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dillyhammer
START me up
Premium Member
join:2010-01-09
Scarborough, ON

2 edits

dillyhammer to I_H8_Spam

Premium Member

to I_H8_Spam

Re: [Niagara] 40gb of "usage" while the modem is unplu

I can't imagine how they can continue to do business with Cogeco any longer. What are they waiting for? The $1500 bill? FWIW, not that long ago I engaged in an argument here where I asserted that an account could incur usage charges while the modem was off. A Cogeco employee said that was impossible. I later gave in.

Guess I was sort of right.

Move them off Cogeco, internet, TV, everything, as fast as possible. They should be telling everyone they know about this neat little scam.

When oh when is IC/W&M going to get involved and put an end to these horrible scams and fraudulent billing practices.

Mike

I_H8_Spam
join:2004-03-10
St Catharines, ON

I_H8_Spam

Member

They are sheeple, true to the word.

Bell for home phone, Bev for Sat, Cogeco unbundled for internet. I can lead them to greener pastures, but they have to graze on their own.
I_H8_Spam

2 edits

I_H8_Spam to dillyhammer

Member

to dillyhammer
My friends were aware of the options but are very much "sheeple" and remain with legacy carriers.

I can lead them to greener pastures, but I cannot force them to graze.

dillyhammer
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join:2010-01-09
Scarborough, ON

dillyhammer

Premium Member

said by I_H8_Spam:

Originally I posed that my friends were aware of the options but "sheeple" and remain with legacy carriers.

I can lead them to greener pastures, but I cannot force them to graze.

It's unfortunate, but many folks are like this. Cogeco makes bank on it every day, as does Bell , Rogers, and so on.

If they don't mind paying big bucks for services they are not getting... not much you can do about that. Making them aware is about all a friend can do.

Mike

I_H8_Spam
join:2004-03-10
St Catharines, ON

I_H8_Spam

Member

said by dillyhammer:

Making them aware is about all a friend can do.

Mike

Exactly, the only reason they have been actively watching Cogeco is I basically told them someone is stealing from them. That spurned action and interest in the cause from them.

I'd like to know how Mac's are being cloned, is this an inside job maybe provisioning has a leak? Or is someone on the node sniffing for mac addresses?

dillyhammer
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join:2010-01-09
Scarborough, ON

dillyhammer

Premium Member

said by I_H8_Spam:

I'd like to know how Mac's are being cloned, is this an inside job maybe provisioning has a leak? Or is someone on the node sniffing for mac addresses?

Frankly, I don't think it was a cloned MAC address. Two interfaces with the same MAC on the same network? All hell would break loose. Cogeco would know about that in a heartbeat.

I think the account's usage numbers got fudged, willfully or otherwise, and Cogeco got caught.

I would strongly urge your friends to start kicking this up the Cogeco customer service food chain (I'm thinking Quebec), and get the media involved.

This is newsworthy.

Perhaps Karl would consider posting this on the DSLr homepage. I mean, inaccurate meter horror stories are becoming commonplace, but usage on a powered down modem? Wow. I know how I spell it.

F.R.A.U.D.

Mike

Gone
Premium Member
join:2011-01-24
Fort Erie, ON

Gone

Premium Member

said by dillyhammer:

Frankly, I don't think it was a cloned MAC address. Two interfaces with the same MAC on the same network? All hell would break loose. Cogeco would know about that in a heartbeat.

I believe it only becomes an issue if those two macs are on the same node.

dillyhammer
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join:2010-01-09
Scarborough, ON

dillyhammer

Premium Member

said by Gone:

I believe it only becomes an issue if those two macs are on the same node.

Yes apparently so.

And according to Cogeco a CMTS polls cable modems for usage information.

I'm trying to understand how a CMTS polls a modem with a MAC address, and then polls a different modem with the same MAC address on a different node, then reconciles those 2 distinct usage reports to one user's bill.

Or conversely, a CMTS polls a modem with a MAC address, a different CMTS polls a different modem on a different node with the same MAC address, how would those two usage reports from two different CMTS's, two different nodes, two different modems with the same MAC address be reconciled to one user's bill.

Mike

Gone
Premium Member
join:2011-01-24
Fort Erie, ON

Gone

Premium Member

The data is most likely combined. A MAC is a MAC. There's no way to identify the modem beyond that.

anonuser1
@lambtonfinancial.ca

anonuser1 to I_H8_Spam

Anon

to I_H8_Spam
said by I_H8_Spam See Profile
I'd like to know how Mac's are being cloned, is this an inside job maybe provisioning has a leak? Or is someone on the node sniffing for mac addresses?
[/BQUOTE :

You want to know how this works? You heard it here first:

There is a network of people who are cloning Cogeco MAC addresses.

