SAN DIEGO -- Personal information has become an online industry and brokers can steal your phone call history to make a profit.

Web sites like Locatecell.com and Encinitas-based Bestpeoplesearch.com are just two of 40 online information brokers that sell mobile phone records, NBC 7/39 reported. Buying records is not cheap, but it is legal.

"There is some gray area when it comes to wireless phone records," said Beth Givens, of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse "A literal reading of the law suggests it's not illegal. It's disturbing because they are so easy to get and it seems to be a thriving industry."

NBC 7/39 reporter Emily Chang logged onto Locatecell.com using the name and cell phone number of a coworker. Change received a list of the person's last 100 calls, including the length, time and date of each.

When Chang tried to do the same thing at Bestpeoplesearch.com, however, the company contacted her to clarify the reason for the request.

"We know some of the information is sensitive and that's why we screen," said Noah Wieder, of Bestpeoplesearch.com. "We know how much good is done with it as well. Police use it to find criminals, attorneys use it to locate witnesses, spurned spouses use it to figure out if there's infidelity... There have been cases with runaway teens where the police find them with phone records."

Weider said licensed private investigators gather the information he sells. While he defended his company, he did admit the industry needed more "regulation."

Several complaints against online brokers have been filed with the Federal Trade Commission, NBC 7/39 reported. In the meantime, experts say its up to consumers to protect themselves by creating passwords on their accounts and requesting that carriers not release information.