AccuSearch Inc., a Cheyenne-based data company, is one of five companies the Federal Trade Commission charged this week for allegedly getting telephone records and credit-card statements under false pretenses.
AccuSearch, which operates as Abika.com on the Web, did not answer phone calls or an e-mail request for comment Thursday.
The FTC also charged Upland, Calif.- based 77 Investigations Inc., which has an office in Broomfield.
An FTC investigation found that information brokers often pose as cellphone customers and give false information to get telephone records.
“We’re asking the court to ensure that they no longer engage in this activity,” said Betsy Broder, assistant director of the FTC’s privacy and identity-protection office. “We hope they realize that this practice is unlawful, and they’re stopping it.”
Congress is discussing legislation to make “pretexting,” as it is known, illegal. There is currently no ban on the practice.
Colorado legislators last month passed a bill making it illegal to sell or possess someone’s phone records in Colorado without authorization.
Online companies, including Denver- based Worldwide Investigations, charge customers about $100 to buy records of any cellphone user’s last 100 phone calls. The Denver Post was unable to get a call through to Worldwide Investigations on Thursday.
While Worldwide Investigations has not been charged by the FTC, it is among 17 companies being targeted in a similar investigation by the U.S. Energy and Commerce Committee that has not been completed.
Staff writer Beth Potter can be reached at 303-820-1503 or bpotter@denverpost.com.
