"Pretexting" is the practice of obtaining personal information about an individual under false pretenses. Such information may include an individual's Social Security number, bank or credit card account number, or any other information about the individual that is not a matter of public record. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), pretexting often leads to identity theft.

Pretexting and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act

The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act is a federal law that prohibits pretexting. Specifically, the Act prohibits any person or entity from:

(1) using false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements or documents to obtain customer information from a financial institution or directly from a customer of a financial institution;

(2) using forged, counterfeit, lost, or stolen documents to obtain customer information from a financial institution or directly from a customer of a financial institution; or

(3) asking another person to obtain someone else's customer information using false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements or using false, fictitious, or fraudulent documents or forged, counterfeit, lost, or stolen documents.

Pretexting and the FTC

The FTC actively enforces the pretexting prohibition of the Act. The FTC may file lawsuits against individuals and entities that engage in pretexting.

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