Anyone who has studied the later parts of the phone system know that at least a few of his stories are actually bullshit.
It wouldn't be until much later (in the 90s at least, while he was in prison) that the advent of pure digital switching would enable the random reassignment of phone lines like he describes in the story about turning his friend's home phone into a payphone.
The lines were separated and had differences in sender frames just for payphones, plus typical phones weren't too happy when 130VDC was applied to them for very long.
The fact of the matter is that Mitnick went around and shook doorhandles until something opened and occasionally convinced someone to open a door for him her and there, and the fact that the emperor had no clothes was too politically inconvenient for the kinds of companies that Mitnick hit up.
It wouldn't be until much later (in the 90s at least, while he was in prison) that the advent of pure digital switching would enable the random reassignment of phone lines like he describes in the story about turning his friend's home phone into a payphone.
The lines were separated and had differences in sender frames just for payphones, plus typical phones weren't too happy when 130VDC was applied to them for very long.
The fact of the matter is that Mitnick went around and shook doorhandles until something opened and occasionally convinced someone to open a door for him her and there, and the fact that the emperor had no clothes was too politically inconvenient for the kinds of companies that Mitnick hit up.