Slashdot videos: Now with more Slashdot!

I have given paypal donations to "anonymous proxy" admins (FDC servers) for logs, I have gotten account information from ISP helpdesks and I have helped police file subpoenas to legal departments located in-the-middle-of-nowhere USA. Once, I even traveled to Romania to chat with a hacking crew about the damage that they did and asked them personally to help me repair it (Romanians are really helpful and friendly and it was my pleasure to meet them).

So I read the headline and said to myself "poor girl, ten years! that must mean she has had some very bad help in the past" So I dug a bit to get an idea about what might really be going on. I found the same stuff others here found but for some reason the one that really stood out was this

http://alttherapy.experimenthaywire.net/

"Alt.Therapy is a new (dis)organization for artists, mutants, mentally ill radicals, freaks in trouble, and anyone who is looking for help who does not support the brainwashing industry of mainstream therapy.

At Alt.Therapy we define ourselves as post-sane. We do not want to conform to a central definition of reality. Yet sometimes people like us can get into difficult situations. We need people to talk to who think like we do who have been through similar experiences.

I'm not a licensed therapist and don't offer a traditional cure to your problems but I offer an alternative form of therapy that will help you improve your life. Sessions range from 15 minutes to an hour and are based on your individual needs as a client.

We don't force you to talk about your family history and refuse to ask "how does that make you feel?" Instead we ask the question "what does that make you want to do?" Then we help you do it. You provide us with a description of your main problem and we provide you with a counseling session that will help you change it.

We also offer packages that include a list of bands with similar ideas, a customized playlist related to your life, an introduction to like-minded communities, a list of films that apply to your current situation, and a list of books to read that you will find mentally stimulating.

Package 1: - 15 minute session - $20
Package 2: - 30 minute session - $35
Package 3: - 60 minute session - $60

Add on: Lists of bands, films, like-minded communities, books written by people who think like you do, and a customized playlist related to your life - $20"

So a non-therapist charges $60 to $80 an hour for, what seems to be, non-therapy.

Seems like she is a petty con artist on many small levels and I am guessing this Slashdot article was part of it.

Before I was in charge of hiring for my team, my managers employed a guy who didn't know anything because they did not check his references for some reason. He would always call me while I was on vacation because a simple procedure that he should have known was confusing him. Later our company cell phones were switched from Verizon to AT&T and AT&T had no signal in the Aosta Valley in the Italian Alps.

That is where I would go on vacations.

So if you have AT&T, go to the lovely Aosta Valley but do not cross over into France or else your voicemail will be filled with messages.

and your resume and references were up to date and you described that work situation to me; I would say to myself: "Hmmm...this guy can put up with a lot of work and a lot of demands. This is a sometimes stressful position but I bet it would be a paid vacation to him"

But of course you would not mention sloppy work in the interview, you would say "I was worried that my work might be suffering due to long hours so I decided to seek another position" (if the question was brought up).

Anyway, I cannot be unique in thinking this. What you have to do is start looking for another job, send out resumes left and right. Craft those resumes and cover letters to target the position you want, have many resumes that are worded differently and have many cover letters so after a while you just make a few modifications and send them out.

You have to do this so that another group can take advantage of your awesome work ethic (who will treat you better) and so you can keep your sanity, and ...most importantly so your work doesn't suffer so much that you lose your reputation. If you work hard, too hard and you crack, you will be amazed at how fast the people who were prodding you on with dangerous work hours will turn against you.

Its like those horror movies of the 80's. A spirit voice said "Get Out!" and walls bleed, children get sucked into television static and yet the family decides to "tough it out". In the end there is a hole in the ground, a murderous man running around in a fedora, arterial spray and glowing eyes that promise a sequel. What they don't show is the family saying "hmmmm....we should have got out when it asked us to leave".

But I do doubt that it is good for his business.

He claims that using google maps to stalk angry customers combined with harassing phone calls threatening rape helps his business with Search Engine Optimization from generating negative reviews.

His techniques match those of Brooklyn based discount camera and electronics retailers of a few years ago, with the object of the personal phone calls being to get a few $100 more out of suckers who think they are getting the best price on something. These camera scammers used to have multiple websites, cheap cameras listed and they would call and threaten customers using "Italian" names. Then complaints would mount and they would leave and move on to the next website, but I do not think they earned much money by doing this.

One reason I doubt Borker (hilarious name) is making loads of cash on this is because he handles the phone calls himself, that means there are not many calls (he answers "Eyewear" in the same way the camera guys used to answer the phone "Photography" or "Cameras") but I do believe he is making money off of something. Perhaps it is his other company that is referenced in older whois lookups of his websites called AOSI, which appeared to be a search engine optimization company. I am not sure the company has the same name now, but that might explain why he was happy to be interviewed about his crappy businesses.

Oh, and I really doubt his Wall Street story too. He used to have an office at 305 Madison Avenue which is a temporary office / mobile office rental address. He formed "OpticGenius.com" and ran it from there. I do not know too many "Wall Street" people who give up their jobs and devote themselves to running scams from home or temporary offices as a better source of income.

And I am totally sympathetic to people who work at call centers. Its so easy to be a cock on the phone (and so useless) so combined with unflappable politeness (I pretend I am Jeeves of Wooster and Jeeves who has taken some Ritalin) and the fact that I know my phone call is likely going to be the most interesting thing that happens all day to a call center worker (unless there is sex at lunch or a car accident). Most, but not all bounced me around. I even would get bounced back to the person who started the bouncing sometimes (then I get results by saying "That's weird, this normally only happens in billing"). One time for an incident in the Virginia Maryland area I got to the big manager and he said "I read Kevin Mitnick's book too" and hung up. Smart guy, but I was just trying to find out where to get the cops to send a subpoena.

But most were just like you say you were...and I do not blame them one bit. The only thing worse than having a call center job is suddenly not having a call center job.

Except for the 4chan part. The IP they DDoS might not be assigned to the thief when they get it. (also illegal blah blah)

To add to the IP address part:

When you find the ISP, call them. Wait on the phone, get transfered to people. Always be nice and polite and say stuff like "I understand you are really busy.." and "I know this is an unusual request but..." and patiently wait, acknowledging their apologies and asking advice like "what can you do for me?" and "is there anyone else I can talk to?"

Doing this will get you far.

Now, tell the person who you finally get on the phone with the IP address and the TIME it was accessed. If the IPs were of the same ISP then ask if each one used the same MAC address at the time it was accessed. Then ask "Can you give me the information on that account or do I have to do something else?" You might get someone who does, you might get transferred to someone who can give it to you or you might be told that it might have to be done with more formal measures.

Then get the address of where the company receives subpoenas, get the person's name who you talked to. Ask them who to ask for next time if you have any more questions. Thank them for their time and their help and then call the cops with the information you got.

This works. I have done it before (but not with a stolen laptop). Sometimes the information you get is astounding. Sometimes they blow you off (Verizon will do both but they have big call centers so try many times)

Good luck.