HR4709APR28

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Week Ending April 28, 2006

H.R.4709 To amend title 18, United States Code, to strengthen protections for law enforcement officers and the public by providing criminal penalties for the fraudulent acquisition or unauthorized disclosure of phone records.

Congress finds that phone logs, a record of calls that may include much personal information to identity thieves and other unscrupulous individuals are being sold by telephone employees. The phone companies do sell the information or provide it but those transactions are in line with the law. In some cases, though, phone company employees accessed the information and sold it. Some criminals get the information from the phone companies by posing as a legitimate customer when, in fact, they are just data brokers. Other crooks hack the phone company computers to get the information.

Although information about all customers is logged and so capable of putting any customer at risk, this bill concerns itself in particular with the threat to law enforcement officers their families, sources and investigations.

The bill amends the criminal code to prohibit obtaining confidential phone records information by making false or fraudulent statements or providing false documents to a carrier or voice service provider to obtain information or accessing the customer’s account through the Internet without permission. The amended law would impose a fine and could bring up to 20 years in prison.

Also prohibited is the unauthorized sale or transfer of confidential phone records information by anyone. Purchasing the information while knowing it was fraudulently obtained or obtained without authorization would bring a fine and up to five years in prison. Fines would be doubled and an extra five years in prison is warranted for prohibited acquisition of information involving more that $100,000 or more than 50 customers. If the records lead to a crime of violence and crimes against law enforcement officials and the administration of justice brings an additional five years in jail.

Law enforcement is authorized to make a lawful request for confidential phone records.

The extent of fines and imprisonment would be decided by the US Sentencing Commission should the bill become law.

The protected information is described as information that “relates to the quantity, technical configuration, type, destination, location, or amount of use of a service” by any customer; and “information contained in any bill, itemization, or account statement related to a product or service” of any customer.”

Sponsor: Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX-21^st)

Vote: Passed House April 26, 2006 409 to 0 (RC 101)

Cost to the taxpayers: No discernible cost.

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MORE INFORMATION

Congress finds that--

(1) telephone records can be of great use to criminals because the information contained in call logs may include a wealth of personal data;

(2) call logs may reveal the names of telephone users' doctors, public and private relationships, business associates, and more;

(3) call logs are typically maintained for the exclusive use of phone companies, their authorized agents, and authorized consumers;

(4) telephone records have been obtained without the knowledge or consent of consumers through the use of a number of fraudulent methods and devices that include but are not limited to--

(A) telephone company employees selling data to unauthorized data brokers;

(B) `pretexting', whereby a data broker or other person represents they are an authorized consumer and convinces an agent of the telephone company to release the data; or

(C) gaining unauthorized Internet access to account data by improperly activating a consumer's account management features on a phone company's webpage or contracting with an Internet-based data broker who trafficks in such records; and

(5) the unauthorized disclosure of telephone records not only assaults individual privacy but, in some instances, may further acts of domestic violence, compromise the personal safety of law enforcement officers, their families, or confidential informants, and undermine the integrity of law enforcement investigations.

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