f you’ve been watching the news or following social media stories the past several years, you have probably noticed a growing number of stories about how people have outed others – often criminals – through dating apps, catfishing, email phishing, and generally misrepresenting themselves online.

It’s effective and may look like an attractive option to a busy PI, but in the professional world this type of misrepresentation is called “pretexting,” and in some cases it’s specifically illegal. If a private investigator is working online or making calls, and ever feels the urge to misrepresent themselves to collect more information, here are the rules they should always follow to stay out of serious legal trouble (and the probability of losing their license).