Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon has asked for a court order to stop a Web business and its owners from offering to sell the confidential information of cell phone customers.
Nixon said the defendants, who do business under the name Datatraceusa.com, are violating consumer protection laws by misrepresenting that it is legal for them to obtain, possess and sell the information.
Datatraceusa.com is the third such Web site that Nixon has targeted this year.
Last month, Missouri became the first state to obtain a court order preventing an Internet business that sells cell phone records from conducting business in its state. Nixon's actions resulted in a preliminary injunction against Locatecell.com. On Feb. 23, he won a preliminary injunction against another such business, Completeskiptrace.com.
"My office remains committed to protecting the privacy concerns of Missouri consumers from these Internet businesses that sell private cell phone information without the owners' consent," Nixon said.
An undercover investigator from Nixon's office initiated an online transaction with Datatraceusa.com to purchase cell phone records and received the information Feb. 18.
According to the defendants' Web site, for $110 anyone may enter a cell phone number and then receive "all incoming and outgoing calls from the most recent billing cycle available." For an additional $110, the defendants will provide the time and duration of each call made or received during that billing cycle.
The Web site claims that records will be provided in one business day via e-mail. Nixon said the defendants do not have authorization from the wireless and cellular telephone service providers to access the customer information that they advertise on their Web site.
Named as defendants in the lawsuit are Data Trace USA Inc. and its owners, Lina Vargas and Nick Scott of Hollywood, Fla. Nixon is asking for a temporary restraining order against the defendants to stop them from violating Missouri consumer protection law. The lawsuit also asks for appropriate penalties.
