If Phone Fraud Happens in the FBI Can Congress Hear It?

Back in May, MSNBC's Bob Sullivan revealed that a House investigation into the fraudulent acquisition of individuals phone records by private investigators revealed that some of these PI's customer's included government agencies such as the FBI, a story that didn't get enough attention at the time.

News.com's Declan McCullogh pays it some mind today and rightly lectures Congress for its attempts to find away to let government agencies practice fraud, while outlawing it for companies like HP.

The problem, though, is that the proposals in front of Congress aren't likely to stop some of the most aggressive users of "pretexting": the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and other law enforcement agencies.

They're simply immunized. Police who engage in pretexting and the shady private investigators they hire won't be affected. A CNET News.com chart of 11 supposedly "anti-pretexting" bills shows that all but four bills exempt police in one way or another.

Let's be clear about what pretexting is. It means committing fraud to acquire someone's personal records, such as phone calls, without their consent. It's like hiring a private investigator to break into someone's safe-deposit box one evening because you're curious about their net worth. [...]

This all amounts to an extreme case of double standards. HP's unethical behavior appears to have targeted no more than 20 people and was not, as far as we know, a routine procedure.

Too bad the solons in Congress can't get half as outraged about unethical behavior that affects far more Americans and, disturbingly, has become a routine practice by the very police agencies charged with upholding our laws.

Sounds about right from here. Three letter agencies and cops around the country, if you want phone records, get thee to a magistrate and apply for a warrant.

Photo: WizzieBob