Pretexting News

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has charged an internet business with violating federal law by using pretexting techniques to obtain personal information. The business sold phone records and credit card account numbers to 3rd party vendors.

Slashdot reports that some Republicans are participating in a Robocall Pretexting campaign. The technique violates the guidelines of the Federal Trade Commission which mandates a caller to identify themselves at the beginning of a phone conversation.

The music and recording industry claims that California's pretexting bill is unjust. The groups use pretexting techniques to protect their intellectual property and are asking the California Senate for an exemption from the proposed bill.

A free preview about AT&T's pretexting case is available from the Wall Street Journal online. A full view of the article is available for subscribers of the publication.

Nevada Legislator David Parks pushed through a law that outlaws the use pretexting techniques in order to gain personal information. The law outlaws the practice of fraudulently obtaining personal information to access personal records.

The House plans to combat pretexting with H.R. 936 - Prevention of Fraudulent Access to Pone Records Act. EPIC Director, Mark Rotenberg, testified about the importance of privacy protection for phone records before the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Representative Jay Inslee (D - Wash. ) and Marsha Blackburn (R - Tenn.) introduced The Consumer Telephone Records Protection Act to Congress to combat pretexting. The proposed bill would require telephone companies to alert customers if their records were falsely accessed.

The U.S. Department of Justice and some telecommunication carriers are protesting a bill that would prevent the use of pretexting to gain customers personal information. The bill would allow the Federal Trade Commission to file lawsuits against people who conduct pretexting and the companies that hire them.

Microsoft has fallen victim to the crime of pretexting. The Xbox live support staff was lured into a trap that caused them to give out gamertag and city of residence information to callers after being given false identity information.