A red box is a phreaking device that generates tones to simulate inserting coins in pay phones, thus fooling the system into completing free calls. In the United States, a nickel is represented by one tone, a dime by two, and a quarter by a set of 5 tones. Any device capable of playing back recorded sounds can potentially be used as a red box. Commonly used devices include modified Radio Shack tone dialers, personal MP3 players, and audio-recording greeting cards.
Famous quotes containing the words red and/or box:
“Oh we drunk his “Hale” in the good red wine
When we last made company,
No capon priest was the Goodly Fere
But a man o’ men was he.”
—Ezra Pound (1885–1972)
“A Cherokee is too smart to put anything in the contribution box of a race that’s robbed him of his birthright.”
—Howard Estabrook (1884–1978)