Cingular Wireless is taking on companies that have been selling private phone records — the actual numbers dialed, that is — of unwary customers to anyone who asks.

Cingular obtained a temporary restraining order late last week against operators of Locatecell.com and others of its ilk that specialize in offering private cellphone records for a flat fee. There are dozens of such services available, mostly through the Web.

According to Cingular, these services have their employees masquerade as cellphone customers, or even Cingular employees, to wheedle confidential information out of customer-service representatives. That information — ranging from private cellphone numbers to the actual call records of cell and traditional phones — is then sold for a fee.

Locatecell.com's website is still working today.

A cellphone company must surely be concerned about its own civil liability to its customers for invasion of privacy or theft of trade secrets.