Exploding The Phone db923 www.explodingthephone.com Bibliographic Cover Sheet Title Captain Crunch: Super Phone Phreak Publication High Times Date 1977-06-00 Author(s) Long, Steve V/I/P p. 51 Abstract History of John Draper and phone phreaking. Keywords John Draper; Captain Crunch Notes Lots of good background material on Draper's youth, but also many inaccuracies. Article is part of db367 and db899, i.e., we obtained it as part of an FBI file. The following pages may contain copyrighted material. We believe that our use of this material for non-commercial educational and research purposes constitutes "fair use" under Section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this material for purposes that go beyond "fair use," you must obtain permission from the copyright owner, if any. While it will make us slightly sad to do so, we will nonetheless comply with requests from copyright owners who want their material removed from our web site. , '-; ~ , ;'~-i.:.;, ~:." .~~; ~y:; ~,~ . ';.: " ' " . 1,. .",":~ -.-rit ~ ..... -- , " ,.," !o? '~ , --:";1:. ;_ ~I.j~ .. ',.:;." ;...... " " : 'Il; ". .~. ~, ' . " ", , . '. ::~~5~?~~:}~~Z~:.:;~~;~~;?}:'i~r ;~;~:~:i#:j,¥.ifl~:~:':~~:~· ": t~?l~{'~~·!~,· -\';;i~,:;,:.<t ',~ '-:':'J:. ~·~·~~~'~~~;:-~I~\).~:: :,'. '.: .,{~,~:;.~,'. ~ ;~:. :,:': ~.}~:.~; ":~.~ '~~. ,.• ' -, .,', .•..,.. , .•...•" ,... ~...•• ,.,.' :.' . '. ..,,". ~'_....•.".." "':'" ,--. ····3··' .·~.·:.~~:~}::·.~·;:~>.',L~~~~;t.·~:~>~,~,:: :~::.;;~.'~:..:.: ':i'~:~; '. '. ' ,~ ." .,,:: -. ~\;~\" '.:'" > .;;.: :.':.:' :"~ . ~~; ~~~;.~ :-:/t~·~;::~t :,;::~ ;~; ~:.:~:~; \T::::'~';:~" .~ ;J.....',' ,~,.' .... <;,~,. '< I n 1973' a couple of phone phreaks -;.) ;'. ..¢R<'~ :t:-.... ,. .,": -. : di_scovere~ the toll-free 800 number ,; ::.~. "- ~ ~ ~~ ..... ~"'-:. .... ~.. : ...) .. ':., ....." . ~-:...';'.""~~'.';' ~1',;-~"",,:~ ':;'. .' . atthe WhIte House. The number '\d~ ~ : .:: ..-:.. ~ .. " , 800 424·9337. White House staffers used H ...-..:. i. $ ., :..;::: ... _ ; ~".. ~. ". ' , .- ~. for whffiatthe Phhreaks desChribe as ·k'casup.dl. • ...:..:::-.~~' .. "";''':.,~~; ..~.:t~:;:;,.} ... ~ ...... ~_ ..,. - . ' . .J\' :.:f7J 1 '1 semi-o cia.l cit-chat:' T e phrea s uc;p 'their expertise with the phone system II') tap this line andlisten for hours to the buzz •. ~~ "~" - ".,; i:~'~" ,,; ':.... .. .. ,,':;.,'.; ...,' of conversations going in and Qut of the ;:~:'<:'~~f,·1:~·.~,,{.~;\:~~~~:~~~~;::..; :~::~:~~~~:.: ,',:., '~l·t·.'.~~~~. :,.~ .., /··.:£::~rL~~~s:~~~~~!~Sc:~:~:}rr~: .,.• "", <:,' •.•.. :. • .•••'.... • .' ': .' ,SecretS~rviceagentswouldsay.'Tmsorry. ,,:.:; ':~'1~ :!'~" .' .• "r,'. ~:.;'':.,~;:;-,!;:~v '" .'.•- -" ,. : .' •• .' ~'.' '.: ·d ~, you must have dialed an incorrect num- , .....'. ','" :~:~', •. ; •.' ~ .7'· ,:;~' '~:. ;:>~ ~'.' ber:' The phreaks discovered that the code '. ' .' •' " : ... , •. ' :.::.... :" .' ••• , ,0, word "Olympus" stood for President Nix- .'. -, . qn,who was then embroiled in the Water- . '·"~"'''l.,.,,,,-<:gatescandal. ~." '~'" '" '•.~",..s.,. ~ ~:"7 "".-",~. ~ .' .~ ~ .".~_ .,j (": • • ... ... ..... ....... .. '.'" ..." .. ...1t I ,: . ,J:r;!;"'i":·:.s<·;:::~r.:~· ':'! One day in the spring of 1974. at about :'., r • ::~·:~~\~}~i·~r"::;~i·,t~'P"three'in the morning the phone phreaks .. "\ ' .