Pretext Calling

Pretexting, often used in conjunction with Identity Theft, is the practice of getting your personal information under false pretenses. Pretexters sell your information to people who may use it to get credit in your name, steal your assets, or to investigate or sue you. Pretexting is against the law.

Keep in mind that some information about you may be a matter of public record, such as whether you own a home, pay your real estate taxes, or have ever filed for bankruptcy. It is not pretexting for another person to collect this kind of information.

The Law

Under federal law — the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act — it’s illegal for anyone to use false, fictitious, counterfeit, or fraudulent statements, or lost or stolen documents to get customer information from a financial institution or directly from a customer of a financial institution, or to ask another person to get someone else’s customer information by fraudulent methods.

How Pretexting Works

Pretexters use a variety of tactics to get your personal information. For example, a pretexter may call, claim he is from a survey firm, and ask you a few questions. When the pretexter has the information he wants, he uses it to call your financial institution or creditor. He pretends to be you or someone with authorized access to your account. He might claim that he has forgotten his checkbook and needs information about his account. In this way, the pretexter may be able to obtain additional personal information about you such as account numbers and balances and information in your credit report.

The Link to Identity Theft

Pretexting can lead to identity theft. Identity theft occurs when someone hijacks your personal identifying information to open new charge accounts, order merchandise, or borrow money. Consumers targeted by identity thieves often do not know they have been victimized until the hijackers fail to pay the bills or repay the loans, and collection agencies begin dunning the consumers for payment of accounts they did not even know they had.

According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the most common forms of identity theft are:

Credit Card Fraud — a credit card account is opened in a consumer’s name or an existing credit card account is “taken over”;
Communications Services Fraud — the identity thief opens telephone, cellular, or other utility service in the consumer’s name;
Bank Fraud — a checking or savings account is opened in the consumer’s name, and/or fraudulent checks are written; and
Fraudulent Loans — the identity thief gets a loan, such as a car loan, in the consumer’s name.

How you can protect yourself

Even though the laws are on your side, it is wise to take an active role in protecting your information.

· Do not give out personal information on the phone, through the mail or over the Internet unless you have initiated the contact or know who you are dealing with. Remember, legitimate organizations with which you do business have the information they need and will not ask you for it.

· Be informed - Ask your financial institutions for their policies about sharing your information.

· Pay attention to your statement cycles. Follow up with your financial institutions if your statements do not arrive on time. If available, sign up to receive electronic statements.

· Review your statements carefully and promptly. Report any discrepancies to your institution immediately.

· Educate family members on the dangers of pretexting. Explain that only you, or someone you authorize, should provide personal information to others.

· Keep items with personal information in a safe place. Tear or shred your charge receipts, copies of credit applications, insurance forms, bank checks, and other financial statements that you are discarding, expired charge cards and credit offers you get in the mail. Be mindful about where you leave personal information in your home, especially if you have roommates or are having work done in your home by others.

· Add passwords to your credit card, bank, and phone accounts. Avoid using easily available information like your mother’s maiden name, your birth date, the last four digits of your SSN or your phone number, or a series of consecutive numbers.

· Order a copy of your credit report from the three nationwide consumer-reporting companies every year. An amendment to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act requires each of the major nationwide consumer reporting companies to provide you with a free copy of your credit reports, at your request, once every 12 months. To order your free annual report from one or all of the nationwide consumer reporting companies, visit www.annualcreditreport.com, call toll-free 1-877-322-8228, or complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mail it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. Checking your report annually can help you catch mistakes and fraud before they wreak havoc on your personal finances.

If You Think You’re a Victim

If you think you have been a victim of pretexting and Identity Theft, please refer to the “Identity Theft Consumer Checklist” on this site, or to the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Identity Theft link (www.ftc.gov).