Is the IRS using ‘Stingray’ devices to spy on cellphones?

 I don’t know if you have heard about this but there is a technology out there called Stingray devices. These devices are used to set up a fake cellphone tower in an area so that when a person gets into range his or her phone will be connected to the Stingray and at that point the metadata, as well as some personal information, can be retrieved from the cellphone unbeknownst to the user. Of course these devices do not hone in on one individual but rather collect information on every single person who comes into range even if they are not the subject of an investigation.

  And these devices have been in use, and controversial, for quite awhile now: Back in June of 2014 a Florida police department was facing a FOIA request from the ACLU for allegedly abusing these devices by not getting a proper warrant and just before the ACLU was allowed to view the documents Federal Marshals swept in and confiscated them, which eventually led to a judge throwing out the case.

  It is pretty clear that for some reason the Federal government does not want this information to get out, but why? Perhaps it could be because the IRS is also using Stingray devices to gather cellphone information on American citizens.

  Here is more:

The Internal Revenue Service is the latest in a growing list of US federal agencies known to have possessed the sophisticated cellphone dragnet equipment known as Stingray, according to documents obtained by the Guardian.

Invoices obtained following a request under the Freedom of Information Act show purchases made in 2009 and 2012 by the federal tax agency with Harris Corporation, one of a number of companies that manufacture the devices. Privacy advocates said the revelation “shows the wide proliferation of this very invasive surveillance technology”.

Stingrays are the best-known example of a type of device called an IMSI-catcher, also known as “cell-site simulators”. About the size of a briefcase, they work by pretending to be cellphone towers in order to strip metadata and in some cases even content from phones which connect to them.

Despite their extensive capabilities, they require only a low-level court order called a PEN register, also known as a “trap and trace”, to grant permission for their use.

  The two obvious questions are, why does the IRS need to get cellphone information from the American people and who are they targeting? I think we know the answer to the second question but of course the Department of Injustice is not bringing any charges against the rogue agency. And speaking of the Department of Injustice, were you aware that criminal enterprise is using spy planes in order to create fake cellphone towers?  

  Our freedoms are slipping away a little at a time and most people do not even realize it…

Malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium