NATION : Thieves Use NASA Phone Line
Thieves used computers to obtain millions of dollars in free telephone service through the Johnson Space Center in what one expert described as the biggest such theft in the nation, it was reported today.
The Houston Chronicle said hundreds of people used the illegal system during a period of at least two years at an estimated cost of up to $12 million.
Telephone service was stolen by using a long-distance credit card number and by direct use of NASA’s phone lines, Nesbitt said. The credit card fraud was discovered by AT&T; when use of the card’s number exceeded typical patterns. There was no indication who was responsible for the thefts.
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