Results 1 to 3 of 3

Thread: Amtrak employee sold customer data to DEA for two decades

  1. #1

    Amtrak employee sold customer data to DEA for two decades



    Don McCullough
    A former Amtrak employee has been giving passenger information to the Drug Enforcement Administration in exchange for money for nearly two decades, according to reports from the Whittier Daily News. A total of over $854,460 changed hands over the last 20 years, despite the fact that information relevant to the DEA's work could have been obtained from Amtrak for free.

    The employee, described as a "secretary to a train and engine crew" in a summary obtained by the AP, was selling the customer data with Amtrak's approval. Amtrak and other transportation companies collect information from their customers including credit card numbers, travel itineraries, emergency contact info, passport numbers, and dates of birth. When booking tickets online in recent years, Amtrak has also collected phone numbers and e-mail addresses.

    The Whittier Daily News points out that Amtrak's corporate privacy policy allows the company to share this information with "certain trustworthy business partners," however, the secretary's actions didn't happen under this sanction.

    Amtrak has long worked closely with the DEA to track drug trafficking activity on its train lines. The Albuquerque Journal reported in 2001 that "a computer with access to Amtrak's ticketing information sits on a desk in the [DEA]'s local office," wrote the ACLU, and Amtrak police have long received a 10 percent cut of any cash seized from drug couriers.

    Despite the fact that the DEA had a direct route to Amtrak info when it was needed, it appears the administration used the employee to circumvent official channels to build out its information cache. The Daily News reports that it's not clear whether the DEA institutionally encourages "soliciting corporate insiders" even when it would encourage them to act against company rules.

    http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2...r-two-decades/
    "IF GOD DIDN'T WANT TO HELP AMERICA, THEN WE WOULD HAVE Hillary Clinton"!!
    "let them search you,touch you,violate your Rights,just don't be a dick!"~ cdc482
    "For Wales. Why Richard, it profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world. But for Wales?"
    All my life I've been at the mercy of men just following orders... Never again!~Erik Lehnsherr
    There's nothing wrong with stopping people randomly, especially near bars, restaurants etc.~Velho



  2. Remove this section of ads by registering.
  3. #2
    loveshiscountry
    Member

    For free? More government waste! Had to be kickbacks to the payors.

  4. #3
    Bribery is against the law... oh, wait, it one government gang bribing another government gang. Since government is lawless and all parties involved are government employees, it's A-Okay. I wonder if there's any relationship between the DEA that used stolen taxpayer loot to grease the palms of a buddy government friend family, relative?

    More government illegal corruption, more violation of rights... it's never illegal when government does the crime.
    The American Dream, Wake Up People, This is our country! <===click

    "All eyes are opened, or opening to the rights of man, let the annual return of this day(July 4th), forever refresh our recollections of these rights, and an undiminished devotion to them."
    Thomas Jefferson
    June 1826



    Rock The World!
    USAF Veteran



Similar Threads

  1. IRS chief: Blame rotten customer service and data hacks on Obamacare
    By Brian4Liberty in forum U.S. Political News
    Replies: 10
    Last Post: 02-14-2016, 07:26 AM
  2. Ancestry.com Caught Sharing Customer DNA Data With Police With No Warrant
    By Anti Federalist in forum U.S. Political News
    Replies: 10
    Last Post: 05-06-2015, 03:43 PM
  3. Judge orders Google to turn over customer data to FBI
    By tangent4ronpaul in forum U.S. Political News
    Replies: 16
    Last Post: 06-01-2013, 11:44 PM
  4. Store Employee Uses Belt On Customer's 8 Year Old "Demon" Son
    By TywinLannister in forum Open Discussion
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 02-09-2013, 07:15 AM
  5. Amazon.com Seeks to Block North Carolina Customer Data Request
    By tangent4ronpaul in forum U.S. Political News
    Replies: 6
    Last Post: 04-20-2010, 07:22 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •