The U.S. Federal Communications Commission said on Friday it was referring reports that a website flaw could have allowed the location of mobile phone customers to be tracked to its enforcement bureau to investigate.

A security researcher said earlier this week that data from LocationSmart, a California-based tech firm, could have been used to track AT&T, Verizon Communications, Sprint, and T-Mobile US mobile consumers within a few hundred yards of their location and without their consent.

Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, on Friday had urged the FCC to investigate, saying on Twitter that a "hacker could have used this site to know when you were in your house so they would know when to rob it. A predator could have tracked your child's cell phone to know when they were alone."

He later praised the FCC decision to investigate, as first reported by Reuters.