Protect Your Phone Records

1. Protect Your Phone Records Consumer ActionProtect Your Phone Records

2. Purpose of the Training • What private, personal information can be found in your phone records • How to keep your personal information safe so you won’t be victimized • Become familiar with laws that protect the privacy of your phone records • What to do if your phone records are accessed without your permission Consumer ActionProtect Your Phone Records

3. Objectives • You will learn • Why someone would try to access your phone records • Who would try to access your phone records • How predators, crooks and loved ones may access private information • How to protect yourself from becoming a victim Consumer ActionProtect Your Phone Records

4. About Phone Records • Phone records are an important source of valuable information • Someone may try to access this information without your consent for identity theft or other harmful purposes • Various laws and protections are in place to keep your phone records private • But you must take an active role in protecting your personal data Consumer ActionProtect Your Phone Records

5. Phone Record Information • Your landline phone records contain • Billing address and/or home address • Long distance or local telephone numbers dialed from your phone • Calls billed to a calling card or credit card • Numbers from which collect calls were accepted • Dates and lengths of calls outside your calling area. Consumer ActionProtect Your Phone Records

6. Phone Record Information • Your cellular phone records contain • The phone calls made or received by you and other family plan members • Your online phone account records may contain • Contact information you provided, such as address, home or office phone numbers • Bank or credit information, such as credit or debit card numbers and bank account numbers Consumer ActionProtect Your Phone Records

7. Phone Record Information • Your phone company may also keep • Birthdate • Social Security number • All telephone and Internet services to which you subscribe • Information about your cell phone that could be used to track the location of the person who has it Consumer ActionProtect Your Phone Records

8. Who Wants Phone Records? • Many people may want your phone records including • Con artists and identity thieves • Data brokers / salespeople • Ex-spouses or former partners • Someone who wants to sue you • Stalkers • Investigators, spies, bail bondsmen • Criminals for retaliation purposes Consumer ActionProtect Your Phone Records

9. Uses for Your Phone Records • How could someone use the information from your phone records? • Wife going through a divorce uses her husband’s phone records to argue that he was playing around with other women • Jealous employee obtains a co-worker’s phone records and finds that he frequently calls an AIDS support group. He spreads rumors that the co-worker has AIDS. • Other examples? Consumer ActionProtect Your Phone Records

10. Access to Phone Records • Some ways to access phone records • Pretexting (pretending to be the account holder or someone else) • Reading another person’s bills • Accessing phone accounts online Consumer ActionProtect Your Phone Records

11. Pretexting • Pretexting is using false pretenses to obtain someone else’s personal information • Impersonating the victim or spouse • Telling lies • Conning a company employee or other individual Consumer ActionProtect Your Phone Records

12. Pretexting • Pretexters obtain your information via • You and your neighbors, family, co-workers • For example, “phone surveys” that ask for information such as the family pet’s name, a common password on accounts • Public records • home purchases • bankruptcy • business start up • marital status Consumer ActionProtect Your Phone Records

13. Pretexting • Pretexting is illegal • There are laws in place to protect victims of pretexting • Exceptions • Law enforcement • agencies such as police or the FBI, can lawfully obtain your phone records • Phone companies • turn over customer phone records if compelled by a subpoena or a court order Consumer ActionProtect Your Phone Records

14. Laws Against Pretexting • 1999 — Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act • Prohibits pretexting to obtain financial records • 2006 — Telephone Records and Privacy Protection Act • Makes the use of pretexting to buy, sell or obtain phone records a federal crime • 2007 — The Federal Communications Commission • Requires phone companies to use stringent authentication measures to protect phone records Consumer ActionProtect Your Phone Records

15. If Your Records Are Breached • Phone companies are required to notify customers • Timing of the notification depends on the circumstances of the breach and the instructions of law enforcement Consumer ActionProtect Your Phone Records

16. Protecting Your Phone Records • Ways to keep your phone records private • Get an non-published number • Set up strong passwords • Limit the information you share • Inquire about information needed • Enlist family members not to divulge information • Keep phone bills and other paperwork containing personal information under lock and key Consumer ActionProtect Your Phone Records

17. Protecting Your Phone Records • New FCC security measures effective at the end of 2007 • All phone companies must • Require passwords for account info • Some exceptions to passwording apply • Notification on password changes • Customer consent before releasing data • Notification if confidentiality of records is breached Consumer ActionProtect Your Phone Records

18. Protecting Your Phone Records • Ask your phone company to • Deactivate the online access feature if you don’t manage your account online • If it’s possible to remove call details from your phone bills Consumer ActionProtect Your Phone Records

19. Phone Company Responsibility • Phone companies must • Keep records of whether customers grant permission to use their account information for marketing • Keep records of all breaches in which customer information is disclosed to third parties • Train employees in the appropriate use of customer information continued… Consumer ActionProtect Your Phone Records

20. Phone Company Responsibility …continued • Uphold marketing privacy standards • Release annual certificates that its procedures comply with FCC rules • Inform the FCC of any legal actions taken against data brokers • Provide a summary of the complaints about unauthorized disclosure of customer information Consumer ActionProtect Your Phone Records

21. CPNI • Customer proprietary network information includes • services you subscribe to • whom you call • when you call • how long your calls are, etc • Generally, the use of CPNI without customer permission is prohibited • opt out / opt in Consumer ActionProtect Your Phone Records

22. CPNI, Sales and Marketing • Your phone company can use your information without your permission to • Offer you enhanced services of the same type you subscribe to • Use customer information for creating directories. • Phone companies are prohibited from using CPNI to lure back customers who have switched to another service provider Consumer ActionProtect Your Phone Records

23. If You Become a Victim • If you believe your phone records have been stolen • Report to your phone company • Close account and open new account • Set up passwords to prevent unauthorized access • File an incident report with police Consumer ActionProtect Your Phone Records

24. Protecting Your Phone Records • Complain to the FCC • Email • fccinfo@fcc.gov • Online • www.fcc.gov/cgb/complaints.html • Mail • FCC - Consumer Complaints • 445 12th Street SW • Washington, DC 20554 Consumer ActionProtect Your Phone Records

25. For More Information Contact • Complain to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) • Phone • 877-382-4357 • Web site • www.ftc.gov • Mail • Consumer Response Center • 600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW • Washington, DC 20580 Consumer ActionProtect Your Phone Records

26. Protect Your Phone Records is a joint educational partnership brought to you by Consumer Action, the National Consumers League (NCL) and VerizonFor more information: Consumer Action: 415-777-9648 Web site: www.consumer-action.org Email: outreach@consumer-action.org Consumer ActionProtect Your Phone Records