Sbc Ameritech Customer Records Policy and Contacts Law Enforcement Phone Surveillance

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OBTAINING
CUSTOMER RECORDS
FROM
SBC/AMERITECH
FOR
LAW ENFORCEMENT
ASSET PROTECTION
SBC SERVICES SUBPOENA CENTER
COURT ORDER BUREAU
AMA TECHNOLOGY CENTER
SBC/AMERITECH CUSTOMER RECORDS POLICY
The telecommunications industry is undergoing rapid changes and
transformations. These changes include legal, regulatory, market, product, and
operational issues. Requestors of customer records need to be cognizant that
the availability of information is changing concurrent with the transformation
of our industry. Ameritech remains prepared to assist Law Enforcement in any
legal manner feasible given the changes in our industry.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SBC/Ameritech Customer Records Policy 2
SBC/Ameritech Subpoena Contact List 4
Non-Emergency Subpoena Services 6
Obtaining Customer Records 6
Emergency Subpoena Service 8
Records Kept in the Normal Course of Business 9
Created Reports 10
Other Services Provided by Ameritech 10
AMA Study 11
Examples of Edited AMA Reports 13
Annoyance Call Services 15
Glossary 16
APPENDIX A
Examples of Ameritech Records 1-4
APPENDIX B
Helpful Hints 20

SBC/AMERITECH SUBPOENA
CONTACT LIST
SBC SERVICES SUBPOENA CENTER
(Requests for Ameritech Records)
Mailing Address:
Phone:
Fax:
Hours of Operation:

211 S. Akard Street, Rm 1270
Dallas, Texas 75202
800-291-4952
888-635-6615
8:00A.M. 4:00P.M.

CLIENT SERVICES
(Issues needing involvement from SBC Asset Protection)
Phone:

800-832-2998

ANNOYANCE CALLS BUREAU
(Results on Traps and *57 for Law Enforcement Investigation)
Phone:

800-769-4099

Fax:

313-592-3027

COURT ORDER BUREAU
(Request for intercepts of voice & data communications and non-consensual
trap/trace)
Phone:
816-275-1436
Fax:
800-294-9805
AMA TECHNOLOGIES GROUP
(Requests for AMA Reports)
Phone:
847-248-6961

Fax:

CINGULAR WIRELESS
(Cellular and Wireless)
Phone:
866-254-3277

Fax:

847-248-8329

866-856-0149

NON-EMERGENCY SUBPOENA SERVICE
SBC Services Subpoena Center is now located at 211 S. Akard Street, Rm. 1270,
Dallas, TX 75202. We can be reached on 800-291-4952 for inquiries and 888-6356615 for FAX. If you fax a subpoena, please do not mail it unless you have been
requested to do so; this may cause an administrative oversight that may delay
processing.
If the case has been settled, or your investigation needs change and you no
longer need records, please cancel your request by calling the Subpoena Control
Center.
Ameritech operates in the following five states:
INDIANA
ILLINOIS
MICHIGAN
OHIO
WISCONSIN
Ameritech does not provide service in all exchanges within these area codes.
Due to increased competition in local telephone markets in Ameritech, it is
recommended that the account be verified as being served by Ameritech. This
information can be verified on http://www.directorynet.com.
This is not an SBC/Ameritech website.
OBTAINING CUSTOMER RECORDS
1.

Release of Records is Governed by Federal Law.

