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AT&T Sues Calling Record Brokers

August 28, 2006

Calling Records • FTC Shuts Down Pretexting Operation • Phone Pretexters Get Off Cheap • Verizon Wireless Changes Customer Data Policy • FCC Strengthens Rules For Phone Privacy • House Tries Once More to Pass Pretexting Bill • Pretexting Bill: Pretense or Reality? • Hewlett-Packard Pays $14.5 Million to Settle Pretexting Suit • HP Scandal Ignites New Pretexting Battle In Congress • AT&T Sues Calling Record Brokers • Sprint Nextel Settles Case with Florida Data Broker • Feds Sue Calling Record Vendors • Illinois Lawsuit Charges Data Brokerages • Florida Judgment to End Data Broker's Business • Florida Investigates Fake Caller IDs • California Sues Data Trace USA for $10 Million • Missouri Sues Datatraceusa.com • Florida Sues Data Broker Over Sale of Phone Records • Texas Sues Companies Selling Telephone Calling Records • Websites Hawking Phone Records Shut Down • FTC Vows to Stop Illicit Sale of Cell Phone Calling Records • FTC Pledges "Vigorous" Pursuit of Cell Phone Record Sales • AT&T Accused of Eavesdropping, Calling Record Sales • Sprint Sues Cell Phone Record Brokers • Missouri Shuts Down Locatecell.com • Texas Probes Cell Phone Calling Record Sales, Missouri Files Suit • Illinois Sues Company Selling Cell Phone Calling Records • Outcry Over Sale of Cell Phone Calling Records

AT&T has filed suit in a federal court to block data brokers from the unauthorized use of telephone records. The suit filed in San Antonio names two dozen data brokers who allegedly obtained and resold customers' calling records.

AT&T said it will ask the court to issue injunctions against the data brokers and will seek monetary damages as well.

Sprint Nextel recently won $1 million as part of a settlement with Florida-based data broker 1st Source Information Specialists.

The FTC has filed complaints against five companies and several states are also pursuing the perpetrators.

"We're taking this action on behalf of our customers," Priscilla Hill-Ardoin, AT&T's chief privacy officer, said in a press release. "We intend to vigorously pursue these individuals who, through fraud, have attempted to obtain unauthorized access to customer information."

"This affects only a tiny fraction of our customers. But we will pursue this on behalf of our customers to the end," she said.

Hill-Ardoin said the company discovered through an internal investigation that about 2,500 customers were possible victims. AT&T has already identified customers involved and the company has frozen access to their online accounts for their protection, she said.

The company stressed that only customers' calling records were involved, not confidential information such as Social Security numbers or financial information. In many cases, the data brokers are tracking down calling records for use in legal or domestic disputes.

In the statement, AT&T noted that it is seeking to stop the process called "pretexting," in which individuals pretend they are AT&T customers to gain confidential information.

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