4 Quality Phone Pretexts For Private Investigators

Pretexting is a necessary part of being a private investigator. In this article, I will share 4 phone pretexts to help you with your surveillance assignments. I’ve discussed pretexting and the laws that surround pretexting in the United States so I won’t spend a great deal on that in this article. A pretext is used for a variety of reasons but for the context of this discussion, I will focus on one thing, confirming whether someone is home or not.  To do this well you have to be believable, be confident, and follow some guidelines to keep yourself out of trouble. Laws are always changing in the United States and within individual states. Be sure to keep up to date regarding laws in your area as well as the different states you are working in. 

Key Rules For These Pretexts

• Never impersonate a real business or real person
• Know where the phone number goes to (address) and who it belongs to.
• Know the objectives of your pretext
• Be careful what pretext you use if the case has been worked by other companies or other investigators.
• Block your number or use a disposable phone number.

Never Impersonate the real thing

A rule of thumb is to never impersonate a real person or a real business. There are laws that are broad enough to be all-encompassing if you are found to be doing this.  Many will relate this to defrauding someone out of money, goods, or the phrase I am always worried about “something of value.” I feel like that phrase is always open to interpretation.  

A local attorney’s office Shazam Kianpour and Associates says this:

“The Colorado legislature has determined that giving a false identity to someone or misrepresenting who you are to them is a serious crime. Although these are not technically financial crimes, they are considered “crimes of moral turpitude” which means that they are immoral and therefore illegal. If you are charged with Criminal Impersonation in Colorado, you will be charged with a class 6 felony (F6).”

If you are asked in court how you obtained information, are you comfortable telling them you impersonated someone or a business?  Or will you lie about it? Will you take the stand of “How are they gonna prove it”? It is my hope that it is not the latter. 

Know where the phone numbers go

Many times investigators have a phone number for a subject but we don’t know where the client came about the number (despite what they say) or where it actually goes.  Knowing what type of phone you are calling (cell phone or landline), who owns the phone, and where the phone is registered can make a big difference in the type of phone pretext that is used.

Know the Objective of Your Pretext

When crafting a pretext it is important to create a pretext that will guide you to the information you are looking for.  If you want to know if someone has pets, what kind of pretext could you imagine creating? What would compel someone to let you know they have pets or the type of pets they have.  

For the purposes of this article, I am solely going to focus the objective on confirming whether your subject is home. You will find that this type of pretext will be used frequently as a private investigator, especially in the insurance investigation field. 

Be Cautious About What Pretext is Used

If surveillance efforts have been worked before either by another company or another investigator within your company, always approach the case with caution.  No matter what they say they did, or how they say it turned out, you just never know if the case has been compromised or if the pretext you are about to use has been used before. 

If the case is compromised a simple pretext might put the subject of your surveillance on alert. Consider no pretext if possible just to be on the safe side.

4 Phone Pretext Scripts for Private Investigators

Magazine Sales Phone Pretext

Early on in my career I used this type of pretext a lot when it came to using a phone pretext on a residence that I know had been pretexted in the past and I know the person I am conducting surveillance on lives in the residence. The pretext is more of a formality to confirm the person is there. Generally speaking, I feel more comfortable calling a landline with this type of pretext than a cell phone but of course, as I write this it is not that uncommon for a telemarketer to have a cell phone number.

Basically, you call the provided number and ask for your subject.  If asked, you represent yourself with a fictitious name. If they ask why you are calling you then provide a fictitious business. 

The main idea is just to confirm your subject is home without causing suspicion of any kind.  This is not a strong pretext in my opinion, but if your subject answers the phone it is a quick way to confirm they are home (assuming you are calling a landline).  

High School Reunion Phoe Pretext (landline or cell)

This pretext was a personal favorite of mine because it was a very compelling reason for the subject you are calling to answer/come to the phone. It was also a compelling reason for the person to identify themselves on the phone.

Basically, the pretext goes like this.  You call the provided or located phone number.  You ask to speak with the subject you are trying to confirm to be home (assuming you are calling a landline).

They confirm that they are that person or they go and get that person and bring them to the phone.  You identify yourself as a company looking for individuals that graduated from a specific year from a specific school (we are not trying to be right).  They say they are not and usually identify what school they went to. 

We can either thank them for their time or ask if they would like to be updated or contacted when their reunion takes place.  Usually, they say yes and we can confirm their mailing address at that time. Sometimes they say yes, that is my address sometimes they say no, and give you the correct one.

Looking for a high school/military friend when calling a landline (pretext)

This pretext doesn’t have much depth and really it is not the objective of the pretext.  The objective is really just to confirm the person is home.

You call the provided or located phone number.  You ask to speak with the subject you are trying to confirm to be home. They usually say you are speaking to them or ask who it is.  Give a fake name. They will then get the person or ask what it is concerning.  

You can then say you are looking for an old college, high school or military friend (whatever you are looking for). 

You can say, “did you graduate from ___ high school in 1980? 

They of course say no and you apologize for inconveniencing them and end the call.

Package Phone Pretext Script

This pretext was always my last resort in surveillance cases.  

The pretext is typically conducted when you are having a tough time locating someone or confirming someone is home.  Some folks take this pretext to a level that in most cases I am uncomfortable with personally so I won’t share that part.

For this pretext, you call the provided or located number and ask for the individual.  Once on the phone, you explain that you are having a difficult time delivering a package as your driver can’t find the address. You ask for direction and a cross street and ask what a good time to deliver is as the driver needs the subject to sign for the package.  

Typically they say they are home, not home at the moment or when they will be home.

All these pretexts have more detail but I wanted to give you an overview of some of the more successful pretexts I have used over the phone.  I have many more to share in a PDF document that you can pick up through the PI Advice online store. 

In a perfect world, a surveillance investigator would not have to pretext but due to increasing pressure from clients to confirm an investigator isn’t conducting surveillance on a house that is empty, it will always be something that an investigator will have to do.  

Be cautious and be safe.