SUBCHAPTER B. PROHIBITED CONDUCT OR ACTIVITY

Sec. 306.051. UNAUTHORIZED OR FRAUDULENT PROCUREMENT, SALE, OR RECEIPT OF TELEPHONE RECORDS. (a) A person commits an offense if the person:

(1) obtains, attempts to obtain, or conspires with another to obtain a telephone record of a resident of this state without the authorization of the resident to whom the record pertains by:

(A) making a statement the person knows to be false to an agent of a telephone company;

(B) making a statement the person knows to be false to a telephone company;

(C) fraudulently accessing the record through the telephone company's Internet website; or

(D) providing to a telephone company a document that the person knows:

(i) is fraudulent;

(ii) has been lost or stolen;

(iii) has been obtained by fraud; or

(iv) contains a false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation;

(2) asks another person to obtain a telephone record of a resident of this state knowing that the record will be obtained in a manner prohibited by this section;

(3) sells, transfers, or attempts to sell or transfer a telephone record of a resident of this state without authorization of the resident to whom the record pertains; or

(4) offers to obtain or offers to sell a telephone record that has been or will be obtained without authorization from the resident to whom the record pertains.

(b) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor, except that a fine shall not exceed $20,000.

(c) In addition to the penalties provided by Subsection (b), a person convicted of an offense under this section may be required to forfeit personal property used or intended to be used in violation of this section.

(d) In addition to the penalties provided by Subsections (b) and (c), a person convicted of an offense under this section shall be ordered to pay to a resident whose telephone record was obtained in a manner prohibited by this section an amount equal to the sum of:

(1) the greater of the resident's financial loss, if proof of the loss is submitted to the satisfaction of the court, or $1,000; and

(2) the amount of any financial gain received by the person as the direct result of the offense.

(e) An offense under this section may be prosecuted in:

(1) the county in which the customer whose telephone record is the subject of the prosecution resided at the time of the offense; or

(2) any county in which any part of the offense took place regardless of whether the defendant was ever present in the county.

(f) If venue lies in more than one county under Subsection (e), a defendant may be prosecuted in only one county for the same conduct.

(g) If conduct constituting an offense under this section also constitutes an offense under another section of this code or of any other law, including the Penal Code, the actor may be prosecuted under either section or under both sections.

(h) This section does not create a private right of action.

Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 87 (S.B. 1969), Sec. 4.008(a), eff. September 1, 2009.