T-Mobile employees sold data from thousands of customers

Information commissioner says "paltry fines" are not enough, only jail sentences will do

Thousands of customer records sold

A spokesman from T-Mobile confirmed today that the mobile operator had passed on data from thousands of customers amounting to millions of records.

Information Commissioner Christopher Graham was alerted by T-Mobile, which admitted that brokers paid for the data which they subsequently sold on to other companies. These companies then used the data to call T-Mobile customers whose contracts were due to expire.

Managing director of UK leading independent mobile phone comparison site www.rightmobilephone.co.uk Neil McHugh said that his advice for people worried about their personal data was to call their mobile phone operator and ask for confirmation that their contact information was safe.

“Only people coming to the end of their mobile phone contracts are likely to be contacted as a result of the data leak, but if a network operator is responsible, I’m sure the consequences will be severe. Not just facing a potential fine but a huge decline in customer trust,” he added.

T-Mobile’s spokesman said the data was sold, "without our knowledge".

Graham’s team obtained search warrants to enter premises and are reported to have interviewed T-Mobile employees. A statement on the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO’s) web site said the following: “The existing paltry fines for Section 55 offences are simply not enough to deter people from engaging in this lucrative criminal activity. The threat of jail, not fines, will prove a stronger deterrent.”