Chinese man hacks payphone to access free movies, novels for years

A phone booth seen in Shanghai, China. INQUIRER.net stock photo

A man in Chongqing, China was discovered having hacked a public payphone, allowing him to access movies, novels and video games off the internet for years.

The man, unidentified, used to be a former mechanical worker. He is currently jobless and had been using a touchscreen payphone as his personal computer, as per South China Morning Post on Feb. 28. A video of the circulated on Chinese social media where he could be seen surfing the internet while inside a phone booth.

He showed on the video how he was able to hack the payphone, which took him no more than a couple of seconds with the use of a screwdriver-like tool. Upon hacking the payphone, he then took to the internet where he went on the search engine, played games and read novels.

“I don’t have a mobile phone,” he was quoted as saying. “I use this to read novels and watch movies.”

Locals around the area have attested that the man has been overstaying his welcome in the phone booth for the past two or three years, for many hours, almost every night, the report stated.

Meanwhile, a customer service worker of China Telecom, the operator of the phone booth, confirmed that the payphone was hacked for free Wi-fi. The telecommunications company is investigating the case. Cody Cepeda/JB

RELATED STORIES: 

‘Anonymous Philippines’ hacks government websites anew 

Hacker group declares cyber war on US police