.jsp
http://redzee.com/search/search.cgi?query=ip%20relay


"
Place calls through instant messaging
Available though AOL Instant Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger
Connect through your PC or wireless device (This includes Sidekicks!)
Simple, easy, convenient
Simply click on My IP Relay and type the phone number
Free calls to anywhere in the USA"
---
How it works:

the first leg of an IP Relay call goes from the caller's computer, or other Web-enabled device, to the IP Relay Center via the Internet. The IP Relay Center is usually accessed via a Web page. The second leg of the call, as with traditional TRS, is from the CA to the receiving party via voice telephone through the public switched telephone network. The CA can also accept IP relay calls from persons with hard-to-understand speech and repeat the calls in an easily understandable form for the called party. There are no additional costs to consumers for IP Relay beyond a computer or other Web-capable device and an Internet connection.

---------------------------

http://cryptome.org/fcc060106.htm

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 64

[CG Docket No. 03-123; FCC 06-58]


Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services
for Individuals With Hearing and Speech Disabilities; Misuse of
Internet Protocol (IP) Relay Service and Video Relay Service

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission addresses the misuse of the
two Internet-based forms of Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS),
Internet Protocol (IP) Relay Service and Video Relay Service (VRS), and
seeks comment on possible changes to the TRS regulations to curtail
their misuse.

--edited---

IP Relay and VRS offer consumers
anonymity because the call is placed via the Internet, and not the
PSTN, the Commission has become aware that these services are being
misused.

---edited--

Misuse of IP Relay

The Commission continues to receive complaints and anecdotal
evidence that IP Relay is being misused by persons without a hearing or
speech disability to defraud merchants by making purchases over the
telephone using stolen, fake, or otherwise invalid credit cards, and to
make harassing or ``prank'' calls. See generally FCC Reminds Public of
Requirements Regarding Internet Relay Service and Issues Alert, Public
Notice, 19 FCC Rcd 10740 (June 18, 2004) (IP Relay Fraud Public
Notice); published at 69 FR 41478, July 9, 2004. Although such conduct
may be illegal, because IP Relay calls reach the relay center via the
Internet, and the calling party and the communications assistant (CA),
the TRS provider employee who handles the call, communicate only by
text, the CA presently receives no identifying information.
Consequently, IP Relay affords users a degree of anonymity that is
generally not possible with PSTN-based relay calls. Because TTY based
TRS calls are made over the PSTN, the call to the relay center includes
identifying information such as the calling party's number. That
information is used to determine if the call is interstate or
intrastate for compensation purposes under Section 255 of the
Communications Act, but also has the effect of deterring the misuse of
TRS because the relay provider knows where the inbound call is coming
from. As a result, some persons have discovered that they may misuse IP
Relay. In a typical scenario involving fraudulent credit card
purchases, a person places an IP Relay call, usually from outside the
United States, to a business located within the United States, places
an order for goods (most often commodity items that can be quickly
resold), pays with a stolen or fraudulent credit card, and arranges for
the goods to be shipped to a location outside the United States.

--edited---

report by DNR 6/2/06