The Electronic Communications Act of 1986 {18 USC 2703 (c) (1) (B)}
(Effective January 20, 1987)
Subpoenas for telephone company records are subject to the requirements of this
act, which prohibits telephone companies from providing customer information to
a governmental agency unless that request is made pursuant to either:
A summons: A notice used to commence a civil litigation.
An administrative subpoena: Is authorized by statute, a grand jury or trial
subpoena.
A search warrant: A legal document that authorizes a search by the police.
Court Order: Shows that there is reason to believe that the customer records are
relevant to a legitimate law enforcement inquiry.
Non-Disclosure Statement
Ameritech will not notify customer whose records have been subpoenaed by legal
process. Please include the non-disclosure statement below in your subpoena
requests.
Pursuant to an official criminal investigation being conducted by this agency,
you are not to disclose the existence of this request. Any such disclosure
could impede the investigation being conducted and thereby interfere with the
enforcement of the law.
Release of Records by Customer Waiver

Customers can request copies of their own records from the Ameritech business
office. In this circumstance, an agency does not need to contact Ameritech for
the records.
The Ameritech Business office number is 800-244-4444.
Directory Assistance
The SBC Services Subpoena Center will not conduct directory assistance inquiries
on behalf of law enforcement agencies, however, can assist with non-published
numbers.
Time Required for Response
SBC Services Subpoena Center processes more than 60,000 subpoenas, court orders,
and other requests for telephone company records each year. Because of this
volume, the Subpoena Center requires a minimum of one to two weeks to respond.
Please keep this turnaround time in mind.
Requests for records on large businesses or other substantial volumes of
Toll/MUD calls may require even more time.
Overly Broad Requests
Requests for any and all telephone records with respect to a particular
telephone account will delay the request and may result in fees charged to our
agency because such a request is, in most cases, too general. To avoid this,
please be as specific as possible in the request.
The following is suggested wording when requesting customer records to expedite
a request:
Pursuant to an official investigation being conducted by (Agency Name), it is
directed that Ameritech furnish subscriber information, full and complete copies
of MUD & or Toll calls for the entire monthly billing period(s) which include
calls between (date) through (date) for the following telephone number(s).
Retention of Customer Records
The FCC mandates that Ameritech retain customer records for 18 months. The
retention media are stored at various locations and in different formats
throughout the Ameritech region. As a result, requests may require as many as
three weeks for records to be returned to the SBC Services Subpoena Center.
The SBC Services Subpoena Center forwards records received from other Ameritech
offices; no original copy is kept at the SBC Services Subpoena Center. Please
keep this in mind before making notations on the original copy.
Unlisted Numbers
Unlisted telephone number information will not be disclosed without a subpoena.
Customer Information via Customer Name and/or Street Address
Ameritechs business records are organized primarily by telephone account number
rather than by customers name or address.

Please consult directory assistance to obtain a customers phone number before
sending a request to Ameritech. We will provide any current subscriber
information found in our date base. Ameritechs systems are unable to provide
past numbers based on customer name and address alone.
Alternative methods to obtain LISTED subscriber information:
Reverse Directory Assistance can be obtained from your local Ameritech
Directory Assistance. Provide the telephone number(s) in question to the
operator and if the number is listed you will be provided the name and address
of the subscriber.
Directorynet.com (http://www.directorynet.com) is an Internet based system,
which searches by the name, number, or address. (Please note, at this time
Directorynet.com is experiencing difficulty with Ohio subscriber information).
Additional information on this service can be obtained by calling
Directorynet.com at 1-800-733-1212.
Fone Finder (http://www.primeris.com.fonefind/index.php3) is an Internet based
system, which will provide the service provider of a telephone number. By
entering the area code and first three (3) digits of the telephone number, Fone
Finder will provide the telephone company that handles that exchange.
Delivery of Records
All records are mailed via the U.S. Postal Service.
sent via UPS Next Day Air.

