Data brokers commit fraud to steal telephone data says AT&T

The AP via Cnet.com reports that AT&T filed suit against 25 data brokers that fraudulently gets access to private phone records. Hey, this is nothing new. All a data broker, or private investigator, has to do is pre-texting: pretend to be YOU in order to fool the phone company into handing over your records. It’s easy. This is another example of why identity theft is not just about credit cards. With personal identifying information, a fraudster can unlock all kinds of doors.

AT&T has joined the fight to keep unauthorized data brokers from obtaining and selling its customers' calling records.

On Wednesday, the company's services division filed a lawsuit in U.S district court in San Antonio, Texas, to block 25 unnamed "John Doe" 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 said this information was used mainly in legal and domestic disputes and that no driver's license numbers or sensitive financial data were accessible.

There is a little irony here, since AT&T was sued itself recently for providing sensitive data to the government. But that’s entirely different and it’s good that AT&T is doing something here about pre-texting and fraud.