Formation 1994 Region served North America Founder Brad Carter | Headquarters Albany, Oregon Platforms Prank Call Nation | |
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Purpose e-zine/Phreaking/Prank call | ||
The Phone Losers of America (PLA) is an American phreaking group founded in the 1990s, active on the hacking scene. In the past, it has ranked at the top of Alexa's "Prank Call" category. It now only hosts a regular podcast called The Snow Plow Show that does prank calls and occasional phone mobs.
Contents
History
The Phone Losers of America were founded in 1994. The PLA text files continued until mid-1997. In 2002, RBCP began an internet radio station which he called PLA Radio which still exists today as Cactiradio, along with an IRC channel.
The e-zine
The PLA e-zine was originally distributed electronically via a dial-up BBS, with an option to buy the magazine and have it shipped by mail.
The Snow Plow Show
The Snow Plow Show is a comedy podcast featuring prank calls by the host, RBCP. The show is a part of the Prank Call Nation network and releases episodes at least twice a week. Shows are often influenced by the listeners in the Prank Call Nation chat room.
PLA Radio
In early 2006, RBCP started releasing almost-monthly audio comedy shows called PLA Radio. The shows feature comedy skits, commercials, parodies, and pranks. The show is released as a podcast and has been featured several times on iTunes and is regularly listed in the Top 10 on Podcast Alley.
PLA Community Forums
The PLA community forums are administrated by RBCP, and were established on 03-21-2006. There are currently over 1,600 registered users, with over 50,000 posts on topics mostly related to the PLA.
PLA: The Books
In 2010, the Phone Losers of America book was released.
In 2011, a second Phone Losers of America book was released, called Phone Losers of America: The Complete 'Zine Collection. This book was an archive of all of the original issues of the PLA e-zine, in a mostly unedited format.
Cactus
A "Cactus" has become the PLA's mascot, as well as catch-phrase. The origin of the word dates back to an old prank call by RBCP, where he would say nothing but the word "cactus," over and over. In common usage, It can be stated with a question mark "Cactus?" or as an exclamation "Cactus!" Similar "Cactus" themed prank calls are often made by PLA members. Themed prank calls were often made under the pseudonym, Mildred Monday, a reference to a woman Brad often prank called.
Press
The PLA has regularly received a fair amount of attention from the media, beginning with a front page article in the Sunday issue of the Belleville News Democrat on September 3, 1995. An editorial was written several days later, followed by another front page article on the PLA a week later.
The website and zine received regular write ups in computer magazines such as The Net, The Web and Internet Underground throughout the 1990s. PLA received national attention in 2002, through a segment on Tech TV and then once again in 2005 when RBCP was interviewed live via satellite on CNBC's On The Money. PLA was also interviewed in 2005 for an article about Wal-Mart in the Boston Herald.
In August 2015, the Columbia Daily Tribune in Columbia, Missouri featured the PLA in an article about a series of "strange calls" received by local residents who had signed a petition against a crosswalk construction project. The article quoted an FBI representative who allegedly told the Tribune that the calls to Columbia residents "would likely be prosecuted on the local level." However, no prosecution of the calls ever occurred.