In addition to Colorado (see previous post) Florida is another hot locale for data brokers, including offices for some of the biggest. AT&T has targeted two firms from the Tampa area, alleging that the businesses used pretextual techniques as well as web spoofing to improperly obtain phone records for 2,500 some-odd AT&T customers.

The AT&T suit names DWC Research, Inc, A-AAA Mortgage Loans & Investments, Inc. and Katherine Martens in the Florida suit and has also added these names to a similar suit that the telecom giant filed in San Antonio back in August.

AT&T is not the first telco to take the fight back to the data brokers. Verizon, Sprint and others have piled on the lawsuits and injunctions while the government tries to figure out how to make all of this officially illegal.

Which presents this little irony, of course, that you may recall from the summer.

-- MDT