Woman Sues Bell Over Alleged Cellphone Privacy Breach

A Cape Breton woman is suing Bell and a customer service agent for allegedly sharing her personal information with online harassers.

Richelle McCormick’s troubles began after she posted a video defending a transgender rights advocate on TikTok in February 2023. The video drew the ire of an account with over seven million followers, leading to widespread harassment.

“After this, the plaintiff became the subject of a harassment campaign by several individuals,” reads a statement of claim filed in Nova Scotia Supreme Court. McCormick’s name was posted on a doxing site, leading to further harassment through text messages to her and her family. She was even “swatted”, where pranksters call police to visit your home, on fake allegations (her ‘swat’ was that she needed a health check).

Despite changing her number, McCormick alleges that a Bell Mobility agent from contractor Nordia shared her new number with harassers. “I thought nobody could get my new number. But they had it immediately,” she told CBC News.

A screenshot McCormick obtained shows what appears to be a WhatsApp group chat, where an alleged Bell employee writes, “Richelle just called in and changed her phone number to _______ changed yesterday.”

The lawsuit names Bell, Bell Mobility, Nordia, and the agent. None of the allegations have been tested in court. She hired a lawyer after her new number was exposed.

A Bell spokesperson told CBC News, “We take customer privacy very seriously and have strict protocols in place.” Bell said it had not been served with a claim and was unable to comment further.

She’s seeking damages and costs in her lawsuit, that are unspecified. McCormick says the case isn’t about money, but that “It’s just terrifying that this can occur.”