More than 150 million transaction records implicated
The database in question reportedly includes money transfer traction records of more than 150 million people in the U.S. as well as records of individuals in more than 20 countries. The transfers reportedly include full names of the sender and recipient and each transaction amount. Money transfers like these are used for a variety of purposes and are often used by unbanked people to send funds abroad.
Crucially, the database isn’t just a long list of names and records. Law enforcement agents are reportedly able to search through the database using a variety of keywords to search for trends. In one internal slideshow viewed by The Journal, for example, an investigator demonstrated how officers could sift through the database using demographic keywords like, “Middle Eastern/Arabic names.”
Critics of the database say immigrant communities and low income individuals are more likely to use money transfer services, which in turn means they are potentially the most at risk if law enforcement misuses the system. The ACLU says it was able to trace at least three criminal prosecutions back to the database but claims the real figure is likely much higher.
