From Law.com:

“In a victory over data miners who used fraud, computer hacking and “social engineering” to collect the private cell phone numbers and calling histories of its customers, Atlanta-based Cingular Wireless has been awarded $1,135,000 in federal court.”

The complaint stated that the defendants “engage[d] in deceit, trickery and dishonesty to obtain private information from Cingular’s (customer service representatives) through ‘social engineering,’ improper hacking and/or through unauthorized access to online account information stored on Cingular’s database.”

Damn. How shitty is your company when Cingular gets to take the moral highground?

“This victory underscores the fact that Cingular will not tolerate data burglars,” said Cingular’s executive vice president and general counsel Joaquin Carbonell in a statement. “We are fighting to protect customer privacy on other fronts as well, including filing new lawsuits against telemarketers and spammers.” I’m warm and fuzzy all over. —MEGHANN MARCO

Cingular Wins $1.1M Victory Over Data Miners [Law]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.