Protect Your Phone Records

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Consumer Action Protect Your Phone Records Protect Your Phone Records

description

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Transcript of Protect Your Phone Records

Page 1: Protect Your Phone Records

Consumer Action Protect Your Phone Records

Protect Your

Phone Records

Page 2: Protect Your Phone Records

Consumer Action Protect Your Phone Records

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

Page 3: Protect Your Phone Records

Consumer Action Protect Your Phone Records

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

Page 4: Protect Your Phone Records

Consumer Action Protect Your Phone Records

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

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Consumer Action Protect Your Phone Records

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.

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Consumer Action Protect Your Phone Records

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

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Consumer Action Protect Your Phone Records

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

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Consumer Action Protect Your Phone Records

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

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Consumer Action Protect Your Phone Records

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?

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Consumer Action Protect Your Phone Records

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

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Consumer Action Protect Your Phone Records

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

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Consumer Action Protect Your Phone Records

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

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Consumer Action Protect Your Phone Records

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

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Consumer Action Protect Your Phone Records

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

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Consumer Action Protect Your Phone Records

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

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Consumer Action Protect Your Phone Records

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

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Consumer Action Protect Your Phone Records

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

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Consumer Action Protect Your Phone Records

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

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Consumer Action Protect Your Phone Records

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…

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Consumer Action Protect Your Phone Records

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

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Consumer Action Protect Your Phone Records

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

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Consumer Action Protect Your Phone Records

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

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Consumer Action Protect Your Phone Records

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

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Consumer Action Protect Your Phone Records

Protecting Your Phone Records

• Complain to the FCC

Email

[email protected]

Online

• www.fcc.gov/cgb/complaints.html

Mail

• FCC - Consumer Complaints

• 445 12th Street SW

• Washington, DC 20554

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Consumer Action Protect Your Phone Records

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

Page 26: Protect Your Phone Records

Consumer Action Protect Your Phone Records

Protect Your Phone Records is a joint

educational partnership brought to you by

Consumer Action, the National Consumers

League (NCL) and Verizon

For more information:

Consumer Action: 415-777-9648

Web site: www.consumer-action.org

Email: [email protected]