Homeland Security watches what you buy online.

sdkid

sdkid

IPCT+ Member
Dec 6, 2014
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Check it out--- skip in to about 3:12-- he has some silly horse-crap at the beginning...
He got a visit from local law enforcement and Homeland Security because he bought oil and fuel filters online....

 
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sdkid said:
Check it out--- skip in to about 3:12-- he has some silly horse-crap at the beginning...
He got a visit from local law enforcement and Homeland Security because he bought oil and fuel filters online....

Click to expand...


Wow.. gonna get crazier if Kamala wins...
 
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Bizarre stuff in that first three minutes.

Does it surprise anyone that if there is a rash of people ordering filters and turning them into suppressors, or using the term filter instead of suppressor (or whatever), that a hobbyist that buys a lot of filters that have the eye of HS might get a visit? In the past a lot of folks who were not farmers but were buying large quantities of ammonium nitrate got visits too. This isn't big brother, it's law enforcement.

We live in a big data age; certain things are going to result in scrutiny. Sounds like this guy handled it well.
 
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Frankenscript said:
Bizarre stuff in that first three minutes.

Does it surprise anyone that if there is a rash of people ordering filters and turning them into suppressors, or using the term filter instead of suppressor (or whatever), that a hobbyist that buys a lot of filters that have the eye of HS might get a visit? In the past a lot of folks who were not farmers but were buying large quantities of ammonium nitrate got visits too. This isn't big brother, it's law enforcement.

We live in a big data age; certain things are going to result in scrutiny. Sounds like this guy handled it well.
Click to expand...

There is no doubt big brother in this law enforcement action.

The question should be: Did they get a warrant to obtain the information? If so, then good - that is how the process is supposed to work. If not, then that's a very bad sign...
 
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Walmart is also keeping tabs on every card purchase you make and is building a personality from it about you. Every single item you buy is recorded when on a card and filed. If you have a Walmart account, login and see.
 
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That explains why Wally World is trying to force you to use a card when paying. They've been crying "shortage of change" for a while now. The other day I was there, used the only self checkout for cash and got six dollars back....all in quarters. Now I know what they're up to.
 
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mat200 said:
There is no doubt big brother in this law enforcement action.

The question should be: Did they get a warrant to obtain the information? If so, then good - that is how the process is supposed to work. If not, then that's a very bad sign...
Click to expand...
In most cases records of routine purchases are documents available for purchase. Want to know what I bought last time I went to the grocery store? You can buy that. Want to know what I bought on AliExpress? (hint: it was cameras!) This information is "out there." Doesn't take much to dig it up, no warrant needed. Terms of use of most online shopping sites as well as physical store loyalty cards let them sell this information to whoever wants it for whatever purposes.

Presumably, Homeland Security bought such information; I doubt a warrant would be needed in this case.

It's one thing for "big brother to be watching what I'm buying" and another for Homeland Security to purchase commercially available databases of who is buying in quantity items they consider of interest.

Remember when Radio Shack used to ask for your address when you just wanted to buy a pack of damned AA batteries? (their batteries sucked by the way) They wanted to know who was buying what and use that information for marketing purposes.

I'm interested to learn more about this, as this is not an area of expertise for me.
 
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Alexa does the same thing, which is why I use a separate Amazon account for Alexa now. First Alexa asked me. "Would you like to try it?" Then, after installing Samuel L. Jackson's voice in Alexa last year, he asked me "Would you like to F#&K it?" I had to take swift and bold action. :rofl:

wittaj said:
An older story, so just imagine how much advancement companies have made since 2012!

www.forbes.com

How Target Figured Out A Teen Girl Was Pregnant Before Her Father Did

Target has perfected the technique of analyzing consumers' shopping habits to figure out who's pregnant. How can they send customers congratulatory coupons without freaking them out?
www.forbes.com www.forbes.com
Click to expand...
 