Emergency requests will be

EMERGENCY SUBPOENA SERVICE
An emergency is defined as an imminent threat to life, health, or property.
Records will be released in the absence of paperwork to a representative of the
requesting agency when the requesting agency has specifically indicated that the
request is an emergency.
Emergencies are handled on a 24-hr basis by Client Services at 800-832-2998.
RECORDS KEPT IN THE NORMAL COURSE OF BUSINESS
Ameritech produces telephone bills in the normal course of business for billing
purposes only. Billing cycles are particular to a customers telephone number.
Call record information is available ten days after completion of the customers
billing date. Only outgoing long distance calls are listed on these bills if
Ameritech is the billing agent for the long distance carrier. Outgoing local
telephone call records are available on request.
Subscriber Information (Customer Service Record) Account name and address is
provided. Each request should include the area code (see Section IV).
Customer Credit and Billing Information (Bill Face Page) Information is
provided by the customer at the time the account is established. This
information is often unverified and is rarely updated after initial entry on
account. Credit and Billing Information consist of:
Billing Name and Address. This may not be the same as the listed name and
actual location of the telephone.
Established date of service, service orders, disconnection.
Credit information may include: Social Security number, date of birth (DOB),
Can-be-reached number (CBR) and/or employment number, Drivers License number,
and other miscellaneous information.
A credit history is a customers payment history with Ameritech.
All information may not be available on older accounts.
Toll Records Includes long distance calls that are billed to an Ameritech
customers account. Each customer account has a different billing period.
Types of long distance calls are: direct dialed, operator-assisted, calling
card, third number, and collect.
Please Note: the long distance provider bills some toll charges directly to the
customer. These call records may not be available from Ameritech, and you will
have to obtain them directly from the long distance provider.
MUD is an acronym for message unit detail. This includes all local calls made
to area codes 312, 630, 708, 773, 847, and a portion of 815.
CREATED REPORTS
Ameritech does not produce the following information during the normal course of
business for:

Incoming calls to a particular telephone number.
Outgoing calls prior to the billing period.
However, these types of calls (unbilled toll) are stored in the Ameritech
database for 60 days and a report can be created via an AMA (automated message
accounting) tape search.
AMA Reports
This service (automated message accounting, or AMA) can be used to retrieve
outgoing calls prior to bill printing, incoming calls to a particular telephone
number or incoming and outgoing calls on a pay phone for a period of 60 days.
Obtaining such information requires compelling legal documentation. This can be
a very expensive report to produce, and Ameritech will bill accordingly (see
Section II).
Court Orders for Intercept Service and Ameritech Voice Mail
Contact: Marsha Howell
Phone:
(816) 275-8153
Fax: (816) 275-1436
SBC/Ameritech Court Order Bureau
500 E. 8th Street, Rm. 1302
Kansas City, MO
64106
Handles legal process involving intercepts of voice & data communications and
non-consensual trap and trace.

OTHER SERVICES PROVIDED BY AMERITECH
Annoyance Call Bureau
This service helps customers when they receive harassing or annoying calls.
assistance contact (see Section III for additional information):

For

Customer Line
(800) 769-4099
Law Enforcement
(800) 769-4094
Fax Number (313) 592-3022
Contact the after-hours Bureau about annoyance calls outside of normal working
hours (see Section V for telephone numbers).
Customer Name and Address Bureaus (published numbers only)
In some locations, Ameritech provides listed customer information via customer
Name and Address (CAN) bureaus. These bureaus operate under a waiver by
appropriate regulatory or court orders, applicable only to a specific area.
Customer information will be provided only in compliance with the Electronic
Communications Privacy Act.
Michigan: (900) 628-1234
(313, 248 and 810 area codes only)
Illinois: (312) 796-9600
(312, 630, 708, 773, 815, and 847 area codes only)

AMA STUDY
Automatic Message Accounting (AMA) is the method used by all Ameritech Central
Office switches to record billing records. These records are collected on
magnetic tapes in the central offices and then forwarded to various data centers
where the information is stored for 60 days. The primary use of the 4 to 5
million calls stored per data tapes are to produce customer bills based on
billing dates. Other uses include responding to billing inquiries and
challenges by inter-exchange carriers (IXC) and customers where the originating
and terminating numbers are known.
SBC Ameritech Asset Protections AMA Technology group handles AMA legal process
requests. Legal process for AMAs should be faxed to the SBC Services Subpoena
Center at (888) 635-6615. The AMA Technology group is located at:
2000 W. Ameritech Center Dr, Rm. 2i94
Hoffman Estates, IL. 60196.
Main number
(847) 248-6961
Fax number
(847) 248-8581
Terminating AMA Reports:
This report identifies the originating numbers for specific call made to a known
terminating number.
Requests may have a narrow timeframe to search. Examples would include bomb
threats, kidnapping, extortion, and fugitive apprehension.
Requests for all incoming calls to a known terminating number with broad time
frame.
Request all incoming calls with no time frame provided.
A subpoena requiring a terminating AMA scan will usually use the words incoming
calls, special computer study, AMA scan or AMA Study
A recommended narrative for legal process requesting incoming calls for a narrow
time frame within the 60-day retention period is as follows:
Example a subpoena dated February
identify all calls terminating to
February 5, 2001 through February
and address of the subscribers to

