> I've changed my MAC/moustache plenty of times to "deceive some guards". Actually I'm doing it right now, this Comcast modem is a utter pain in the ass...
Is this activity illegal? Like most questions in law, the answer is, "it depends".
Are you paying Comcast for internet? If so, its probably not illegal because they have authorized you to access the internet through their networks.
However, if Comcast's network authentication was based on MAC addresses and you spoofed yours to match a paying customer's, that would probably be wire fraud.
> Or, if it is the "something valuable" part, would gaining access to that "something valuable" have been an issue if there was no deceit?
I'm not sure what other laws would be relevant if there was no deception, but it certainly wouldn't be wire fraud. Deception is a pretty integral component to fraud.
Is this activity illegal? Like most questions in law, the answer is, "it depends".
Are you paying Comcast for internet? If so, its probably not illegal because they have authorized you to access the internet through their networks.
However, if Comcast's network authentication was based on MAC addresses and you spoofed yours to match a paying customer's, that would probably be wire fraud.
> Or, if it is the "something valuable" part, would gaining access to that "something valuable" have been an issue if there was no deceit?
I'm not sure what other laws would be relevant if there was no deception, but it certainly wouldn't be wire fraud. Deception is a pretty integral component to fraud.