AT&T has accused three employees of a scheme: taking money to secretly install malware that unlocked hundreds of thousands of phones without permission. On the company’s website, it describes why someone would want to unlock a phone, saying it can make switching SIM cards for global travel easier, allows you to fetch a higher price when reselling your phone and makes it possible to switch carriers to take advantage of promotions.
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AT&T says a California-based company called Swift Unlocks and its proprietor, Prashant Vira, were involved in the scheme and paid Evans and Sapatin at least US$20,000 and $10,500 respectively to install the software.
The representatives used malicious software running on the employee computers in the AT&T store to automatically request unlocks. Allegedly two employees out of fifty suspected in the scheme have already been paid over $10,000 just for installing the malware bug. Otherwise, the phone simply won’t work on another network. This virus supposedly let Swift Unlocks access their computers remotely in order to gather codes which could unlock an AT&T device.
A&T’s lawsuit was filed this week in federal court in Seattle.
The “defendants perpetuated the Unlock Scheme by creating, distributing, and placing on AT&T’s computer systems a “malware” program designed to fraudulently, and without authorization, transmit unlock requests that unlocked hundreds of thousands of phones from exclusive use on AT&T’s network”, AT&T claimed. The website asks for a select fee to unlock certain line of devices and carriers though AT&T is questioning how Swift Unlock was able to obtain these codes.
The lock lasts at least until the customers’ initial contract is up and, even then, a lift on the lock must be specifically requested by the customer. Unlocking phones that are still under contract, however, goes against AT&T’s policies. A group of unnamed defendants developed the malware, according to AT&T. Currently, Swift Unlocks is still online and offering the same unlock services.
AT&T is suing the former employees in a Washington court, and it explained that schemes such as this one are not uncommon.
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AT&T is seeking financial damages in an amount to be determined at trial, and injunctions preventing the defendants from continuing the alleged activity. “It’s important to note that this did not involve any improper access of customer information, or any adverse effect on our customers”, an AT&T spokesman told The Verge.
