Computel Put to Sleep

If you have been reading 2600 over the past couple of years, you've no doubt heard of Computel.  Many of our readers complained to us about this organization, operating out of Van Nuys, California, which claimed to publish a magazine about computer hacking and phone phreaking.

Not one edition of such a magazine has ever been found and those people that sent money never received a thing.  We did some investigation and discovered that there was a link between this magazine and another which really did come out in the 1970s.  It was called Telephone Electronics Line (TEL) and it was said to have been shut down by the telephone company for publishing "trade secrets."

Part of the booklet that was part of the ripoff.

Speculation mounted us to what the purpose of Computel actually was.  Was it a mail-order scam?  Or was it a sting run by some governmental or corporate enterprise, designed to get a list of names of people interested in hacking and phreaking?

What proved particularly disturbing was the fact that so many ads for this organization were appearing in all different kinds of magazines throughout the country.  And, according to the bank records we were able to uncover, there was simply no way they could have been paid for.  So what was keeping the organization going?

Several complaints were lodged with the post office.  It seemed to take an awfully long time for them to start investigating these people (nearly a year in fact), but in October of 1986 at least one letter was sent to Computel from the Regional Chief Inspector of San Bruno, California demanding "appropriate action" within 30 days.  It came and 2600 recently found out what it was.

On November 18, 1986, Computel officially went out of business.  Their sister company, Starburst Industries, whose purpose was never disclosed, also folded.  (It should be noted that when calling Computel, the phone was always answered, "Hello, can I help you?"  No specific reference was made to a particular organization, i.e. many different things could have been going on at once.)

Mail addressed to Computel began to be returned and their phone lines, including their toll-free SBS Skyline number, stopped working.  Jack Kranyak, supposedly the owner of the business, was described as "voluntarily" discontinuing his business.  Kranyak was apparently also known to some as John Reynolds or Jack Cole.

On December 15, 1986, the following letter was written on Kranyak's behalf:

To Whom it may concern; RE: Jack Kranyak, John Reynolds, Jack Cole, Computel, Starburst Industries, Inc. I have spent this past week in Van Nuys with Jack in an attempt to straighten out his financial and personal problems.  Jack has a history of mental problems and is not capable of handling his financial problems.  He has no visible means of support nor does he have any assets.  He has been living on welfare and on occassion [sic] he receives some help from his mother for food money.  She is in no position to offer any financial aid to Jack.  At present and I am sure for the foreseable [sic] future he has no way of satisfying his many debts. He has closed his business due to action by the Post Office Department.  A copy of this action is enclosed.  He is at present under tremendous mental pressure as you all may realize. As a friend of his mothers for the past few years, I went to see him and could do very little to help him but I felt a notification to his creditors was in order and this is the purpose of the letter and contents [we did not receive a copy of the "contents"; we presume it was a bank statement of some sort].  I want to assure you of the sincerety [sic] of this letter and suggest to you that any legal action to collect monies due would be fruitless and only increase your loss. I do have to advise you that Jack's mother is in no way responsible for any of his debts nor can she offer any financial help to him. My name and address is below but responding tome can be of no help as much as I would like to as I am a business person and realize how important it is to have good credit and relations with suppliers. Yours truly, Robert Marshall c/o UBF P.O. Box 2806 Hialeah, Florida 33012

A letter was then sent to those who complained about Computel from the U.S. Post Office Regional Chief Inspector, dated January of 1987, which said, "Since the firm is no longer in business, there is no further action we can take on your behalf.  Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention."

The official documents that marked the end.

Naturally, many questions remain.  While we're glad to see that no more people are being taken by this scam, why on earth did it take so long to get something done about it?  The post office had been receiving complaints since 1984.  It's most unusual for them to be so slow in responding to allegations of mail fraud.

If this really was just one person, we find it incredible that he was able to get away with so much for so long and in full view of the authorities.  This organization had toll-free phone numbers, full page ads, and they were extremely conspicuous.  Computel was very easy to find - very little investigative work was needed.

We'd be most interested in any other information our readers might have.  We're particularly interested in the connection to the old magazine, TEL   According to the above letter, Jack Kranyak and John Reynolds were the same person.  Yet in the May 1975 edition of TEL, John Reynolds wrote "A Letter to Our Readers" telling how Jack Kranyak had been involved in a serious auto accident.

"He lay unconscious for six weeks with severe head injuries," Reynolds wrote.  He went on to explain how Kranyak was "the brains behind TEL" and that this unfortunate event had set them back tremendously which was why readers were getting the May issue in September.

An address was given to write to Kranyak in the hospital:

Northridge Hospital 18300 Roscoe Blvd., Room 102 Northridge, CA 91324

Perhaps John Reynolds was only a figment of Kranyak's imagination.  Or maybe there's more to this than meets the eye.

(Our thanks to John Williams for his help on this story.)