In an effort to combat unauthorized data brokers obtaining and selling its customers' calling records, AT&T's services division filed a lawsuit in U.S district court in San Antonio, Texas, this week to block 25 unnamed defendants who have allegedly pretended to be customers to gain access to account information.
AT&T said that the so-called data brokers had fraudulently obtained records for some 2,500 customers. The company believes the lawsuit will help it identify the perpetrators through e-mail addresses and Internet Protocol addresses. Once it identifies the data brokers, the company plans to seek an injunction as well as a return of profits earned from selling customer information. In addition, AT&T customers affected by the data breach have been notified and access to their online accounts has been frozen.
Earlier this year, wireless phone companies Cingular, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless each filed lawsuits against companies that own Web sites that allegedly sell customer information. T-Mobile and Cingular have each won temporary restraining orders against perpetrators.
AT&T said it has taken additional steps to prevent this type of activity in the future. "Regrettably, there are always people looking for ways to circumvent the system," Priscilla Hill-Ardoin, chief privacy officer for AT&T, said in a statement. "But we intend to remain vigilant in order to keep our customers' information secure."
Read more about what the company is doing to protect its customers' privacy in the AT&T press release AT&T Services Inc. Files Suit to Bar Data Brokers from Unauthorized Access to Customer Data.
