It's the holidays, and who doesn't want a little present from the jolly big man in the red outfit and his trusty reindeer scout, Rudolf? That little "stocking stuffer" brings such joy. It emerges from the traditional hanging article of clothing, identified by the owner's name emblazoned on it, hanging carefully over the fireplace. On the other hand, one stocking stuffer your client is probably not going to be happy about receiving is the one arriving in his or her email, usually titled "Notice of Requested Information From Your Account" pursuant to the Federal Stored Communications Act, 18 U.S.C. §2703, et. seq. It usually states something like this: "Your service provider hereby notifies you that your account was the subject of a summons from the prosecutor's office."

The notice usually comes in a legal sounding email from your client's service provider concerning your client's social media, cell phone or cloud account. The notice indicates that the service provider received and complied with a legal request from a prosecutor's office seeking certain information. This article will address this notice, its meaning, and potential responses to it.