Illinois Sues Brokers of Cell phone records

The Chicago Tribune reports on the emerging story on cell phone records.The state of Illinois is taking action:

On Friday, Illinois Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan sued a Florida-based company, 1st Source, charging it was using illegal means to access cell phone and land-line records.

The complaint alleges that agents for 1st Source, which operates www.locatecell.com, misrepresented themselves to telecommunications companies to obtain phone records by posing as the customers or employees of the cell phone company and then selling the records online. The suit also contends that 1st Source agents hacked into customers' online accounts to get the phone logs.

Cingular, the country's largest cellular telephone provider, sued in Atlanta last week to bar www.locatecell.com from collecting and distributing cell logs of their customers. Verizon Communications Inc. sued several Internet brokers last year who allegedly gathered and sold customer phone records, officials said.

Officials from locatecell did not return phone calls or e-mails seeking comment.

But officials from other companies that provide cell phone records said they are legitimate businesses that help customers gather useful information.

Industry experts said the brokers use a variety of tricks to dupe national wireless companies into giving them the data, even posing as police officers or as special operators trying to help the deaf.

You'll want to read the whole story.