Privacy concerns arise over cell calls to websites

Wednesday, March 8, 2000 | 11:24 a.m.

Web-surfing cell phones from Sprint PCS and AT&T Wireless display their phone numbers to websites visited, the companies acknowledged Tuesday, raising concern among privacy advocates.

The companies said the phone numbers are used as a code to identify a customer and help personalize websites.

"Having a device that gives out your phone number is really bad," said Richard Smith, a Massachusetts programmer who has helped discover many previous online security holes, and who helped verify the transmission of phone numbers from Sprint phones.

Sprint executives said the company will stop transmitting the numbers in the next 30 days.

"We're absolutely committed to customer privacy," said Keith Paglusch, senior vice president of operations for Sprint PCS, based in Kansas City, Mo.

Ken Woo, a spokesman for Redmond, Wash.-based AT&T Wireless, said his company has had no problems with the policy, and declined comment on any future plans to change the system.

"We have not had any customer complaints," Woo said. "We have had no issue with it."