PCI Legal Aspects of Investigations 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the Federal Wiretap Act (Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control Act), intercepting a wire communication without consent generally requires:
- Only a subpoena from a grand jury
- A court order (judicial authorization) (Correct answer)
- Written approval from the state attorney general
- A warrant signed by any magistrate judge
Correct answer: A court order (judicial authorization)
Title III prohibits intercepting wire, oral, or electronic communications without a court order, except in specific consent-based exceptions.
Question 2: The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) primarily governs:
- Postal mail interception by private citizens
- Government and private access to stored and transmitted electronic communications (Correct answer)
- Use of CCTV cameras in public areas
- Background check procedures for federal contractors
Correct answer: Government and private access to stored and transmitted electronic communications
ECPA extends government restrictions on wiretapping to electronic data transmissions and stored electronic communications.
Question 3: A 'pen register' device, as defined under federal law, captures:
- The content of telephone conversations
- Outgoing phone numbers dialed from a target line (Correct answer)
- GPS coordinates of a mobile device in real time
- Stored voicemails left on a subscriber's account
Correct answer: Outgoing phone numbers dialed from a target line
A pen register records the numbers dialed outgoing from a telephone but does not capture the content of any communication.
Question 4: Under the one-party consent rule for recording conversations, a recording is lawful when:
- All parties to the conversation are unaware it is being recorded
- At least one party (including the investigator) consents to the recording (Correct answer)
- A court order has been issued authorizing the recording
- The recording device is registered with the FCC
Correct answer: At least one party (including the investigator) consents to the recording
Federal law and many state laws permit recording a conversation when at least one participant—including the person doing the recording—consents.
Question 5: The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is relevant to investigators primarily because it regulates:
- The use of lie detector tests in employment screenings
- How consumer credit and background information may be accessed and used (Correct answer)
- Procedures for seizing financial records under a court order
- The admissibility of financial documents in federal court
Correct answer: How consumer credit and background information may be accessed and used
The FCRA governs who may access consumer reports and for what permissible purposes, directly affecting background investigations and pre-employment screening.
Question 6: HIPAA's Privacy Rule most directly restricts investigators by:
- Prohibiting any photography in a hospital parking lot
- Limiting access to individually identifiable health information without proper authorization (Correct answer)
- Requiring investigators to wear medical-grade protective equipment on scene
- Mandating annual privacy training for all licensed investigators
Correct answer: Limiting access to individually identifiable health information without proper authorization
HIPAA protects individually identifiable health information (PHI) and restricts who may access or disclose it, affecting investigations involving medical records.
Question 7: Under the Stored Communications Act (SCA), a law enforcement agency seeking stored email content held by an internet service provider must typically obtain:
- A pen register order
- A search warrant or court order, depending on the age of the email (Correct answer)
- A subpoena signed by a prosecutor without judicial review
- Written consent from the email account's registered domain owner
Correct answer: A search warrant or court order, depending on the age of the email
The SCA requires law enforcement to obtain a search warrant for stored email content less than 180 days old, while older content may require a court order or subpoena.
PCI Legal Aspects of Investigations 3
Under the Federal Wiretap Act (Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control Act), intercepting a wire communication without consent generally requires: