civilservant

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...-fake-profiles

Just in case anyone didn't actually believe that DHS/USCIS does this....

robin1234

From the Guardian article,

I’d be very concerned if law enforcement did NOT do this. That’s what we pay law enforcement agencies for. It is the responsibility of the legislative & judicial branches to set the guidelines and protect people’s constitutional rights.

Pollyana

Migration agents have warned us on the Australia forums for many years that immigration officers browse BE. One agent even told me about a conversation he had with an Aus Immigration case officer regarding a client's postings on here - said he was about to grant the visa and would be looking out for a "GOT IT" thread!

PetrifiedExPat

How can they execute anything? It's all anonymous... Or is it?

lansbury

Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is up for renewal in December. There is a real push to get in cancelled, by both sides of the house. Used for many things. Enables search without a warrant in some circumstances.

PetrifiedExPat

How could one ascertain identity from posts placed in BE though??

lansbury

If BE still uses the same hosting service it is based in the US. If they wanted the ID of someone posting outside of the US they have greater powers to request such information. IP address give the service provider and that provider knows where it is allocated.

Pollyana

Its anonymous, but if you are a case officer dealing with a visa applicant who has a particular medical situation, or character/conviction issues, and you read on here a post from someone saying they have that exact issue and have just been contacted for further info, it doesn't take a genius to put the details together.
I think, from memory, my agent friend was dealing with a case with conviction issues and when he spoke to the case officer, the officer asked point blank if the agent knew whether the applicant was posting online looking for help. After that we always warned people to be careful what they posted, especially if they were suggesting being economical with the truth.
Of course, you do also get the posters who sign up under their real name - a simple google search can track them down!

robin1234

Not just real names. I’ve positively identified several posters over the years, just by putting together fragmentary information they posted about where they lived, their profession, their hobbies/interests and such. I don’t work for the government, and I’ve never used this info. I’m just a yenta..

PetrifiedExPat

All fascinating, and terrifying!

Thank you all for responding to me

Glasgow Girl

Yes, it is very easy for interested parties to identify people from a few fragments of online information. You don’t need subpoenas or warrants or any official back door. If you have nothing to hide you do not have a problem. If you do you should not be online even under a fictitious name. Know that if you reveal just a little about yourself then you can be identified if someone is interested enough to do so. Many of the regular posters on here have already done that including me.

PetrifiedExPat

Agreed on that.

Rete

I recall back in the day when I first started the immigration route in 1998, it wasn't thought of then. However, within 3 years from that date, INS was known to read immigration groups like this for 'info'.

MidAtlantic

I'm not sure why anyone is surprised by this. It is not snooping; it is reading what is publicly available on social media, just like many recruiters and others do.

robin1234

I don’t think there is any evidence that anyone is surprised by this. If you’re referring to the original Guardian article, that is basically their business model - to try to entertain us / rile us up by huffing & puffing about horrible actions by the deep state and the rich & powerful. Kind of like the Daily Mail better written/researched.