Another humiliating setback for President Donald Trump’s family cellphone business after hackers got their hands on customers’ data.
Lawmakers are now looking into Trump Mobile, the company Eric Trump and Don Jr. launched last year, which has been plagued with problems.
Sen. Maggie Hassan wants answers. She’s demanding information from the Federal Communications Commission on whether the Trumps have filed required disclosures on how it prevents fraud and blocks scams, The Daily Beast reported.
Telecommunication companies must file information with the FCC on how they fight illegal and fraudulent automated calls, according to The Beast. The agency also reviews whether these companies have any foreign ownership to assess national security concerns.
The two-term New Hampshire lawmaker says in a letter to the FCC that the Trumps and their partner, Liberty Mobile, have not filed the required information on foreign ownership stakes.
The ranking Democrat on the Congressional Joint Economic Committee says, “new research … raises alarm bells about Trump Mobile and its partners’ ability or willingness to provide secure and reliable services in this complex space.”
She added that both Trump and Liberty Mobile “may not be meeting FCC requirements for customer authentication and for offering international services, which have security implications for the entire U.S. cellular network, beyond just their customers.”
On its website, Trump Mobile boasts it provides international service to more than 230 countries and territories.
Social media went wild, with many commenters pointing out lawmakers should be worried, especially after the recent Trump phone hack.
“They. Can’t. Do. Anything. Correct,” a Threads user noted.
The Trumps released their gold-colored, Chinese-made phones in May, almost a year late.
Then, just four months later, Straight Arrow News first reported on Oct. 5 that hackers attacked Trump Mobile’s website and database, acquiring the personal data of more than 3,000 customers.
“Wow! This is huuuge! 3,615 people were gullible enough to spend money on a Trump phone!” another Threads user joked.
Others piled on. “Are we surprised? No.” Another Threads poster commented simply, “The stupid leading the stupid…”
Straight Arrow News reported that a cybercrime group known as BYOD carried out the hack. The group posted Trump customer data to its dark web leak site late last month. It also included a statement about the breach.
Meanwhile, Hassan, in addition to requesting an FCC review, also wants the agency to brief the Joint Economic Committee on its findings.
