I Know Who You’re Talking to on Your Cell Phone

January 24, 2006

I Know Who You’re Talking to on Your Cell Phone

Your Cell Phones records can be purchased from a website for only $50 such as BestPeopleSearch.com

A U.S. congressman said Friday that federal agencies were looking into whether telephone companies were sufficiently protecting consumers’ records amid concerns that Internet sites were selling cellphone call information.

Rep. Edward Markey, a Democrat from Massachusetts, said the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) told him the agency was investigating whether phone companies were adequately protecting consumer records. He said in a statement “the FCC and the Federal Trade Commission were coordinating efforts to combat this rising fraud.”

In November, Markey asked the FTC and the FCC to investigate what he said was a violation of private consumer information and to take steps to protect consumers.

The biggest U.S. mobile service, Cingular Wireless, owned by AT&T Inc. and BellSouth Corp., said late Friday that it received a temporary restraining order against Data Find Solutions and 1st Source Information Specialists Inc.

It said it had sued the companies alleging they “unlawfully obtained and disseminated Cingular customer records.”

Earlier on Friday, CTIA, an industry group representing U.S. mobile telephone services, called for federal and state authorities to investigate Web sites that it says fraudulently obtain and sell consumers’ cell phone call information.

CTIA spokesman Joe Farren said call record sales plans were brought to the group’s attention by member companies, including Verizon Wireless, which last year sued companies it said were trying to wrongfully obtain private customer information.

“We very much believe that laws are being broken and people are profiting from it,” Farren said. “Without prosecution there will continue to be this fraud and subscribers and wireless companies will continue to be the victims.”