“Phone Trade-In Leads to Phone Horror: T-Mobile Sued for Naked Theft

T-Mobile has recently come under fire after an employee stole nude images from a customer’s phone during a trade in. According to lawsuit documents, the customer took an iPhone into a T-Mobile store in Maryland in July of 2019 for a trade-in. However, once the phone was in the store the employee looked through the photos and found several nude images. The lawsuit claims that the employee “was looking at the pictures and laughing,” and then later on he showed them to another customer in the store. The lawsuit also claims that the employee then shared the images with at least one other person, who reportedly posted them online. The customer is now suing T-Mobile for invasion of privacy, negligence, and misrepresentation. They are seeking damages for pain and suffering, emotional distress, mental anguish, and punitive damages. In addition, they are asking for the company to create a policy that would forbid employees from accessing personal information on customers’ phones. T-Mobile has yet to comment on the issue. However, it highlights the danger posed by employees at large companies taking advantage of customers. In this case, the customer was completely unaware that his private images were being viewed and shared without his consent. Given the severity of the alleged incident, it is likely that T-Mobile will face significant legal ramifications. With the rise of personal devices that contain sensitive data, it is important for companies to have strict policies in place to protect their customers’ data and privacy. As this story proves, it only takes one employee abusing their power for a customer’s private photos to be shared without consent.