Midwest Freelancer archive article
Missouri court orders cease of sale of cell phone information
(Published Monday, Feb. 27, 2006)
By Chris Post/Midwest Freelancer
With no national listing of cell phone numbers, it can be difficult for telemarketers to gain access to that information.
One Internet site, Completeskiptrace.com, saught to capitilize on that limited market, offering confidential information of cell phone customers.
Through its Web site, the company sold the name and billing address and alternate contact number of cell phone users for $80. For $110, customers could enter a cell phone number and Completeskiptrace.com provided a "complete history of the cell number," including the cell phone subscriber's name, address, date of establishment of service, account number and any identification information currently on file.
Missorui Attorney General Jay Nixon filed a lawsuit in Cole County Circuit Court earlier this month seeking a temporary restraining order against Get A Grip Consulting Inc. and its principal owner, Rob Schroader, of Cedar Hills, Utah.
“A person’s cell phone records shouldn’t be available to anyone with a credit card,” Nixon said. “We’ll continue to go after these Web sites because of our concerns about consumer privacy and about the legality of how these confidential records are obtained.”
Nixon said the defendants do not have authorization from the wireless and cellular telephone service providers to access the customer information that they advertise on their Web site.
Last week, Circuit Judge Thomas J. Brown III signed a preliminary injunction prohibiting Schroader from:
Attempting to obtain or obtaining any personal and confidential information from any cellular or land line telephone service provider regarding any of that provider's customers who reside in, or originated accounts from, the state of Missouri;
Attempting to obtain or obtaining any personal and confidential information from any third party regarding any subscriber to cellular or land line telephone service who resides in, or has originated accounts from, the state of Missouri;
Operating the Web site Completeskiptrace.com or any other Web site as a means to offer for sale or sell any Missouri customer information of any cellular or land line telephone service provider currently in their possession to any third parties;
Taking, processing, or in any way acting upon an order or request for personal and confidential information relating to any cellular or land line telephone subscriber in any state where the request is made by a resident of the State of Missouri, other than to determine that said order or request will not be filled; and
Using the name or identity of any employee of any cellular or land line telephone service provider for any purpose.
In a similar case, Nixon’s actions resulted in a preliminary injunction against Locatecell.com. Nixon also is asking the court to issue a permanent injunctions that would require the defendants to pay appropriate penalties.
“We acted as soon as we heard about these Internet businesses that sell private cell phone information without the owners’ consent,” Nixon said. “We’ve maintained all along that there are tremendous privacy concerns with such transactions, and that the information was obtained illegally. Once again, we’re asking the court to stop the dissemination of such information and will be keeping an eye out for other such outfits that provide similar services.”
By Chris Post/Midwest Freelancer
With no national listing of cell phone numbers, it can be difficult for telemarketers to gain access to that information.
One Internet site, Completeskiptrace.com, saught to capitilize on that limited market, offering confidential information of cell phone customers.
Through its Web site, the company sold the name and billing address and alternate contact number of cell phone users for $80. For $110, customers could enter a cell phone number and Completeskiptrace.com provided a "complete history of the cell number," including the cell phone subscriber's name, address, date of establishment of service, account number and any identification information currently on file.
Missorui Attorney General Jay Nixon filed a lawsuit in Cole County Circuit Court earlier this month seeking a temporary restraining order against Get A Grip Consulting Inc. and its principal owner, Rob Schroader, of Cedar Hills, Utah.
“A person’s cell phone records shouldn’t be available to anyone with a credit card,” Nixon said. “We’ll continue to go after these Web sites because of our concerns about consumer privacy and about the legality of how these confidential records are obtained.”
Nixon said the defendants do not have authorization from the wireless and cellular telephone service providers to access the customer information that they advertise on their Web site.
Last week, Circuit Judge Thomas J. Brown III signed a preliminary injunction prohibiting Schroader from:
Attempting to obtain or obtaining any personal and confidential information from any cellular or land line telephone service provider regarding any of that provider's customers who reside in, or originated accounts from, the state of Missouri;
Attempting to obtain or obtaining any personal and confidential information from any third party regarding any subscriber to cellular or land line telephone service who resides in, or has originated accounts from, the state of Missouri;
Operating the Web site Completeskiptrace.com or any other Web site as a means to offer for sale or sell any Missouri customer information of any cellular or land line telephone service provider currently in their possession to any third parties;
Taking, processing, or in any way acting upon an order or request for personal and confidential information relating to any cellular or land line telephone subscriber in any state where the request is made by a resident of the State of Missouri, other than to determine that said order or request will not be filled; and
Using the name or identity of any employee of any cellular or land line telephone service provider for any purpose.
In a similar case, Nixon’s actions resulted in a preliminary injunction against Locatecell.com. Nixon also is asking the court to issue a permanent injunctions that would require the defendants to pay appropriate penalties.
“We acted as soon as we heard about these Internet businesses that sell private cell phone information without the owners’ consent,” Nixon said. “We’ve maintained all along that there are tremendous privacy concerns with such transactions, and that the information was obtained illegally. Once again, we’re asking the court to stop the dissemination of such information and will be keeping an eye out for other such outfits that provide similar services.”