HB 269 – AS INTRODUCED
2007 SESSION
05/01
HOUSE BILL 269
AN ACT prohibiting “pretexting” as a means of obtaining personally identifiable information.
This bill makes “pretexting,” the act of using a ruse to obtain personally identifiable information about another individual, a violation, subject to a fine, and establishes a private cause of action for those injured by pretexting.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
07-0304
05/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Seven
AN ACT prohibiting “pretexting” as a means of obtaining personally identifiable information.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Subdivision; Fraud; Pretexting. Amend RSA 638 by inserting after section 29 the following new subdivision:
638:30 Pretexting.
I. In this section:
(a) “Personally identifiable information” means information that allows an individual to be identified or located and includes an individual’s name, address, telephone number, date of birth, driver’s license number, Social Security number, email address, photograph, digital image, fingerprint or other biometric identification, radio frequency identification (RFID) or similar identification technology, credit card, bank account, and other financial account numbers, including a personal identification number, and any other information that, directly or indirectly, or in conjunction with other information, allows an individual to be identified or located.
(b) “Pretexting” means the attempt, whether successful or not, and regardless of the medium of communication used, to obtain personally identifiable information about an individual without the individual’s consent by using a ruse to make the data custodian believe the person requesting the information:
(1) Is legally or otherwise authorized to receive the data;
(2) Could be given the information without harm to the individual; or
(3) Is someone other than who the person requesting the information actually is.
II. No person shall engage in pretexting or the sale or other disposition of information obtained through pretexting, regardless of whether or not the sale or disposition is for profit.
III. Any person who acts in violation of paragraph II shall be guilty of a violation and shall be subject to a fine of $10,000.
IV. Any person who violates this section shall be subject to the revocation of any professional license issued by an agency of this state. The clerk of the superior court in which the case was filed shall report any violation of this section to the relevant board or agency by filing a copy of the final disposition with the agency or board.
V. Any person injured by another’s use of pretexting may bring an action for damages equal to the greater of actual damages or $1,000. The plaintiff also may recover 3 times the amount of any income from pretexting services or profit from the sale of information obtained through pretexting. In addition, a prevailing plaintiff shall be awarded reasonable attorney’s fees and costs, as determined by the court.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2008.