Woman sues Bell, customer service rep who allegedly shared phone number with harassers
CBC
A Cape Breton woman whose video defending a transgender rights advocate made her the target of online vitriol and threats is suing her cellphone provider and a customer service agent she alleges shared her number and home address with harassers.
Richelle McCormick said the bullying began after her video, which she posted in February 2023 on TikTok, was shared and criticized by an account with more than seven million followers.
"After this, the plaintiff became the subject of a harassment campaign by several individuals, some living in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom," reads a statement of claim filed last week in Nova Scotia Supreme Court.
The document alleges McCormick's name was posted on a "doxing" website with the purpose of gathering personal information that could be used to harass her.
By August 2023, McCormick had deactivated TikTok, but she said the harassment spilled into text messages, including some sent to family and friends. The Glace Bay woman tried to escape the bullies by deleting apps and changing her cellphone number for a $55 fee.
But the statement of claim alleges one of those bullies was a customer service agent for McCormick's cellphone provider, Bell Mobility, who was checking her customer file for updates and passing that information along to people in a private group chat.
"I thought nobody could get my new number. But they had it immediately," McCormick told CBC News.
The statement of claim includes alleged texts between the agent and members of the group chat. "Richelle just called in and changed her phone number," the agent wrote, according to the document.
One person replied, "She must be scared because we've contacted that other number."
The document names Bell; its mobile network operator, Bell Mobility; call centre operator Nordia; and the agent working there. None of the allegations has been tested in court.
The statement of claim alleges the agent "intentionally invaded the plaintiff's private phone records, without legal justification and that such conduct was highly offensive and caused severe distress, humiliation and anguish to the plaintiff."
In one alleged incident, police officers arrived at McCormick's door around midnight after someone called 911 requesting an emergency wellness check on her.
"The plaintiff informed the police that they had been called by one of her harassers and that this was a 'swatting' attempt (a form of doxing where the police are called to the victim's house)," the statement of claim says.
In an interview, McCormick said the harassment also included having her photos Photoshopped onto "explicit images." In one video posted to TikTok, a woman warns McCormick that "we're all coming together for the greater good. To take you down."
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