Verizon Wireless Warns It’s Ready to Sue to Stop Data Miner
Verizon Wireless Tuesday called on information services company Intelius to stop mining data for a new service providing cellphone numbers and other unlisted and unpublished phone numbers. Steve Zipperstein, Verizon Wireless general counsel, said his company will file suit and take any other steps needed to protect subscribers.
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“Stop it,” Zipperstein said in a statement. “This is a violation of Americans’ privacy. People expect their cellphone numbers to remain private.” He called the directory a “dumb idea… Verizon Wireless has long refused to release our customers’ numbers and we call on legislators and policy makers to ensure that what a consumer wants to be private stays that way.”
A spokesman for CTIA said President Steve Largent, who had been told of the service, tested it by paying for a reverse lookup of his cellphone number. The information provided was wrong, though Largent has had the same number for years.
Intelius started the service in summer 2007, according to its website. “With more people using cell phones -- 43 percent of phone users nationwide were considering switching to mobile phones as their primary telephone, according to a 2005 In-Stat report -- there is an increasing concern about telemarketing calls, higher cell phone bills, mystery callers and wrong numbers,” the company said in a news release. “By utilizing Intelius’ services, a person can check unknown numbers that are calling and be more informed about the people and companies trying to get in touch with them and their children.”
The Bellevue, Wash, company offers similar services, including background checks. In January, it filed to go public, registering for a public offering valued at up to $143.8 million. A spokeswoman could not provide immediate comment Tuesday.