Comcast accidentally published 200,000 “unlisted” phone numbers
Comcast made the same mistake once before and had to pay $33 million. …
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Comcast mistakenly published the names, phone numbers, and addresses of nearly 200,000 customers who paid monthly fees to make their numbers unlisted. The names and numbers were made available on Ecolisting, a directory run by Comcast, and picked up by third-party directories. After discovering the mistake, Comcast shut Ecolisting down, gave $100 credits to affected customers, and advised them that they can change their phone numbers at no charge.
This is similar to a mistake in the early 2010s that resulted in Comcast paying a $33 million settlement in 2015.
The Denver Post reported last week:
For years, customers have had the ability to pay a small sum per month to ensure their phone numbers and personal information remain off of telephone and online directories. But in January and February, thousands of people across the country received letters from Xfinity telling them the company had inadvertently published personal information on Comcast’s online directory, Ecolisting.com. The issue affected 2 percent of Comcast’s 9.9 million voice customers, the company said.
Comcast charged $3.50 a month for the number-privacy feature in Pennsylvania, The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote. Customers elsewhere apparently paid more—some Comcast users on a support forum reported having to pay $5.50 per month.
In a statement to Ars, Comcast said, “We have corrected this issue for our identified customers, apologized to them for this error, and given them an additional $100 credit. We are working with our customers directly to
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