pretexting
noun
pre·text·ing
ˈprē-ˌtek-stiŋ 
: the practice of presenting oneself as someone else in order to obtain private information
Examples of pretexting in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
This class includes phishing, business email compromise (BEC) and pretexting (the human equivalent of phishing).
—
Vincent Weafer, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2022
Top tactics included phishing and pretexting, both of which involve concocting a story that will trick the victim into revealing password information and other sensitive data.
—Dan Patterson, CBS News, 19 May 2021
And there are very explicit rules against tactics like pretexting, which is essentially using deception, to get someone to speak to you.
—Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 31 Oct. 2020
The practice of obtaining customer call records by posing as the customer is known as pretexting.
—Associated Press, WIRED, 29 Sep. 2006
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Vincent Weafer, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2022
Top tactics included phishing and pretexting, both of which involve concocting a story that will trick the victim into revealing password information and other sensitive data.
—Dan Patterson, CBS News, 19 May 2021
And there are very explicit rules against tactics like pretexting, which is essentially using deception, to get someone to speak to you.
—Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 31 Oct. 2020
The practice of obtaining customer call records by posing as the customer is known as pretexting.
—Associated Press, WIRED, 29 Sep. 2006
Cite this Entry
“Pretexting.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pretexting. Accessed 30 Jul. 2025.
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