The Expert Podcast

One of the most common inquiries for investigations is how to get private information, such as how to get bank account information, somebody's social security number, asset information, vehicle information, or private emails. The problem is, there are ways to do this legally, and there are ways to do it illegally. Most of the requirements for how to obtain information come from what's called the Graham-Leech-Bliley Act.

This act was originally passed in the 1990s and has been updated a few times since then. It regulates what an investigator, or even a private person, can do to obtain information, including what's known as pretexting. The prohibition against certain techniques has been expanded, and this enhanced blocking of research was upheld by a federal court. The interpretation of the Graham-Leech-Bliley Act has also been expanded.

Pretexting means if you want to get information about someone for a court case, for assets, or for a divorce case, you have to make sure that you do it properly. Even if someone else does it for you, they need to do it properly. If not, it could create liability for you in your case. Even using the information might be blocked, and you could have to pay sanctions or damages. How severe are the damages? Well, it can get pretty severe.

Let's take a look at what the language of the law says. It states that you cannot use deception or false pretenses to collect personal information about a client. This is pretty simple. The primary method used to collect information involves a form of what is known in the private investigative trade as pretexting. Some investigators use this method, but many thought it was okay. However, the House report says that if you are doing this, you are no longer operating in a gray area of the law but are instead engaged in conduct that is explicitly prohibited. It is considered fraudulent and deceptive access to financial information by misrepresentation.

So, if you are in need of private information, be sure that the methods used are appropriate. You don’t want to run afoul of these rules and not only fail to get the results you want or be unable to use them, but you also don’t want to create more liability for yourself. We had a case where a client had won a judgment against another person for about $400,000 and wanted to collect on that judgment. To do so, they needed to find assets, bank accounts, and other valuables. The method they used to find these assets and bank accounts was illegal pretexting. When the debtor, the person who owed the money, found out, they used that knowledge to go back to court. Not only did they undo the $400,000 debt, but they also forced the creditor to pay them. The creditor went from being owed $400,000 to having to pay $3,000 just because they did something wrong.

In this case, I believe the creditor didn’t even know what they were doing was wrong. As mentioned in the article, many private investigators think it’s a gray area. But it's not a gray area; it is something that is very clearly prohibited under the law. There are many techniques that people use, thinking they are clever or slick, but these methods won’t pass muster. If you need to use this information in court to get a writ of garnishment or use another court procedure to get your money back, if it's discovered that the method was done improperly, you won't get your money. Worse, you might owe money to the other side.