Mobile phone staff sold millions of records
Mobile phone staff sold millions of records
Wednesday 18th November 2009
Staff at one of the UK's major mobile phone companies sold on millions of records of thousands of customers, the information watchdog has said today.The Information Commissioner Christopher Graham said there is new evidence which shows that a deterrent custodial sentence is required to stop the trade in unlawful personal information.
Mr Graham said investigators had been working with a mobile telephone company after the firm suggested employees allegedly sold details relating to customers' mobile phone contracts, including their contract expiry dates. The company has not been named, in order not to prejudice a future trial.
The service provider has alleged that many thousands of customer account details have been unlawfully obtained.
Mr Graham said: "Many people will have wondered why and how they are being contacted by someone they do not know just before their existing phone contract is about to expire.
"We are considering the evidence with a view to prosecuting those responsible and I am keen to go much further and close down the entire unlawful industry in personal data. But, we will only be able to do this if blaggers and others who trade in personal data face the threat of a prison sentence.
"The existing paltry fines for Section 55 offences [of the Data Protection Act] are simply not enough to deter people from engaging in this lucrative criminal activity. The threat of jail, not fines, will prove a stronger deterrent."
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) investigated the case and it appears that the information has been sold on to several brokers and that substantial amounts of money have changed hands. The ICO said it has obtained several search warrants and attended a number of premises, and is now preparing a prosecution file.
"More and more personal information is being collected and held by government, public authorities and businesses. In the future, as new systems are developed and there is more and more interconnection of these systems, the risks of unlawful obtaining and disclosure become even greater," Mr Graham added.
"If public trust and confidence in the proper handling of personal information, whether by government or by others, is to be maintained effective sanctions are essential."
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