pretexting

pretexting
n.
A technique in which a person obtains confidential information by pretending to be someone who has legitimate access to that information.
pretext v.
pretexter n.
Example Citations:
You see the object of your desire get up from her desk to go to the cafeteria, and decide it's time for lunch. You follow her to the salad bar (you hate salad). But you fill your plate and say: "What a coincidence! I like tofu drenched in Thousand Island, too. Are you busy Friday night?"
You have just "pretexted." You have misrepresented yourself to establish a connection and achieve your real end. You also have something in common with the sometimes shadowy world of private detectives.
The concept of pretexting came into the news in the last week in light of a scandal gripping Hewlett-Packard. The computer company hired investigators to discover which member of its board of directors leaked information to reporters.
To help track down the leaker, the private investigators obtained the phone records of board members and journalists by calling up phone companies and pretending to be those people.
—Matt Richtel, "The Secret Life of Private Investigators," The New York Times, September 17, 1992
Pretexting has long been a tactic used by private investigators and others to obtain personal information and records about people. Also known as "social engineering" in the hacker realm, it involves using ploys to obtain data and documents.
—Kim Zetter, "Protect Yourself From Pretexting," Wired News, September 13, 2006
Earliest Citation:
In the underground market for personal information, the going rate for your 10-year earnings history is $175.
That price tag surfaced in an 18-month federal investigation of a nationwide ring of "information brokers" who allegedly bribed Social Security Administration employees to make computer searches for the records of thousands of people. According to officials, the alleged SSA accomplices receive $25 per record, but the broker gives it a big markup and sells the information to private investigators, creditors and businesses for $175. ...
Morey said brokers typically have one or more SSA employees "under contract" and pay $25 for each earnings history. Another technique, called "pretexting," is to get the data by phone after claiming to be an SSA employee from another office where the computer is down.
—Mitch Betts, "Personal data more public than you think," Computerworld, March 9, 1992
Related Words: Categories:

New words. 2013.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Pretexting — Als Identitätsdiebstahl (auch Identitätsbetrug, Identitätsklau; engl. Identity Theft), wird die missbräuchliche Nutzung personenbezogener Daten (der Identität) einer natürlichen Person durch Dritte bezeichnet. Das Ziel eines Identitätsdiebstahls… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • pretexting — pre·text || prɪːtekst n. excuse, pretense, alleged reason, alibi v. make an excuse, give a false reason, give a pretense, provide an alibi …   English contemporary dictionary

  • pretexting — /ˈpritɛkstɪŋ/ (say preeteksting) noun the obtaining of personal or confidential information, as from banks, insurance companies, government agencies, etc., by adopting a persona which provides a pretext for accessing such information, as by… …  

  • pretexting — preˈtexting noun Assuming a false identity in order to obtain information • • • Main Entry: ↑pretext …   Useful english dictionary

  • Social engineering (security) — Social engineering is the art of manipulating people into performing actions or divulging confidential information.Mitnick, K: CSEPS Course Workbook (2004), p. 4, Mitnick Security Publishing.] While similar to a confidence trick or simple fraud,… …   Wikipedia

  • Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act — The Gramm Leach Bliley Act , also known as the Gramm Leach Bliley Financial Services Modernization Act , USStatute|106|102|113|1338|1999|11|12, is an Act of the United States Congress which repealed part of the Glass Steagall Act, opening up… …   Wikipedia

  • HP spying scandal — On September 5, 2006 Newsweek published a story revealing that the chairwoman of HP, Patricia Dunn had hired a team of independent electronic security experts who spied on HP board members and several journalists, [… …   Wikipedia

  • Tom Perkins — Thomas James Perkins (born 1932) is an American businessman, capitalist, and was one of the founders of leading venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers.EducationPerkins received a B.S. in EECS (course 6) from MIT in 1953. He earned an …   Wikipedia

  • Patricia C. Dunn — Patricia Cecile Dunn (born March 271953), aka Patricia Cecile Dunn Jahnke, is the former Global CEO of Barclays Global Investors (BGI), one of the world’s largest and most successful investment management firms, a position she held from 1998 to… …   Wikipedia

  • Telephone Records and Privacy Protection Act of 2006 — The Telephone Records and Privacy Protection Act of 2006 (H109 4709) prohibits pretexting to buy, sell or obtain personal phone records, except when conducted by law enforcement or intelligence agencies. The recent bill threatens up to 10 years… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”