MERLIN LEGEND Communications System Release 6.0
System Programming
555-660-111 Issue 1
February 1998
Customer Support Information
PageA-17Other Security Hints
A
■Never distribute the office telephone directory to anyone outside the
company; be careful when discarding it (shred the directory).
■Never accept collect telephone calls.
■Never discuss your telephone system’s numbering plan with anyone
outside the company.
Educating Operators 1
Operators or attendants need to be especially aware of how to recognize and
react to potential hacker activity. To defend against toll fraud, operators should
follow the guidelines below:
■Establish procedures to counter

social engineering. Social engineering is a

con game that hackers frequently use to obtain information that may help

them gain access to your communications system or voice messaging

system.
■When callers ask for assistance in placing outside or long-distance calls,
ask for a callback extension.
■Verify the source. Ask callers claiming to be maintenance or service
personnel for a callback number. Never transfer to *10 without this
verification. Never transfer to extension 900.
■Remove the headset and/or handset when the console is not in use.
Detecting Toll Fraud 1
To detect toll fraud, users and operators should look for the following:
■Lost voice mail messages, mailbox lockout, or altered greetings
■Inability to log into voice mail
■Inability to get an outside line
■Foreign language callers
■Frequent hang-ups
■Touch-tone sounds
■Caller or employee complaints that the lines are busy
■Increases in internal requests for assistance in making outbound calls
(particularly international calls or requests for dial tone)
■Outsiders trying to obtain sensitive information
■Callers claiming to be the “phone” company
■Sudden increase in wrong numbers