AT&T Sued For Revealing Police Chief's Phone Records To Jealous Wife

from the ah,-modern-technology-at-work dept

Wed, Aug 4th 2010 3:50pm — Mike Masnick

A few months back, we wrote about a Canadian woman suing her mobile phone provider, Rogers, for automatically consolidating household bills, which revealed to her husband an affair she was having and coordinating via her mobile phone (which had been under her own account). Broadband Reports points us to a similar story of a police chief in Pennsylvania who is suing AT&T for revealing his phone call records to his wife. She apparently got upset that he was talking to an ex-girlfriend. The police chief claims his calls were about a criminal investigation, but when his wife asked about the calls, he denied ever contacting his ex-girlfriend. But then his wife got more upset about him lying, because AT&T had already revealed his call records to her. She wasn't named on the account, so AT&T sharing the information seems pretty bad. And, from the few details shared, it sounds like he's actually accusing AT&T of going further than just providing his phone records: apparently "the [AT&T] representative conducted a number search on his records, in order for her to confirm her suspicions that he was communicating with this woman." And she didn't even have to send them a post-it note.

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Filed Under: phone bill, privacy
Companies: at&t

13 Comments

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Alan Gerow (profile), 4 Aug 2010 @ 4:48pm

A cop wants a cell phone company to follow proper procedures when handing over phone records? Now that IS news.
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- ChurchHatesTucker (profile), 4 Aug 2010 @ 4:56pm
  
  Re:
  Hrm. I should ask for my chief's phone records. Sauce for the goose and all that.
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- Anon, 4 Aug 2010 @ 5:11pm
  
  Re:
  God damn, I love stories that involve stupid fucking pigs having their privacy invaded.
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  - Anonymous Coward, 4 Aug 2010 @ 5:18pm
    
    Re: Re:
    Ahh, I see the brainwashing has gone very well.
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Anonymous Coward, 4 Aug 2010 @ 5:06pm

Oh the irony LoL
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Anonymous Coward, 4 Aug 2010 @ 5:08pm

A cheater getting got is good a cop cheater realizing what privacy means is priceless.
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ofb2632 (profile), 4 Aug 2010 @ 5:49pm

Next time he goes and illegally gets phone records of those the 'suspects' in a crime, i hope he remembers what happened to him.
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Anonymous Coward, 4 Aug 2010 @ 5:50pm

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-20012583-281.html

The bright side is that he was not caught with a bonner on a scan machine on the airport. Remember they told us, they would not save any images? right!
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Kevin (profile), 4 Aug 2010 @ 6:04pm

And another..
I will just add this to my "At&t is evil" pile and be done with it
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Anonymous Coward, 4 Aug 2010 @ 7:37pm

Since they are already sharing every record with the government they are acclimated to freely handing over info to whom ever asks.
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Altaree, 5 Aug 2010 @ 4:53am

It was his WIFE!
Wives and husbands are treated as having full access to each other's records by most companies. I don't see what the problem is aside from a stupid lawsuit being filed.
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- Vincent Clement, 5 Aug 2010 @ 6:19am
  
  Re: It was his WIFE!
  The problem is that they shouldn't be given full access unless one spouse explicitly gives permission to do so.
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  - Anon Coward, 5 Aug 2010 @ 8:12am
    
    Re: Re: It was his WIFE!
    Actually with only a few exceptions once you are married both members of the couple are considered one legal entity.
    
    If she actually proved that she was the cops wife, and if it was his personal (vs work) account. Then AT&T would be legally required to provide the same information to her as they did to the cop.
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