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By Wayne R. Centanni, CLI
What is a pretext? Simply put, it’s telling a lie in order to receive information from a person without his knowledge. Investigators should never intentionally use a pretext to do harm to anyone, and there should always be a legitimate reason for the use of this unique tool. Too, it should always be done within the scope of one’s investigative activities.
The main purpose for the use of a pretext is to obtain information from someone who would not otherwise provide that information if they knew why it was needed. One example would be information relating to an abducted child in a custody battle. Another would be in connection with an insurance scam or a financial fraud case.
There are other words sometimes used that are synonymous with the word pretext (e.g., gags, pitches or scams).
Pretexting is an art. In order to become proficient at it, you must practice. Practice everywhere you go. Practice on your friends and on your relatives. Use different methods. When you go out to eat and leave your name with the hostess, make up a new name each time. This way, you become more comfortable with temporarily assuming a persona and it will feel less and less strange. You will get used to “acting” and pretending you’re somebody else. It is necessary to actually “become someone else” in order to become proficient at pretexting. Don’t get stuck using one pretext all the time. You’ll need to be many different people, with different occupations and different reasons, at different times of the day, days of the week, holidays and more.
On a trip to a local restaurant, hold a conversation with the waiter, pretending the whole time you are from out of town. Ask him some questions with a goal in mind. Consider it a harmless form of practice. Meanwhile, you are becoming proficient at the “art of lying,” and you can have fun with it at the same time. Again, the main purpose is to achieve your goal by obtaining information from a particular person without them actually knowing it.
Methods of a Pretext
There are two methods for a pretext. One is by telephone, the other is in person. The most common one used is the telephone, and it is, by far, the easier of the two. With a telephone, the investigator can always end the call if it isn’t going as expected. In person, he is wide open to a possibly difficult and perhaps even hostile situation.
There are many options that phone companies offer today’s customers. The investigator must first be certain that he is calling from a safe, secure and nontraceable phone line. That is not always easy. Many people now have Caller ID and/or the Star 69 (*69) call back feature. The *69 call back feature is where the person on the receiving end of the phone call can press *69 and call back the last incoming call dialed into their phone. Thus, if the investigator calls a number and nobody answers the call, whoever is at that number can do a call back to the investigator’s number. Should that occur, he might unknowingly divulge his actual company name by answering his phone line immediately after. “Good morning. Joe’s Private Investigations. May I help you?”
There are, however, numerous ways to get around this problem. It’s always best to have a separate phone line identified with an individual’s name. It’s up to the individual investigator to creatively select a name that will work to his advantage. For instance, “Smith and Associates” or “ABC Services” could be explained as one of many different types of business. (“What is Smith and Associates,” asks the person returning the call. “Oh, we’re a promotions company and we send out free samples for review!”)
The name should be periodically changed. This can be done with the local phone company by requesting that a different name (any resident of your household) be placed on the specific number. A business can have a different name if there is more than one line. While “line 1” will have to list the actual business name, “line 2” or “line 3” can be subject to a different identification. Warning! Be careful if there is a rollover feature on one or more lines. This could get sticky if the subject calls back on line 3 (as instructed) but line 3 is busy and it rolls over to line 1. “Good morning. This is Joe’s Investigation Services. May I help you?” Bad news…
To make sure this does not occur, use line 3 for the bait line and do NOT have the rollover feature on that line. Give line 3 a business name – for example C&J Services or City Employment Services. When the subject’s number is dialed, the appropriate pretext, fitting in with the “name” of the owner of the line being used to make the call, can be used. Larger agencies can have more than one special line set up, each with it’s own name and pretext “identity.” It’s a given that these special lines should not be answered by an answering machine during non-business hours.
Additionally, when setting up these lines, it’s important to know that most cell phone numbers are now able to be picked up with caller ID. There are still some cell phone companies whose service does not activate caller ID, but investigators must determine this non-capability when activating the line for the purpose of pretexts.
It’s necessary to be careful when dialing from out of state to the home area – the number may appear. It’s a good idea to periodically check office, home and cell phones to see what appears on caller ID. Since it’s constantly changing, caution is advised. The telephone can be a very dangerous weapon. Investigators must use it carefully, think about what is being done and continue to practice, practice, practice.
Witness Location
One of the most common uses of a telephone pretext is to locate a witness who might not want to be4 located. These individuals can often not be located through traditional skip tracing methods. In these cases, running a driver’s license or vehicle registration doesn’t produce a valid address and checking all available databases and profile reports yields only dead ends. If the only lead is the phone number of a relative, the situation may demand pretext to get to the next step. Since these people might otherwise not cooperate, it’s important to think about the particular pretext prior to picking up the phone.
If the situation involves locating a witness, it’s helpful to know a little something about that person ahead of time so a common denominator can be established. A profile report generated from a database is a good place to obtain basic background data such as current and former places of residence and a list of relatives. if it’s an auto accident, there’s always the accident report.
Call Back Number
People often ask for a call back number, so it’s good practice to keep several numbers available and within reach. If there is no access to a “line 3” situation (as referred to earlier), the call back numbers might be to pay phones that don’t ring at the location – although the person dialing will “hear a ring” on the line. Have 800 numbers handy, that you know go no where. it could be any one of the many 800 numbers and businesses that have voice mail answering systems that are difficult, if impossible, to get a human voice to answer. Trap line subscription services will be discussed later in this article.
Increasing The Odds for Success
When using a pretext, an investigator should match his voice with the voice of the person he is calling. He should also match the speed of speech, the accent (if possible) and the tone of voice – and even attempt to match the hello from the other person. if he is talking to someone, say from New York, who talks fast, then he must talk fast. If he is talking to someone from an area of the country who speaks slowly, the speed should be matched, and if the person has a Cajun accent, that, too, should be matched. Perceived familiarity, real or not, effectively breeds trust and cooperation. There have been studies done for salesmen which show that their sales dramatically increase when they follow some of these rules. It was even measured as successful when they start off by matching the single word, “hello.”