15, 2001: Please conduct an AMA Study to
telephone number 214 464-XXXX for the dates
8, 200I, such information to include the names
and locations for all incoming calls.

Terminating AMA scans are not performed in the normal course of business at
Ameritech, and require a voluminous and burdensome use of resources to comply
with the request. Ameritech has established a prevailing rate for compensation
based on the number of tapes scanned per day. In Illinois the charge for a
terminating scan is $81 per day requested, compared to $18 for Indiana. This is
because of the number of data tapes recording information varies per day, per
state.

Originating AMA Reports:
This report identifies outgoing calls from a known number. Types of calls
identified include local calls, (regardless if the customer is billed for local
usage), DDD (define) long distance, and 800 calls. Originating scans will not
identify operator-assisted calls. Like terminating scans these requests can be
requested for various time frames.
A subpoena requiring an originating AMA scan will usually contain the words,
outgoing calls, special computer study, local calls or AMA Scan. A Recommended

narrative for legal process requesting originating calls for a narrow time frame
within the 60-day retention period is as follows:
Example a subpoena dated February 15, 2001: Please conduct an AMA Study to
identify all calls originating from telephone number 214 464-XXXX for the dates
February 5, 2001 through February 8, 200I. Such information to include the
names and address of the subscribers to and locations for outgoing calls.
Combining AMA Reports:
Reports can be created which includes both originating and terminating records.
These reports appear as a single report and are chronological.
A recommended narrative for legal process requesting both originating and
terminating calls for a narrow time frame within the 60-day retention period is
as follows:
Example a subpoena dated February 15, 2001: Please conduct an AMA Study to
identify all calls originating and terminating from telephone number 214 464XXXX for the dates February 5, 2001 through February 8, 200I. Such information
to include the names and address of the subscribers to and locations for
incoming and outgoing calls.
Understanding the AMA Reports
Prior to releasing an AMA report to law enforcement significant editing is
required to put the data in an understanding format. As an example, the
following is the raw data of a phone call from 309-671-3080 to 217-524-8079:
AA00625C110C036C0692568C013C0924698C50405C00000C0200000C0C0C0C012C309C6713080C0C
00217C5248079C1007445C000001357C02881C50405C1007390C000001411C010C3034C0C1C3C.
This message contains 157 characters
Examples of an edited report:
Originating Report:
CALL MEDIA
ORIG ORIGINAT
TERM
TYPE DATE
NPA
NUMBER
NPA
006
00/10/28
312
342-16xx
1:23:09
006
00/10/28
312
342-16xx
5:30:00
006
00/10/28
312
342-16xx
0:40:00
006
00/10/28
312
342-16xx
12:00:00
006
00/10/28
312
342-16xx
6:36:00
006
00/10/28
312
342-16xx
1:01:37:00
Terminating Report:
CALL MEDIA
ORIG ORIGINAT
TERM
TYPE DATE
NPA
NUMBER
NPA
006
00/11/13
312
263-xx30
3:29:01
006
00/11/13
217
345-67xx
0:31:22
006
00/11/13
214
721-99xx
0:05:33

TERMIN
NUMBER
414

CONNECT
ELAPSED
CARR
TIME
TIME IX
264-01xx
08:46:08

414

264-0xxx