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MediaBuyerPlanner: AT&T Services Inc. filed suit in federal court yesterday to block some two dozen so-called data brokers from accessing customer information without authorization from the company or the customer.
The suit filed in the San Antonio Division of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, names 25 “John Doe” defendants who have used fraudulent means to gain access to AT&T’s business records containing confidential customer information, including calling-record information.
The lawsuit is designed to provide the company with the legal process to use e-mail addresses and Internet Protocol addresses to identify the perpetrators, and pursue an injunction to bar such activity, as well as seek damages.
An AT&T internal investigation identified about 2,500 customers as possible victims.
In a process known as pretexting, data brokers pose as the customer to gain confidential information. The perpetrators set up unauthorized online accounts by supplying private customer-identifying information. The online account provides access to the customer’s AT&T account information – including recent calling history.