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Accessing Private Phone Records Sans Subpoena

Bypassing warrants and subpoenas, numerous federal and local law-enforcement agencies have turned to private-sector data brokers to obtain Americans' personal telephone records.

Brokers advertise aggressively on the Internet. Some admit to using unsavory, sometimes illegal tactics to obtain information -- including breaking into customer accounts online and tricking phone companies into revealing private customer information, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.

Among the documents gathered by congressional investigators:

Data Bought by U.S. Government: A GAO report found that the federal government spent $30 million last year on personal data bought from private brokers.

Homeland Security Requests: An immigration official with the Department of Homeland Security sought subscriber information for a cell-phone number.

Local Law-Enforcement Requests: A Redwood City, Calif. law-enforcement officer used a data broker to request similar information for a cell-phone number.

Tracking an NBA Player: A private investigator used a data broker to obtain information on calls made by NBA player Damon Jones.

Reporting on JonBenet: A tabloid newspaper used a data broker to obtain information on credit-card charges made by John Ramsey, father of child murder victim JonBenet Ramsey.

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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