Cingular goes after firms selling call records

Cingular Wireless is taking on companies that have been selling private phone records - the actual numbers dialed, that is - of unwary customers to anyone who asks.

Cingular obtained a temporary restraining order late last week against operators of Locatecell.com and others of its ilk that specialize in offering private cellphone records for a flat fee. There are dozens of such services available, mostly through the Web.


According to Cingular, these services have their employees masquerade as cellphone customers, or even Cingular employees, to wheedle confidential information out of customer-service representatives. That information - ranging from private cellphone numbers to the actual call records of cell and traditional phones - is then sold for a fee.


This new breed of service providers refer to themselves as "data brokers, but we call them data burglars," says Mark Siegel, a spokesman for Cingular, the USA's No. 1 cellphone carrier.


"This is something we take very seriously," Siegel says. "Nothing is more important to us than the privacy of our customers' records."


In November, Verizon Wireless filed a lawsuit against a Florida-based agency and its affiliates, accusing them of engaging in similar practices.


In granting a temporary restraining order, a federal court in Atlanta has barred these sorts of agencies from "possessing any confidential customer information obtained from Cingular, regardless of the form or manner of storage." The order also bars companies from "disposing" of such customer information "other than by returning it to Cingular."


Attempts to reach Locatecell were unsuccessful. The agency's voice-mail box was full and not accepting messages Monday. Two e-mails sent to its sales staff, seeking comment, were not answered.


As of Monday, Locatecell.com was still promising that it could provide a list of up to 100 outbound calls placed from almost any phone - cell or landline - for $110-$125. For $95, Locatecell says it can supply a working cellphone number of anybody.


For $65, you can get the name and address of a cellphone customer. Getting the same information for an overseas customer costs $250. Locatecell offers similar services, for similar fees, for traditional landline phones.


Roger Entner, a wireless analyst at Ovum, says such services are "outrageous." Says Entner: "It's like having your credit card information stolen. It's not quite as bad, but it's bad enough."