---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Mon, 9 SEP 1996 14:30:23 -0700 From: Dana.Rozycki@octel.com Newgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: BANM to Provide Authentications Service in New England September 4, 1996 Andrea Linskey (908) 306-7845 BELL ATLANTIC NYNEX MOBILE PROVIDES MOST ADVANCED WEAPON IN THE WAR ON FRAUD Company First to Provide Authentication in New England WOBURN, Mass. -- Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile today announced it is the first wireless carrier in New England to provide a sophisticated fraud prevention service, called Authentication, to its customers. Authenti- cation uses an advanced encryption technology that makes it almost impossible for a customer's cellular phone number to be cloned -- replicated and used illegally. The crime costs the industry more than $1.5 million a day. Authentication service, which is virtually instantaneous and provided at no additional charge, makes wireless calling easier for customers, while giving even more protection against thieves who steal cellular phone numbers for criminal use. Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile customers in eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, where Authentication has now been deployed, simply need an Authentication-ready phone to take advantage of the service. Customers who wish to verify if their phone is authenticatable can check their owner's manual, contact Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile customer service or their nearest Communications Store. Customers who use personal identification numbers (PINs) to deter fraud no longer need to use a PIN to make calls within the New England region or any other region with Authentication, if they have an activated, authenticatable phone. Prior to Authentication, when a PIN user made a call, the network would prompt the caller to input the PIN before the call was connected. Now, New England area customers with authenticatable phones will be required to use their PINs only when roaming in areas where Authentication has yet to be launched. Authentication technology identifies cloned phone numbers immediately, before costly communications can take place. The cellular network and the Authentication-ready phones operating on it carry matching information. When a user initiates a call, the network challenges the phone to verify itself by performing a mathematical equation only that specific phone can solve. An authenticatable phone will match the challenge, confirming that it and the corresponding phone number are being used by the legitimate customer. If it doesn't match, the network determines that the phone number is being used illegally, and service to that phone is terminated. All this takes place in a fraction of a second. "With Authentication, fraud prevention becomes transparent to our customers, and we have the potential to reduce our financial losses -- it's a win-win situation," states Jack Plating, president of Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile's Northeast region. "Fraud doesn't just cost the industry millions, it inconveniences our customers. While customers have never been required to pay for fraudulent calls, they're frustrated with the problem nonetheless. We're aggressive about providing our customers with the technology to protect them from fraud, and we are encouraged that others in the industry are following our lead." "Authentication ultimately will do away with cloning fraud as we know it today," stated Tom McClure, Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association director for fraud management. "According to studies by the industry's Fraud Task Force, Authentication technology will confound bandits for about twenty years. I applaud the work of Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile and other wireless carriers that have deployed this new technology and that continue to wage war against high tech fraud." Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile was the first cellular carrier in the industry to bring Authentication to its customers. The service was initially launched in May 1996, in New York and Northern New Jersey and recently launched in Washington D.C., Baltimore, and Philadelphia. The company will roll out the service by year-end throughout its footprint, which covers a population of 55 million people and includes the communications-intensive Northeast corridor. NOTE TO EDITORS: Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile's regional headquarters is located in Woburn, Mass., with a region-wide workforce of 1,025 people. The company recently announced a new voice-activated dialing service, TalkDialSM, which offers added convenience and time-saving benefits to customers. Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile is the largest wireless service provider on the East Coast and the second largest in the United States. The company offers a full range of wireless personal communications services, including voice, data and paging. Based in Bedminster, N.J., the company has 3.8 million customers and 5,500 employees in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic, Southeast, and, through a separate subsidiary, in the Southwest. The company was formed in July, 1995 through the combination of Bell Atlantic Mobile's and NYNEX Mobile's cellular operations. SIDEBAR #1 (September 4, 1996): WHAT AUTHENTICATION MEANS FOR OUR CUSTOMERS For Our New Customers: New Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile customers will receive the security of Authentication when they purchase any Motorola phone, Nokia's 100, 232 or 638 models, or Audiovox's 460, 560, or 850A models. Authentication is a regular feature of these phones, and there is no additional charge for the Authentication equipment or for the fraud protection service. For Our Existing Customers With Authentication-capable Phones: Existing customers who use Authentication-capable phones are those customers who purchased any Motorola phone, a Nokia 100, 232 or 638, or Audiovox's 460, 560 or 850A models since the fall of 1995. For these customers, Authentication will be activated from within the Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile network sometime over the next few weeks. Customers who wish to verify if their phone is Authentication-capable can either check their owner's manual, contact Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile customer service, or their nearest Communications Store. Also, existing customers who have an Authentication-capable phone and use a personal identification number (PIN) to deter cellular fraud will no longer be asked for their PINs when making calls in regions where Authentication is deployed. For Our Customers Without Authentication-capable Phones: For our customers who own a phone without the Authentication feature, a PIN is still recommended to be the best way to deter fraud. Customers can sign up for a PIN by contacting Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile customer service at 1-800-255-BELL, or calling *BAM toll-free on their cellular phone. SIDEBAR #2 (September 4, 1996): BELL ATLANTIC NYNEX MOBILE'S WAR ON CELLULAR FRAUD With a history of pioneering innovative anti-fraud technologies, BANM was the first wireless service provider to introduce the PIN system, making the cloning process more difficult. Last year, BANM reduced cloning fraud by more than 80 percent in its footprint by promoting use of the PIN. BANM's multi-tiered approach to fraud prevention also includes educational programs, new software systems, an in-house fraud task force, and other deterrents. BANM also actively works with law enforcement officials to pursue criminal and civil action against cellular bandits. Last year, the company assisted law enforcement in making more than 300 arrests along the East Coast and has helped write and enact legislation making cloning a felony. ------------ -=| T.Q.D.B. - tqdb@wichita.fn.net - http://www.feist.com/~tqdb |=- "The term 'hacker' is not necessarily derogatory. A small percentage of them give the rest a bad name." --Special Agent Andrew Black, FBI SF Computer Crime Squad