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Oh, this is not good at all

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Illinois

UPDATE: From the attorney general’s office just now: “We have an investigation based on the Sun-Times article.”
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This has to stop now. And I mean now.

The Chicago Police Department is warning officers their cell phone records are available to anyone — for a price. Dozens of online services are selling lists of cell phone calls, raising security concerns among law enforcement and privacy experts. […]

To test the service, the FBI paid Locatecell.com $160 to buy the records for an agent’s cell phone and received the list within three hours, the police bulletin said. […]

How well do the services work? The Chicago Sun-Times paid $110 to Locatecell.com to purchase a one-month record of calls for this reporter’s company cell phone. It was as simple as e-mailing the telephone number to the service along with a credit card number. The request was made Friday after the service was closed for the New Year’s holiday.

On Tuesday, when it reopened, Locatecell.com e-mailed a list of 78 telephone numbers this reporter called on his cell phone between Nov. 19 and Dec. 17. The list included calls to law enforcement sources, story subjects and other Sun-Times reporters and editors.

I shudder to think the mischief that this could cause.

Who’s gonna be the first legislator to tighten these regulations? It shouldn’t be this easy to get that information.

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Jan 5, 06 @ 10:37 am

Comments

Don’t you know that Locatecell is busier right now than Walmart on the day after Christmas.Every reporter there is wants to check on which politican is sleeping with who.This ought to be the scandal bed of the century.This is another lesson on never useing your credit card for flowers or gifts if the last name is different than yours.

Comment by DOWNSTATE Thursday, Jan 5, 06 @ 11:05 am
Rich,

What’s the matter?
Ya got something to hide?

pseudonymously yours,
– So-Called “Austin Mayor”

Comment by So-Called "Austin Mayor" Thursday, Jan 5, 06 @ 11:05 am
I nominate State Rep. John Fritchey of the Dome-cile blog!

Comment by AngryJolietan Thursday, Jan 5, 06 @ 11:09 am
Only the government should have the right to spy on people like this.

Comment by Concerned Thursday, Jan 5, 06 @ 12:01 pm
Forget about a law. Gonzalez, Lisa Madigan, the FTC or someone should shut these people down TODAY!

This information should be secure to some extent.

Comment by Goodbye Napoleon Thursday, Jan 5, 06 @ 12:07 pm
I would suspect that in addition to being very busy, these fine folks at LocateCell have just made a “market pricing adjustment.” Jerks.

Comment by NumbersGuy Thursday, Jan 5, 06 @ 12:15 pm
More interestingly:

Where are these guys getting the data from?

Surely not Daley run SBC/Cingular, right?

Comment by Pat Collins Thursday, Jan 5, 06 @ 12:46 pm
It shouldn’t be allowed but how many campaigns are now asking for the cell records of their opponents? Lots more will happen before there is a law to close this loophole - if it is a loophole instead of being downright illegal. Gotta run. Going to get Bloggo’s records.

Comment by LittleEgypt Thursday, Jan 5, 06 @ 1:28 pm
Forget the politicians, just think of all the marriages (maybe of politicians) that are going to go down the hatch. I am sure that is sending many scrambling right now too.

Comment by tsk tsk Thursday, Jan 5, 06 @ 1:28 pm
Think of all the reporters who get the jackpot
wonder if the cell phone co’s are making coin off of this?

Comment by Anon Thursday, Jan 5, 06 @ 1:36 pm
I went to the site … if I’m not mistaken, I think it reads that you can only obtain the last monthly cycle (ie, not statements from 2 years ago). It doesn’t detail whether it has to be an active cell phone, but who knows. Does anyone else know any particulars?

Comment by devil's advocate Thursday, Jan 5, 06 @ 1:38 pm
Can it provide Text messages? ut oh..

Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Jan 5, 06 @ 2:40 pm
If my carrier sells mine, I’d like a cut.

Comment by Bill Baar Thursday, Jan 5, 06 @ 3:03 pm
Looks like the company is a division of peoplesearchamerica.com

Both websites share the same toll free phone number. Searched whois database to see where the company operates out of and of couse they paid extra to keep that secret. My comment is if they are operating out of the Carribean or Virgin Islands they might be exempt to US law.

Comment by triplemstrategies Thursday, Jan 5, 06 @ 3:51 pm
What’s Mayor Daley or Victor Reyes phone number. I’ll buy those tonight if I can get the numbers.

Comment by Jenny Kustra Thursday, Jan 5, 06 @ 6:53 pm
Anybody know Joey “The Clown” Lombardo’s cell phone number? Perhaps Bush could ask locatecell.com for Osamma’s last month’s phone bill?
Maybe Patrick Fitzgerald could ask them for Bob Novak’s cell phone numbers that he has called during the past year?
All kidding aside, I am with you on this one, Rich. I think that things have gotten out of hand by those that will profit by manipulation.

Comment by Beowulf Thursday, Jan 5, 06 @ 8:33 pm
Some people have one phone to call out on that blocks caller ID and another to accept calls on. Neither phone is in the name of the person making and receiving calls, nor are the bills paid with their credit cards.

Comment by Anon Thursday, Jan 5, 06 @ 9:25 pm
Am I wrong, or did the article never come straight out and say this was being done legally? The article mentions insiders selling the lists, and implies this is being done illegally and in the shade. Anyone else get that impression?

Comment by Smitty Irving Thursday, Jan 5, 06 @ 10:12 pm
While I don’t like the idea that my cell phone records can be bought and sold, I would love to see records for all the state issued cell phones - particularly those issued at the Department of Human Services to upper management. I imagine they would be quite revealing.

Comment by cynically anonymous Thursday, Jan 5, 06 @ 10:56 pm
cynically, go fill out a FOIA and get them. you can’t be anonymous, though. Any state worker who is not a blithering idiot knows, though, that his/her cell records are public record.
But, then again, you were talking …….oh never mind, it wouldn’t be nice.

Comment by NumbersGuy Thursday, Jan 5, 06 @ 11:39 pm
>the attorney generalâ€™s office just now: â€œWe have an investigation based on the Sun-Times article.â€

Absolutely amazing how fast these people move when it doesn’t involve investigating another government agency.

This is going to turn into a huge story, even though it is not because it is a classic “government protecting us” story.

Comment by Whew Friday, Jan 6, 06 @ 6:15 am
You mean Government protecting their arses.

Comment by The Broken Heart of Rogers Park Friday, Jan 6, 06 @ 7:16 am
Anyone who works for the Office of Mayor of Chicago (including Daley himself) and waltzes around with their blackberry cell phones, paid and provided for by taxpapers, SHOULD have their calls disclosed. In fact, they should set-up a “real-time” site that we can monitor what our public officials are doing all the time.

Comment by daley=corruption Friday, Jan 6, 06 @ 10:42 am