~ ... ~.... ~:J"-..."~~":""-"-L ...."""'''~"''',,,~ ... " ..' ~ .. •• ,..·-,:{:})::-,,~·<~'~\',·J:'i.'9'~<.~I?le.q. the WhIte 1;Iouse numbe~. usmg an ~., . , . .::, ";7:.:~·:~::;:;:·~.,f;;"~::'~.'f..untraceable line. A Secret Service man .. '" . .• , .,'... ',.'. '",.... d "9337" . o. · ' ...?,.:..;~;/;~~ ".;....~ ...~ ~ ~.. ~~;V';:~answere : .. .. ..~ ~ "., , .::.~ '.>:~ .;\.'.i;··:::,::'·:;\~:::";.l:'-:' '~Olympus, please. It's urgentl".one'.. "~" ':l '.. -. ':' . '. : '. ~ ·phreaksaid. ," .- . • ~~~~ • t. • ~ ?':~';. "One moment:' came the reply. "'''~:', o ....':/ " ;.:·Three minutes later they heard a fa- ~'\!. o ' "tigued voice say. "Yes.?"U didn't sound like ~. Nixon, buttheydecided to go ahead. ". .~,', 0.' "Si~' the phreak exclaimed. "we have a '. X.: '" . crisisonour'hands!" . ,", ~~;:. ,;: ',;j~ .; .,. ~. "r:es, :what's tI:e na.t~~~. of thr:_~:i~is:;~s < 11 '., '~~'1'" i1' I ul<1rl'l 'know 1l.1I'~auy;· it wail M.x6il! 1tie ~-',"" If/ .·j·t" phone phreakgulped. "'''7'e <" .', ,r:~l "Sir:' hesaid, "weare outoftoilet paper!" , ;;.1dt.v,YJ',frf.::"'<:'·r: • ; There was a long pause: then Nixon ''A',' " ~. cursed and began yelling, "Who the hell - ~.~.,' ":~"" are you? What's the meaning olthis?" ,~ "~ ',>~l)~ .. ,,' :','?:' 'Another voice came on the line. "Who are you? Howdid you get this number?" The phreak mumbled, "Sucker!" Then there was another pause. lastinl5 maybe a minute. followed by a muffled. ,', . '., voice in the background: "Getting a trace?" ~:·.A ',;' 0 few seconds later there was a ker-chunk .. ,_ .:.' t~ ·. .' •• 0 -, sound and the line was dead. 'Later that year two southern California phreaks tied up every long-distance trunk , , . ' ;~ ~ ........" .... " ........ .. .. ........ ,"~ , .. ," line coming into Santa Barbara, telling all .. -'''' .. callers that a mysterious explosion had • " ~. >.'." .wipedoutthe city. They'd managed to gain , .;control of all incoming long-distance calls .> by using-tw.o side-by-side phone booths on the beach and some very simple phone- . phreaking equipment. , The first call 'was from a mother to her son. a student at the University of Califor· I nia. Santa Barbara campus. The two -{ " .... ~ .. '.' .. , . '" ~ ",;-, phreaks told the \voman that they \vere : .' ..":. ,.' ~ •• " .' • ' "', ", • .•"·.·... .,,....,·"YLth the ~ational Guard Emergency <;:om- .. ·.... 11 ''::;~'':':~~~~:'.;<'~ .~(~~;~o:>:" :~':~~~:}""~' >}:;~<~~:.,: ":':~:' :: ,~:, :,,:<;i.;.:::':.;·· ·;";?~~~~1dtiQns:~~n!era~d:tp'aft~~~~aS::n.%-~ ~ " 'lon3erany TIi>;·'.'Prsit'! Iyf l.1Wtlrnh ~. -::: ' ... , -. ; ,:.: ~;. ta Barbara. In breathless tones theysmd the ca~~)Us an~.in fact. the entire city of 6am~ ", .' , . 