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FTC to Award $25,000 for the Best Honeypot Design to Trap Robocalls

posted by mrcoolbp on Thursday March 05 2015, @10:46AM   Printer-friendly
from the flies-with-honey dept.

n1 writes:

Ars Technica reports:

On Wednesday, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced another contest to design a system to "identify unwanted robocalls received on landlines or mobile phones, and block and forward those calls to a honeypot." The agency will select "up to five contestants" as part of what it’s calling "Robocalls: Humanity Strikes Back."

The first qualifying phase launches Wednesday and runs through June 15, 2015 at 10:00pm Eastern Time, while the final phase concludes at DEF CON 23 on August 9, 2015.

Here's the FTC contest page. There's another similar contest (with no cash prize) being held "as part of the National Day of Civic Hacking." It appears they have done something similar in previous years as well.

 
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  • (Score: 2) by FakeBeldin on Friday March 06 2015, @03:29PM

    by FakeBeldin (3360) on Friday March 06 2015, @03:29PM (#153853) Journal

    "Thank you for calling $PERSON. Please have your credit card details ready to effectuate payment for this call.
    <change voice>Calls to this number are charged at $8 per minute.</change voice>
    We would now like to take the time to inform you about our discount programs.
    For a mere $50, you will be upgraded to per-call billing for the low-low fee of only $10 per call!
    At this rate, you'll make back your investment with 3 five minute calls already!
    Thank you for holding while we prepare the payment backend.
    If you have an account with us, please say or press one. Otherwise, hold the line.

    <mute the phone for a minute>

    Please speak or key in the number of five minute slots you wish to purchase.
    Don't forget that you have already used two and a half minutes now! So buy at least two slots!

    <mute the phone for a minute>
    I understood 20. Please say or press one if that is incorrect, and hold the line otherwise.
    <mute the phone for 1 second>
    Okay, purchasing 20 slots of five minutes each. With this purchase, you qualify for a discount!
    You will get your slots for the low-low price of only $170!

    Now please speak or key in your credit card number.
    ...
    I understood the number $GARBLED. Say or press one if that is correct.
    <<keypress>>
    I'm sorry I misunderstood you. I will now connect you to an operator who will validate your payment details personally."

    Feel free to donate any unexpected income (minus your payment processing fee, of course) towards the EFF, OpenBSD, or another worthy and nerdy cause of your choosing.

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  
    Total Score:   2