Technicians working for or contracted by Cogeco are in on the game and are making money off this.

This in a inter-city operation and, last I heard, the MACs from one city are only ever cloned in a different city. The information I received indicated that this was because the authentication system would only allow one MAC per city. This would indicate that the CMTS is not solely authenticating the MAC but another device or server is also. This would be located in the "head office" of each city. This was what was explained to me - I don't know whether it's accurate.

The techs copy the MAC of a subscriber they feel either won't use all their allocated Internet transit or won't notice and they advertise it on the "forum" of people who are looking to acquire a Cogeco MAC for a specific city. Again, the MAC will always be cloned in a different city than it originated in.

And that's pretty much it. Scripts for the modems are readily available. While they're at it, they uncap the upstream and downstream limits. The MAC gets cloned and whoever the lucky winner is had better hope that the usage doesn't exceed their allotment. Generally, the rule is to not exceed 80% of the person's allotted transfer. MACs are aplenty and exceeding too many people's transfer allotment will only expose the scheme quicker. Cogeco's tracking and billing software obviously doesn't have the capability of knowing where the modems are or even if there are duplicates.

Not that I care but I'll just point out that I do not, nor have I ever participated in this scheme. I know several people who work for Cogeco, none of whom participate in this scheme to my knowledge. I do know people who do participate in this scheme.

There you go. That is how a modem can accrue usage even when disconnected from the network and powered off.


brian5
@cgocable.net

brian5

Anon

said by anonuser1 :

said by I_H8_Spam See Profile
I'd like to know how Mac's are being cloned, is this an inside job maybe provisioning has a leak? Or is someone on the node sniffing for mac addresses?
[/BQUOTE :

You want to know how this works? You heard it here first:

There is a network of people who are cloning Cogeco MAC addresses.

Technicians working for or contracted by Cogeco are in on the game and are making money off this.

This in a inter-city operation and, last I heard, the MACs from one city are only ever cloned in a different city. The information I received indicated that this was because the authentication system would only allow one MAC per city. This would indicate that the CMTS is not solely authenticating the MAC but another device or server is also. This would be located in the "head office" of each city. This was what was explained to me - I don't know whether it's accurate.

The techs copy the MAC of a subscriber they feel either won't use all their allocated Internet transit or won't notice and they advertise it on the "forum" of people who are looking to acquire a Cogeco MAC for a specific city. Again, the MAC will always be cloned in a different city than it originated in.

And that's pretty much it. Scripts for the modems are readily available. While they're at it, they uncap the upstream and downstream limits. The MAC gets cloned and whoever the lucky winner is had better hope that the usage doesn't exceed their allotment. Generally, the rule is to not exceed 80% of the person's allotted transfer. MACs are aplenty and exceeding too many people's transfer allotment will only expose the scheme quicker. Cogeco's tracking and billing software obviously doesn't have the capability of knowing where the modems are or even if there are duplicates.

Not that I care but I'll just point out that I do not, nor have I ever participated in this scheme. I know several people who work for Cogeco, none of whom participate in this scheme to my knowledge. I do know people who do participate in this scheme.

There you go. That is how a modem can accrue usage even when disconnected from the network and powered off.

Hi, I found a web forum with some guy(in 2009) explaining how he collects MAC addresses for his "cogeco sb5100 fercsa" modem and changes them often.(that is, if I understand what he's explaining)
This would be a huge problem with bandwidth usage for anyone if people are doing this! Is this possible on Cogeco network? Can they stop it, that's kind of scary.

dillyhammer
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join:2010-01-09
Scarborough, ON

dillyhammer to anonuser1

Premium Member

to anonuser1
said by anonuser1 :

Not that I care but I'll just point out that I do not, nor have I ever participated in this scheme.

If you're not part of the solution..... well... you know....
said by anonuser1 :

I do know people who do participate in this scheme.

I don't know what makes me sick more, that people do this, that people do it so openly that you know about it, or that people do this, do it openly, and you know about it and say nothing.

Pretty much a tie, I think.

Myself, I'd be setting those fuckers up and ratting their scumbag asses out faster than you could clone a MAC.

Mike
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