U.S. Senate Approves Bill That Would Outlaw "Pretexting"

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 11, 2006 - 3:36pm.

Washington - The U.S. Senate on Friday approved a bill that would outlaw the practice of "pretexting," or obtaining the phone records of someone without their permission, CNET News.com reported. The action follows revelations that executives at HP used the practice to obtain the cell phone records of several journalists and board members in order to identify the source of boardroom leaks. The Senate bill would punish individuals with a fine of up to $250,000 and up to 10 years in jail; companies convicted under the proposed legislation would be fined up to $500,000. An exemption to the bill allows law enforcement agencies to continue to use pretexting, and hire private detectives and other third parties to obtain phone records. A similar bill passed the U.S. House unanimously in April.
http://tinyurl.com/y4v2lt (CNET)