From Futurism · Frank Landymore · · 1m 20s
Border Patrol is reading your bank activity
A secret Border Patrol unit mines Americans' financial data, then hands tips to local cops who invent a reason to pull you over.
In brief
A secret Border Patrol unit mines Americans' financial data, then hands tips to local cops who invent a reason to pull you over. Predictive policing has moved into your bank records, and the traffic stop you get is a cover story for how they found you. Originally reported by Futurism.
The state is pocket watching
404 Media found secretive Border Patrol units combing through Americans' financial activity and using it as grounds to stop them, even with no specific crime suspected.
“The surveillance state is trying out a new tactic: pocket watching.”
Predictive policing goes personal
Guessing at crime from broad patterns instead of evidence was already contested. Pulling in one person's bank behavior pushes it somewhere new.
Meet the PITT teams
Predictive Intelligence Targeting Teams do not make stops themselves. They analyze, then pass names down to local police who do the pulling over.
A stop in Montana
Kyle William Olson was flagged by a PITT unit, then stopped by local police for an obstructed license plate. He was charged with DUI and intent to distribute.
“financial activity patterns commonly associated with illicit narcotics activity”
Probable cause, manufactured
A Border Patrol memo shows agent Matthew Phelps citing sensitive systems as the source. Critics call the license plate excuse parallel construction, a cover for the real trigger.
“The bottom line is genuine probable cause cannot be synthetically generated.”
No one can check the work
Border Patrol will not say how it watches financial activity, citing operational security. That secrecy is the whole problem.
“If we can't meaningfully review and evaluate these systems, we can't trust them.”
The main idea
Predictive policing has moved into your bank records, and the traffic stop you get is a cover story for how they found you.
