Skip to main content

News

Search News

Topics
Date Published Between

For the Media

For media inquiries, call CWA Communications at 202-434-1168 or email comms@cwa-union.org. To read about CWA Members, Leadership or Industries, visit our About page.

CWA Report Details Identity Theft at Overseas Call Centers

Offshored call center jobs pose a serious threat to consumers' personal data, according to an updated report released by CWA.

Building on the December 2011 report, which examined how offshoring call center jobs hurts the US economy and workers, CWA has established a disturbing pattern of fraudulent and criminal activity targeting U.S. customers being serviced by overseas call centers.

Key findings include a recent investigation by The Sunday Times, which discovered that call centers in India are gathering personal financial data from several UK banks and peddling the information on the black market. In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission uncovered a telemarketing scam this year, in which call center employees in India impersonated debt collectors and defrauded Americans out of more than $5 million.

In recent years, there have been a growing number of incidents involving overseas call center employees stealing from customers, said the report. At the same time, outsourcing companies and overseas governments have failed to protect consumers with data breach notification and data protection laws.

The CWA report underscores the urgency behind the bipartisan "US Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act," which penalizes American companies for shipping call center jobs overseas. This week the bill has garnered 110 cosponsors.

Click here to read the full report, "Why Shipping Call Center Jobs Overseas Hurts Us Back Home."