Feds Warrantlessly Tracking Americans’ Credit Cards in Real Time

[Eugen Leitl]

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/12/realtime/

Feds Warrantlessly Tracking Americansb Credit Cards in Real Time

    * By Ryan Singel 

    * December 2, 2010  | * 5:06 pm  | 

    * Categories: Surveillance

Federal law enforcement agencies have been tracking Americans in real-time
using credit cards, loyalty cards and travel reservations without getting a
court order, a new document released under a government sunshine request
shows.

The document, obtained by security researcher Christopher Soghoian, explains
how so-called bHotwatchb orders allow for real-time tracking of individuals
in a criminal investigation via credit card companies, rental car agencies,
calling cards, and even grocery store loyalty programs. The revelation sheds
a little more light on the Justice Departmentbs increasing power and
willingness to surveil Americans with little to no judicial or Congressional
oversight.

For credit cards, agents can get real-time information on a personbs
purchases by writing their own subpoena, followed up by a order from a judge
that the surveillance not be disclosed. Agents can also go the traditional
route b going to a judge, proving probable cause and getting a search warrant
b which means the target will eventually be notified they were spied on.

The document suggests that the normal practice is to ask for all historical
records on an account or individual from a credit card company, since getting
stored records is generally legally easy. Then the agent sends a request for
bAny and all records and information relating directly or indirectly to any
and all ongoing and future transactions or events relating to any and all of
the following person(s), entitities, account numbers, addresses and other
mattersb&b That gets them a live feed of transaction data.

DOJ powerpoint presentation on Hotwatch surveillance orders of credit card
transactions

Itbs not clear what standards an agent would have to follow to get a
bHotwatchb order. The Justice Department told Sogohian the document is the
only one it could find relating to bhotwatchesb b which means there is either
no policy or the department is witholding relevant documents.

The Justice Department did not return a call for comment.

Every year, the Justice Department does have to report to Congress the
numbers of criminal and national security wiretaps undertaken, as well as the
number of National Security Letters issued. Tens of thousands of NSLs are
issued yearly b most with gag orders that forbid ISPs or librarians from ever
saying they have ever been served with such a subpoena.

But the Justice Department does not report or make public the number of times
it got real time or historic cell phone location information, nor how often
it is using these so-called bhotwatchb orders.