The IRS Has Stingray Devices (theguardian.com)

An anonymous reader writes: The Guardian reports that the use of stingray technology — devices that simulate cell towers in order to gather phone data — is not limited to intelligence agencies and law enforcement. It turns out the Internal Revenue Service owns some of the devices as well. It's unknown how or why the tax agency uses the stingray devices. The only reason The Guardian figured it out was that they happened to see an IRS invoice from when they paid a company to upgrade one of their devices and provide training on its use. It's thought they're being used when the IRS collaborates with other agencies to knock down money laundering operations. "... there are currently between 2,000 and 3,000 "special agents" in the IRS who form the criminal investigation division (CID). They have the ability to get PEN register orders – the only authority needed to use Stingray devices."

Comments

If I Were Guessing

[Greyfox]

I'd think they'd be using them on their own employees, given the shenanigans at the IRS over the past few years.

Re:If I Were Guessing

[PolygamousRanchKid]

The IRS is not just about collecting taxes anymore. It's about hindering political movements that the current administration doesn't like. The IRS chief in charge of the persecution of Tea Party groups, more or less, flipped the bird at Congress, and walked off with a juicy pension. Not that I like Tea Party groups, but I'm just wondering where Hilary will strike next.

Re:If I Were Guessing

[MobileTatsu-NJG]

Heh. Remember the olden days, before we knew what we know now, when this post would have been insightful?

Re:If I Were Guessing

[Anonymous Coward]

The investigation into the IRS found nothing wrong. Not sure what shenanigans you are commenting about. Its commonly known that the IRS is allowed to censor political groups, hand over confidential IRS filing forms to other political groups, ask questions that are illegal for them to ask of political groups, campaign for politicians while on "the clock" and so on. All of this is perfectly acceptable as long as it hurts the GOP and helps the DNC.

On the other hand, if a GOP president talks about having the IRS audit someone he will face articles of impeachment.

So I'm not sure what you are talking about over the last few years, they only go after individual citizens that are vocal against the current administration, all perfectly legal after the DOJ investigation.

BULLSHIT

Over the two years between April 2010 and April 2012, the IRS essentially placed on hold the processing of applications for 501(c)(4) tax-exemption status received from organizations with "Tea Party", "patriots", or "9/12" in their names. While apparently none of these organizations' applications were denied during this period,[Note 2] only 4 were approved.[54] During the same general period, the agency approved applications from several dozen presumably liberal-leaning organizations whose names included terms such as "progressive", "progress", "liberal", or "equality".

...

  liberal and conservative groups were in fact treated differently because liberal groups could be approved for tax-exempt status by line agents, while tea party groups could not.

...

At least as early as mid-2011, higher-ranking IRS officials knew that conservative groups were being scrutinized.

...

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration found that inappropriate criteria had been used by IRS personnel to select certain applications for tax exemption status for further review and that inappropriate procedures were applied against organizations based on their names or policy positions.

...

The IRS used inappropriate criteria that identified for review Tea Party and other organizations applying for tax-exempt status based upon their names or policy positions instead of indications of potential political campaign intervention. Ineffective management: 1) allowed inappropriate criteria to be developed and stay in place for more than 18 months, 2) resulted in substantial delays in processing certain applications, and 3) allowed unnecessary information requests to be issued. Although the processing of some applications with potential significant political campaign intervention was started soon after receipt, no work was completed on the majority of these applications for 13 months.... For the 296 total political campaign intervention applications [reviewed in the audit] as of December 17, 2012, 108 had been approved, 28 were withdrawn by the applicant, none had been denied, and 160 were open from 206 to 1,138 calendar days (some for more than three years and crossing two election cycles).... Many organizations received requests for additional information from the IRS that included unnecessary, burdensome questions (e.g., lists of past and future donors).

...

Every single one of those claims is clearly supported.

You're a fucking moron.

Are we supposed to be more concerned?

[tnk1]

The IRS has a law enforcement group that frequently goes after organized crime. I'd imagine they need to spy on criminal communications as much as anyone.

Aside from wondering whether any agency should have them, I don't know what makes the IRS worthy of note as an operator.

Re:Are we supposed to be more concerned?

[aaron4801]

The FBI is part of the DOJ, which recently announced that they were going to get warrants before deploying their Stingrays. The IRS is part of the Treasury Department, which is OK with using them with only a Pen Register request.
In cases where the agencies are working together, it's likely they have IRS agents use their own device with the much lower standard of evidence, per department policy.

Re:Are we supposed to be more concerned?

