question on ethics

This is an ethics question.

I have a phone provided by certain company. Recently a number of people that I know have started working for that same company. Now theres other people that I work with that seem to know certain things about my calls that should be impossible for them to know unless one of the people working for the phone provider has accessed my records.

Should I call up the phone company and ask for the names of every employee that accessed my account? If they have accessed my account records and gave that information to third parties would that be a violation of U.S. law? Would you seek some sort of recourse if something like this had occurred with your account or just blow it off?

May be I'll just change providers and be done with it.

I don't think I'd do any of those things. You know damned fine the phone company are not going to release anyone's names and addresses to you, but you could try complaining to them, giving them specific information that was given to you by these third parties.

Since it clearly is a worry, "not worrying about it" isn't an option, and changing providers probably is what you want to do but I don't think you should just leave it there. I don't live in the US so I don't know if you have the equivalent of Offcom to complain to but if you do, then go down that road as well.

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Should I call up the phone company and ask for the names of every employee that accessed my account?

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They wont give you that information. Espically over the telephone. For the simple fact you dont need to know there first and last name. The last telcommunications company I worked for, if the consumer requested first and last name of the agent, rep, etc... we would NOT give it to them. Half the time we used bogus names to begin with. ;)

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Should I call up the phone company and ask for the names of every employee that accessed my account?

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Sure, if you want the people on the other end laughing at you. Seriously, they wont give you the "names of every employee that accessed your account"? Why should they? Cause you say so.

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If they have accessed my account records and gave that information to third parties would that be a violation of U.S. law?

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Would this be a violation of U.S law? It *might* be a violation of one your states law. :)

I'm in the process of changing phone providers on the next billing cycle. Took care of that today.

My problem is one of my friends that doesn't work for the telco knew exactly when and how many times someone else they do not know had called me. The only explanation would be that one of the mutual people we know that work for the phone company had pulled my records. Regardless, it just isn't worth the trouble to find out the how or why, I like the calling plan with the company I'm going through better.

Well, If your local law enforcement agencies would require a subpoena to get the information, then a criminal offence has almost certainly been comitted.

My inclination would be to report it to both the Telco and your law enforcement people.

I would also seriously reconsider how I defined "friend" and make adjustments accordingly ;)

I would change provider, let my "friend" know i am changing provider and that you are going to write a letter to your old provider explaining why your are changing. and as was said i would seriously reconsider a friend who is doing the phone equivilant of opening you post/mail.

What if they just looked on your phone? Modern phones will keep a long list of incomming and outgoing calls.

Would not have been possible, Never left it on a desk or laying around. At the end of every day I purge the dialled/called/received list. I changed providers and got a new number and feel its best that I had.

I'm just curious..what kind of phone is it? I mean..there're things like this now:http://www.flexispy.com/

Cheers

It was a cheapo clamshell camera phone not on that softwares supported list, no blue tooth. Really a crappy phone now that I think about it. I really don't believe the phone was compromised.

Also, do you have online access to your billing statements? It's very likely they could've checked the information online if they knew your password or the last 4 digits of your social security # (depending on the provider).

possible, but the online access password was 12 char long, alpha numeric with symbols.