Don’t give up easily. The person being spoken to may change his mind. Remember the last time you went to purchase a car from a salesman, an obnoxious salesman? He may have pushed you to the point where you wanted to run away, but then you turned around and still bought the car.
There are some low life people who are mad all the time, and this, too, will have to be overcome when talking with them on the phone. Such people are accustomed to fighting.
When Is A Good Time To Call
The best time to try to call is at a time when most people are at home. Quite a few people live paycheck to paycheck. Since the most common payday is Friday, consider that many folks are out of money by the next Thursday and that may well be a very good time to call. Studies have shown that the best time to call is on a Sunday – over 80 percent of people are home between 3:00 PM and 7:00 PM on that day. Remember, however, a Sunday pretext would not include the caller being from a government agency or any other business that would never work on that day. It just won’t work unless the subject is the dimmest bulb in the lot.
Trap Lines
There are several reasons to use an 800 ID trap line. This could be to locate a subject’s physical presence, establish a new place of residence or new place of employment, track a fugitive, break a pager number, directly contact subjects, relatives and neighbors anonymously or to capture an otherwise unknown cell phone number.
There are several companies which offer this service. Basically, 800 trap lines provide a way to locate missing persons. This is done on both a civil and criminal level and used by many law enforcement agencies, and it is one solution to skip tracing problems. If an investigator is trying to reach someone and can’t identify where that person is living, he might consider giving out an 800 number with an extension – one that has already been prearranged with a company specializing in such service. The investigator might leave the 800 number on a card at the subject’s door, mail it to him or leave it with a relative. When the subject calls the 800 number, the call never goes anywhere, and they never speak to “a human being.” They get transferred to the preselected extension for this individual and a recording comes on stating that “Mr. Jones is not at his desk and please leave a message.” When that happens, the number is trapped, and that’s why it is called a trap line. The company being used for this service will provide notification to you by phone, pager or email. It could even be set up where the person calling in can be transferred directly to the investigator’s phone (although this is not suggested if the investigator is not in the office and an answering service picks it up). The service can determine and advise from where the call is originating, leaving the investigator to further trace it by name and address.
There is also what’s called a blind line. This allows establishment of a pretext for traps without revealing the caller’s identity by blocking the caller ID program of those being phoned and outsmarting the systems of anyone who has programmed their phone not to accept blocked calls. The newer system is being developed as we speak. It allows the investigator to prearrange for a preselected phone number and name to appear on an individual’s caller ID box. This lends automatic credibility to a suitable pretext.
800 ID Calling Cards
There are many uses for using a calling card. Some are as follows: Monitor an unfaithful spouse; Catch a stalker; Trap a skip via third party connection; Trap movement in a noncustodial abduction case; Monitor a runaway; Locate missing people; Track a fugitive; Identify a pager number; Capture cell phone numbers. One company which specializes in this service is called I.I.F., out of Denver, Colorado. They can be reached at 800-495-0888.
Prepaid Calling Cards
Just about every grocery store is selling prepaid calling cards. Prepaid cards can be purchased from a company and they will mail the card as a “promotion” to the subject. Every time the subject uses the card, the investigator is notified by phone, pager or email – with not only the phone number the subject called from, but the date and the time of the call. Further, the investigator will be advised if the caller was calling from a regular phone, business phone or pay phone.
Two Minute Threshold
What’s important in any pretext is to pass the two-minute threshold for conversation. If the subject continues to talk for a short amount of time, the better the chances are of gathering information. There may be some obstacles in the beginning, but by pushing a little harder and adapting the pretext as the conversation evolves, the result will be more successful.
In most cases, the pretext will work once the investigator has mastered some basic principles. On the occasions when it does not work, the call can be quickly terminated and another try can be made later. Some people will not fall for the high school reunion story, but they will sell their soul for a free lottery ticket. It just takes practice, practice and more practice.
Reports
Pretext is a tricky subject when it comes to writing a report for a client. Consider using the words “through investigation it was determined that John Doe was employed at ABC Construction,” or “after extensive research it was learned …,” or “John Doe is employed at Jack’s Soda in Niceville, LA.” Of course, if the investigator is specifically asked how the developed information was obtained, he should be entirely honest and reveal his method. But that is a rare question. The majority of corporate clients will accept the above wording with nary a question.Always remember which subjects are attorney represented and which ones are not. Remember the attorney/client privilege – where it is not legally permissible to contact a plaintiff if he is represented by an attorney. It is not lawful to contact anyone represented by an attorney unless authorized to do so by the representing attorney. Good judgment is imperative and a wise investigator thinks about what he is doing before he submits any type of report. A written report is sometimes not required; the client will advise if a verbal report is sufficient. The invoice can then be submitted accordingly, reflecting the charge either in hours worked at so much per hour, or it may just state “Data Acquisition” or just the word “Research.” Each case is different and the reporting requirements will be different. It should always be discussed beforehand between the investigator and the client.
To get up to operational speed on the use of pretext, it is recommended to first “practice” on individuals where it doesn’t matter if it works or if the investigator gets caught. Start off with relatives and friends, then proceed to strangers. Keep trying new ones all the time. Effective pretext, those that work well, will soon become comfortable – and pretext that does not work will be identifiable and become a thing of the past.
Have fun at it and remember to practice, practice. practice.
Wayne R. Centanni, Licensed Certified Investigator, is the President of Centanni Investigative Services in New Orleans, LA. He can be reached at 504-733-6914. This article was originally printed in the LPIA Journal.
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