About Pretexting

What is "pretexting" and what does it have to do with identity theft? is the question posed and answered at the linked government website. Quoting:

"Pretexting 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, to steal your assets, or to investigate or sue you. Pretexting is against the law."

Deception is the tool by which personal information can be obtained. The target could be the person to whom the information pertains or it could be a financial intitution that has accounts belonging to that person. The valued information is the name, address, social security number and birthdate of the victim. Misrepresentation through the telephone or the internet are common methods. Ensure that the person or organization with whom you are dealing is reputable. If in doubt withhold the requested information. A request for the enumerated information itself can be a tipoff that the one making the request has illicit motives.

Betraying Voters this Quickly?

Newsmax revealed that business as usual remains the byword since Democrats have taken over the reigns of Congress following the elections in the Fall of 2006. Some distressing developments include:

* Paul Pelosi Jr., son of the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, being hired by InfoUSA at a salary of $180,000 a year to assume the title of vice-president for Strategic Planning while not having to report to work at the company's headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska. In fact, Paul Pelosi was able to retain his real full-time job with Countrywide Loans in California where he is a mortgage loan officer. That's a nice set-up which came about shortly after his mother Nancy Pelosi became Speaker of the House of Representatives. This is the same Nancy Pelosi who promised to change the way business was done in the House to eliminate unethical behavoir including the acceptance of gifts and jobs in exchange for political influence. So much for promises.

* What do we know about InfoUSA? The linked article has some revealing information. From the link (in blue):

"The Iowa attorney general's office, in an investigation that began in 2005, found that InfoUSA sold consumer data to telemarketing criminals who used it to steal money from elderly Americans, sometimes wiping out their life savings.

InfoUSA advertised call lists with titles like "Elderly Opportunity Seekers" or "Suffering Seniors," a compilation of names and phone numbers of people with cancer or Alzheimer's disease. "Oldies but Goodies" was a list of 500,000 gamblers over age 55.

"These people are gullible," the company said in describing the list. "They want to believe that their luck can change."

E-mails show the company continued to sell the lists even though its employees knew their customers were being investigated for fraud that victimized the elderly. InfoUSA has said the lists were aberrations and has said it would not engage in such practices again.

Gupta, 60, is an entrepreneur from India who founded InfoUSA in 1972 and built it into a publicly traded company with reported revenue of $434 million in 2006.

Gupta also considers himself a player in Democratic fundraising circles and stayed in the Lincoln Bedroom when Bill Clinton was in the White House. He gave at least $1 million to the Clinton Library and raised over $200,000 for Hillary Clinton's Senate campaign.

Hillary has also made extensive use of InfoUSA's jet for campaign trips for which she had to reimburse InfoUSA an amount equal to a first class airline ticket. Use of a corporate jet for two hours could be worth $20,000 or more, but under Senate rules Mrs. Clinton may only have to pay the equivalent of the premium ticket."

Bill Clinton has also been paid by InfoUSA as a consultant. How much? $3.3 million for the last five years and some pocket change for travel worth $900,000. If you voted in the Democrats, thinking they were more likely to clean up the ethical morass in Washington, think again.