CIA Creating Vast Database of American's Personal Financial Records: Report

Collected data goes beyond basic financial records and uses Social Security numbers to tie financial activity to a specific person

- Jon Queally, staff writer 

 

Claiming the same authority as the NSA does for its bulk collection of domestic internet and phone data, the clandestine Central Intelligence Agency is compiling a "vast database" that includes the personal financial records of Americans, according to the Wall Street Journal.

In a news story published Friday, the Journal reporting shows the CIA program "collects information from U.S. money-transfer companies including Western Union" and that  some of the data goes "beyond basic financial records, such as U.S. Social Security numbers, which can be used to tie the financial activity to a specific person."