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Frankenscript said:
In most cases records of routine purchases are documents available for purchase. Want to know what I bought last time I went to the grocery store? You can buy that. Want to know what I bought on AliExpress? (hint: it was cameras!) This information is "out there." Doesn't take much to dig it up, no warrant needed. Terms of use of most online shopping sites as well as physical store loyalty cards let them sell this information to whoever wants it for whatever purposes.

Presumably, Homeland Security bought such information; I doubt a warrant would be needed in this case.

It's one thing for "big brother to be watching what I'm buying" and another for Homeland Security to purchase commercially available databases of who is buying in quantity items they consider of interest.

Remember when Radio Shack used to ask for your address when you just wanted to buy a pack of damned AA batteries? (their batteries sucked by the way) They wanted to know who was buying what and use that information for marketing purposes.

I'm interested to learn more about this, as this is not an area of expertise for me.
Click to expand...

Hi Frankenscript,

Just because the government CAN does not mean it should.


There still are restrictions and checks and balancing which need to take place when the Government seeks information in a dragnet, this applies to online data even if the data can be purchased.

Yes - anyone who has payed attention knows all sorts of data is available on people.

Yes - the battle to keep a balance to protect the liberties of American's is on-going. From 1st Amendment, 2nd Amendment, 3rd, 4th, 5th, ..

Yes - many pro-business groups and Government groups want more power and more rights over data.

Yes - we, the people, need to find ways to halt that in order to maintain a balance of power for the stake of liberty.

Warrants have been a key part to the theory of checks and balances in our legal system. We should not be doing away from that.

1) We've been discussing the issues of massive data available on people at least before 2000...

Database Nation
by
Released December 2000

www.oreilly.com

Database Nation

Fifty years ago, in 1984, George Orwell imagined a future in which privacy was demolished by a totalitarian state that used spies, video surveillance, historical revisionism, and control over the … - Selection from Database Nation [Book]
www.oreilly.com www.oreilly.com

also see
www.databasenation.com

Find Cyber Security Degrees & Career Path Options

Launch Your Cyber Security Career The field of cyber security has many jobs, career paths, and education options. To help you thrive in your dream career, we’ve developed a state-by-state guide offering cyber security degree programs, as well as useful information on career paths within the...
www.databasenation.com www.databasenation.com

note: in it he covered Law Enforcement in the topic ( Chap 9 )


a more recent book on the topic:

The Age of Surveillance Capitalism
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism is a 2019 non-fiction book by Professor Shoshana Zuboff which looks at the development of digital companies like Google and Amazon, and suggests that their business models represent a new form of capitalist accumulation that she calls "surveillance capitalism". Wikipedia
Originally published: 2018
Author: Shoshana Zuboff

www.google.com

The Age of Surveillance Capitalism

The challenges to humanity posed by the digital future, the first detailed examination of the unprecedented form of power called "surveillance capitalism," and the quest by powerful corporations to predict and control our behavior. The heady optimism of the Internet’s early days has turned dark...
www.google.com


2) Private companies vs Government

US Bill of Rights, still puts restrictions on the Government which private companies are not restricted by.

Thus, while a private company can restrict your rights ( i.e. can limit your Free Speech in Walmart, Online in a Forum - Governments are held to a different standard )


3) Organizations involved in protecting US Citizen rights in the digital age:

A) Electronic Frontier Foundation

B) EPIC - Electronic Privacy Information Center

C) Home - Center for Democracy and Technology


4) Numerous Legal discussions / articles on the topic:

Here's a good reference to various 'acts"
www.law.cornell.edu

electronic surveillance

www.law.cornell.edu www.law.cornell.edu

Here is another good Q&A one
 
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Well done references @mat200 . I'm particularly interested in the surveillance capitalism book. I'll need to make time to read it. Thank you for these references.
 
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I had always heard that the grocery store was really into this. They don't give out shopping rewards for YOUR benefit - they do it to build that database.
I installed a VPN for the first time a few days back and sure enough, Kroger.com has blocked any of the new assigned ISP #'s. A few other places make me do the captcha verifications now but only my grocery store fully blocks me.
Knowing what you buy is BIG business in itself.
 
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