If you own a phone -cell or otherwise - READ THIS!

[Redstone]

There have been a number of sleazebag companies cropping up lately (I won't dignify them by printing their names) who make a business of selling anyone's phone call records to anyone who will pay for them.

They generally obtain those records by calling your phone company and posing as you.

If you value your privacy at all, you must call your phone company NOW and have them assign a password; once you do that, nobody can access your records without it.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I don't fall for hype or panic easily, so trust me when I tell you that this is a real threat to your privacy.

Redstone

Links for more information:

http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/2006/012306schwartau.html?ts

http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/2006/012306buzz.html?ts

If you read this and think it's valuable information, please keep it kicked so everyone can get the word.

(A tip o' the Stetson to mscajun for telling me about the typo in the subject.)

[I Have A Dream]

1. Recommended.

Thanks for this information, Redstone. We'll certainly do it for both our land-line and our cell phone.

[FreedomAngel82]

2. My company said no to them

I'm with Cingular and they said no to them so I'm happy about that. :)

[Redstone]

3. No, you're thinking about the DIRECTORIES - this is NOT the same thing.

The directories just want to list your number in a book or on a web page.

These scumbuckets are selling your actual call records, just as they appear on your bill.

Redstone

[Lerkfish]

5. forgive my ignorance, "them"?

do you mean the NSA or what?

sorry I haven't heard about this, and the OP pointedly does not specify.

[I Have A Dream]

11. There are companies on-line that allow people to buy other people's...

telephone records for a fee. By putting a password on your account, these companies can't call your phone company to steal the information. (If they're getting it that way. They could also be getting it from a person who works for the telephone company.)

Hopefully, I correctly understood your question. This has nothing to do with the NSA. This could be something like an ex-partner or a stalker who's trying to find out what's going on in your life.

[Lerkfish]

12. thank you. I misunderstood the OP to mean that there was a phone

company selling user information databases.

sorry for braindead reading.

[negativenihil]

10. nice! makes me glad to be with cingular as well (n/t)

[EFerrari]

4. John at Americablog was able to buy (I believe it was) 3 months

of someone's cell phone records for $89. Pretty creepy.

[givemebackmycountry]

7. Even more creepy...

John bought the the cell phone records of General Wesley Clark.

Nice huh?

[EFerrari]

9. I have no expectation of privacy any more. None. n/t

[Redstone]

13. The Fourth Amendment says you do - remember that quaint document?

Too bad it's not around anymore.

Redstone

[EFerrari]

15. Yes -- wasn't it written on a goddamn piece of paper?

I called the phone people although why I bother, I don't know. Closing the yahoo! account. What about TiVo? I know so little and feel like a lady that worked in one of my offices who was a Native American from Guatemala and used to yell into the phone so her voice would carry all the way home. :(

[Redstone]

16. Throw away the Tivo!!! Those things DO "phone home."

They didn't before, but started recently; I read it in one of the 30 or so technical / trade magazines I (have to) read each month.

I think the competing ones "phone home" as well. They say it's "to enhance and customize your Tivo experience..." you know, the usual marketing rubbish to cover up the collecting of personal information.

Redstone

[EFerrari]

19. What I thought.

And get this: today, I was looking to close a Yahoo! acct and open a gmail one.

For a id reminder, instead of my pet's name, gmail offered me choices of: my social security number, my driver's license number or my library card number or a question that I wrote myself.

:eyes:

[Redstone]

22. What?!! Google is THAT stupid, as to let people use a SocSec

number for a PASSWORD REMINDER? Have they lost their fucking minds? I thought they were smarter than that.

Sheesh.

Redstone

[EFerrari]

25. That's harvesting. As much as I'd like to cheer them for being

the "good" guys, there can be not doubt. They're collecting. :(

[Redstone]

26. That's really, REALLY sleazy. I'm disappointed in them.

Redstone

[Oilwellian]

6. Question

How do you know they call the phone companies and pose as you? From everything I've read, those paying one of these sleazy companies to obtain someone's records, they have them within 24-48 hours. I don't see how that's possible if they call your phone company and pose as you. It would take several days for them to pose as you, get your records, and then send them to the person paying for the information. I believe they have a different way of getting your records. It has to be electronic for the transaction to occur so quickly. It seems they have found a way to hack the system, so setting up a password would do no good.

[mcscajun]

8. Here's how...it's called "pretexting" - a fancy word for Fraud.

Impersonation. Crime.

How in the name of Alexander Graham Bell do these Web sites manage to acquire private phone records? And what can be done about it?

As for the first question, the primary collection method is called "pretexting": "They bamboozle, sweet-talk or browbeat the customer service representative ... to provide the account records," Douglas says.

But first they need help.

"Invariably, all of these companies have contractual arrangements with the legitimate information brokers/data miners like ChoicePoint, Accurint, Acxiom and LexisNexis," Douglas says. When the rogue sellers receive an order, they turn to the databases of the legit companies to create a profile of the target detailed enough to convince a customer service rep they're dealing with the actual customer.

While pretexting is the most prevalent tactic, it isn't the only one.

http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/2006/012306buzz.html?ts

The other one is insiders willing to sell customer information for a price.

[no_hypocrisy]

14. Verizon Wireless won't give info like itemized phonebills, etc. UNLESS

you give your password.

[Redstone]

17. So if you have Verizon, you have to assign a password when you sign up?

Good for them. That makes their customers less vulnerable.

If you read my linked articles, you'll see that most companies do NOT make a password mandatory. SBC and Cingular don't.

Redstone

[no_hypocrisy]

18. That's right. And I periodically change the p/w as well.

Ya never know . . .

Customer service won't give you the time of day without a password.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

20. true for Cingular as well

can't get anywhere without PW and other verification info...

subjectProdigal

[Redstone]

23. NO. Not true. I called Cingular today about this, and they offered me

the opportunity to add a password. It was NOT required at signup three years ago.

Redstone

[ProdigalJunkMail]

27. well, I have never been able to get my OWN info

without mine. But I guess three years ago they may not have had that policy...

subjectProdigal

[I Have A Dream]

21. I'm a Cingular customer. They ask for the last 4 digits of your...

social security number. I think that this would normally be good, but it doesn't work if they have lots of other data about you from other databases. (Therefore, would also probably have your social security number.) We changed our Cingular password today. Cingular told us that they never provide this information (who you called, etc.) if someone asks for it except by sending it via mail to your home address. We still changed our password from the social security number value.

[Redstone]

24. But it's easy for the ratbags to get your SocSec number.

Good idea for you to change it.

Redstone