Verizon Wireless has filed suit and obtained an immediate injunction against a Florida-based private investigative agency and its affiliates to stop their attempts to fraudulently obtain confidential information about Verizon Wireless customers.
The civil suit, filed in Hillsborough County, Florida, charges that Global Information Group (GIG) of Temple Terrace, FL, made “thousands of attempts” to gather confidential information without proper authorization and used various fraudulent schemes to do so, including impersonating Verizon Wireless employees and posing as Verizon Wireless customers.
The court issued an immediate temporary restraining order, prohibiting the defendants from any further attempts to obtain confidential information from Verizon Wireless, any further contact with Verizon Wireless customer service centers, or providing any confidential customer information to third parties.
Verizon Wireless also obtained an order from the court entitling it to seize any information the defendants may have gathered. The company says it is taking these steps to protect its customers from getting bombarded with telemarketers’ calls on their cell phones.
“Verizon Wireless will use all the weapons in our legal arsenal to protect our customers’ private and confidential information,” said Steven Zipperstein, General Counsel and Vice President of Legal and External Affairs for Verizon Wireless.
“We simply will not tolerate fraudulent schemes that prey on our company and our customers. We are very grateful to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office for their invaluable assistance in enforcing the court’s seizure order.”
This is the second time in recent months that Verizon Wireless has taken legal steps to protect its customers’ privacy.
This summer, the company secured a court order to halt a Tennessee-based company’s illegal practice of using fraudulent means to obtain and sell confidential customer telephone records. The company also obtained injunctions against telemarketing firms based in Florida and California this summer, halting them from making illegal sales calls to its customers.
|
10.11.2005
Verizon Wireless Sues To Protect Customers From Telemarketers
Verizon Wireless has filed suit and obtained an immediate injunction against a Florida-based private investigative agency and its affiliates to stop their attempts to fraudulently obtain confidential information about Verizon Wireless customers.The civil suit, filed in... |
|
12.07.2010
Protecting Wireless Customers From Bill Shock
When consumers sign up for a wireless plan, they expect to pay the same amount each month. But sometimes other fees kick in when they access additional services or exceed preset limits, and those fees can come as a shock. "Rapidly changing technology, easy access to... |
|
08.07.2005
A Test of Verizon Wireless Broadband
Those of us who are addicted to broadband connections at work and at home can go into serious withdrawal when traveling, leading us to grasp at whatever straw holds any hope of providing wireless high-speed when we`re on the go. Wireless Broadband• Sprint,... |
|
22.07.2005
NYC Sues Wireless Phone Companies for Deceptive Advertising
The New York City Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) has filed suit in New York Supreme Court against three major wireless companies for pitching cell phones and services in deceptive advertisements that misled consumers.The suit against Nextel Communications Inc.,... |
|
12.08.2005
Computer Glitch Exposes Verizon Wireless Account Data
A programming error in Verizon Wireless` online billing system may have exposed millions of consumer records, the company said. The glitch has now been fixed and Verizon said it does not know of any subscriber accounts that were compromised. Data Theft•... |
|