[JBMcB]

Because most people don't realize that nearly every executive agency has an armed "enforcement" division. It's unbelievably inefficient. There's already an executive branch agency tasked with enforcing federal law - the FBI. Why we also need the treasury department, EPA, BLM, Fish & Wildlife agency, the IRS, the NIH, NOAA, Postal Service, etc... is beyond me.

We need the border patrol, the secret service, and the FBI. Need something guarded? Hire the border patrol. Need something investigated? Call the FBI.

Re:Are we supposed to be more concerned?

[Firethorn]

Because generalization leads to it's own inefficiencies. The EPA is good on pollution. Fish & Wildlife knows how to manage wildlife stuff.

That being said, you are correct in wondering why they aren't subdivisions of the FBI.

Re:Are we supposed to be more concerned?

[Trepidity]

One historical reason is that a lot of the other agencies were created during the period between 1924 and 1972, the 48 years when J. Edgar Hoover was head of the FBI, and nobody really wanted to give him more power if they could help it.

Re:Are we supposed to be more concerned?

[boristdog]

IRS investigators also watch the "tax protesters" who regularly file returns claiming they owe no taxes due to the sixteenth amendment not being properly ratified and other random conspiracy theories. When I worked at the IRS I got these returns all the time. We forwarded them to the criminal investigation unit.

I did get to see a few tax returns AFTER they went to CI; they were fairly interesting. Everything you would ever want to know about these people was attached in a report, sometimes hundreds of pages long. Where they hung out, who they were seen with, their entire family history, how much they drank, how their co-workers viewed them, etc. It was weird. And this was in pre-internet days (1980's) so there was actual investigation taking place, not just googling.

So yeah, this surprises me about 0%.

Well if you have nothing to declare...

[spartacus_prime]

You should have nothing to hide, citizen.

Re:Well if you have nothing to declare...

[Opportunist]

Whether I have something to hide is none of your business, government.

Whether I break the law or don't is. What I'm hiding in the privacy of my home is my business and nobody else's.

devices? IRS has Real StingRays

[turkeydance]

with lasers!

Re:The IRS Has Stingray Devices

[Anonymous Coward]

Who unanimously and solidly approved the federal government's use of the devices years ago, and even now as they are used against themselves, refuse to back down because they are certain that next election cycle they'll be in charge and will want to be able to use them against those damn dirty liberals.

Hang on...

[wonkey_monkey]

the use of stingray technology is not limited to intelligence agencies and law enforcement.

there are currently between 2,000 and 3,000 "special agents" in the IRS who form the criminal investigation division (CID).

Does that not count as law enforcement? I mean, yeah, it's tax, so it's not one of the cool crimes, but still.

Re:hobbyist stingrays?

[PPH]

are stingrays illegal to purchase?

The Harris Corporation branded Stingray IMSI catcher is restricted for sale to law enforcement agencies.

are they difficult to build?

Quite easy. There are also some other brands on the market available for sale to anyone.

Re:hobbyist stingrays?

[ronaldbeal]

Harris (the maker of Stingrays) will not sell them to "civilians" Additionally there is Federal law (Electronic Communications Privacy Act) that forbids an un-authorized person from listening on cellular phone calls. There is a "sort of" hack: Info on this youtube video from DEFCON 18: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Re:The IRS Has Stingray Devices

[Applehu Akbar]

"The only things that group is against are taxes, regulation of industry, and punishment for white collar crime."

We're also against criminalizing bacon, which is why today's UN statement means war.

Re:Not giving Hoover more power

[JBMcB]

Plus, by having each 'police department' in it's own agency, you don't have the problems of them getting distracted all going after pedophiles or something.

The agencies could still have investigators, but if they are worried about safety they can have an FBI officer assigned to them.

The EPA's specialty should be investigating pollution, not defusing a potentially violent situation, which is what the FBI should be used for.

Re:The IRS Has Stingray Devices

[JackieBrown]

The TEA Party is just a branch office of the GOP who have latched onto taxes as a single-issue voting bloc. Go find me a TEA Party candidate who is pro-choice and also opposes warrantless wiretapping, Stingrays, etc.

Most Tea Party candidates oppose warrantless wiretapping, Stingrays, etc. In fact, most do not care for the GOP at all (and the GOP wishes that the tea party would go away.)

Pro-choice is a human rights issue for those that believe that a fetus is a life. Regardless of whether you see a fetus that way, for those people, they do believe that the government should prevent what they see as murder.

As much as people would like to argue that being pro-life is simply "the man" trying to control a woman, it is morally much more complicated than that.