51 ; '~'" :.: ; ..':" .. " :. ... '" ., Barbara had been wiped ou't in a freakish from phone-relayed computer terminals, though that line is being held open by the 4 'nuclear accident-a "nuclear m!wn:, including the FBI's National Crime I_ caller. Using the 2.600-cycle. signal you th~y told her. She was politely d tq. mation data bank and e~n how to p could call long distance anywhere and not trate AUTOVON (Automatic Voice Net­ be charged. Denny told John Draper. who " .; hang up in order to clear the' me for emergency phone calls. work), the top-secret red-alert military was skeptical. But a(tera quick trip to a pa~' A few minutes later the horrified moth- , phone network. But that's not really what phone Draper was converted, and Captai;} er called back, this time with operator' phone phreaking is all about. Witness. foJ:' Crunch wasborn. assistance. The phreaks calmly repeated example, the life of John Draper, better Denny and the Captain began using their story to the operator, asked her not known as Captain CruI\ch. their whistles to call friends throughou: to place calls to Santa Barbara and told her the country. As the only sighted phone not to worry. Within minutes the phreaks tra. aptain Crunch, an ex-Air Force phreak. it was Crunch's task to ma~f= had newspaper and television reporters, ,,~ radar technician, Vias, for years. the "whistle trips" with Denny and his bIb:: FBI agents and police officers calling from ~ most famous of the phone phreaks friends. Every Saturday the Captain would all over the country. Hundreds of anxious and their de facto spokesman. He was even drop off Denny and two other I6-year-old people who had heard about the "melt profiled by Ron Rosenbaum in Esquire. He blind kids at a pay booth. then go to a down" phoned to check on relatives and may also have a better working knowledge friend's house. A few hours later the kids friends. The phreaks told the callers that of the world's phone systems than anyone would phorie' him and say. "You can come .they had reached a National Guard base 50 else alive. back now. We're cold and tired;' and the miles from the disaster site and that they In 1976 the Capta~n was entrapped by a Captain would pick them up. were tied into emergency circuits. After phone phreak turned FBI informer and Captain Crunch and his friends learnec' about an hour the two became frightened was incarcerated. appropriately, in t~e to do a lot with the \\1'histles. They would by the chaos they were causing and re­ call pay phones in London's Waterloo stor!'ld the phone system to normal. They Station just to talk to strangers about the were nevercaught. They called themselves weather. Or call South Africa to hear the time. And they could "mute" incoming eady stuff. And it's tempting to think "phone,phreaks" a.nd they long-distance calls so that no one would be of these phone phreaks as purveyors hadfigured out how to charged. But by 1972, when he was ar­ of electronic guerrilla warfare. It's rested for whistling calls to Australia. the tempting to think of them as McLuhanist place calls to any placein Captain had graduated to more sophisU­ anarchists infiltrating the all-seeing, all­ the' world for free. catedtoys. knOWing government-by-data-bank that Next to a Captain Crunch whistle. the rules our lives. Some phone phreaks even Whatother country has· simplest phone phreak device is a Black think of themselves that way. It's a tempt­ 16-year-oldblind kids that Box, which provides an "on hook" signal to ing point of view. but it's probably all the phone company while a call is being wrong. Phone phreaks are something