"Pretexting" is the use of using false information or misrepresentations to gain access to another person’s confidential phone or financial records. The word was barely in the public consciousness until a few weeks ago, until it was alleged that Heweltt-Packard used pretexting to obtain access to the personal phone records of its directors in an attempt to learn the source of a leak. Yesterday. the FTC announced that it had reached a settlement with an Internet firm that was using pretexting to obtain access to consumers’ telephone and credit card records. Under the settlement, the malefactor has to disgorge its ill-gotten gains–all $2,700 of them.