FTC Sues Five Firms Over Data Sales
WASHINGTON — U.S. authorities said Wednesday that they had filed a lawsuit against five online companies, including one in California, alleging they had illegally sold confidential phone records.
The Federal Trade Commission said it was asking a court to bar the sale of the phone records and force the companies to give up the money they made with their operations.
“Trafficking in consumers’ confidential telephone records is outrageous,†FTC consumer protection chief Lydia Parnes said in a statement. “It robs consumers of their privacy and exposes them to everything from snoops to stalkers.â€
The FTC lawsuits come amid a wave of concerns about websites that offer to get consumers’ phone records. Investigations are also underway by the Federal Communications Commission and states’ attorneys general.
In addition, Congress is considering measures that would impose tougher penalties on the practice.
In the lawsuits announced Wednesday, the FTC alleges the companies used “false pretenses, fraudulent statements, fraudulent or stolen documents or other misrepresentations, including posing as a customer of a telecommunications carrier†to get the phone records.
The companies advertised on their websites that they could get the confidential phone records of any individual and make them available for a fee, the agency said.
One of the companies, Integrity Security & Investigations Services Inc., based in Yorktown, Va., also sold consumers’ financial records, including credit card information, the FTC said.
Other companies and their principals named in the FTC suits were: 77 Investigations Inc., and Reginald Kimbro, based in Upland; AccuSearch Inc., doing business as Abika.com, and Jay Patel, based in Cheyenne, Wyo.; CEO Group Inc., doing business as Check Em Out, and Scott Joseph, based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; and Information Search Inc., and David Kacala, based in Baltimore, Md.
Joseph, president of CEO Group, said he had not had time to review the suit and could not comment.
Information Search’s Kacala disputed that he had illegally sold such records, saying the suit was over information on his company’s website. “Basically it’s charging me with advertising,†he said.
