Follow the Money

I heard a disturbing report this morning on NPR. In the wake of Eliot Spitzer's self-imolation, reporter Adam Davidson looked at the recent banking practices that tipped the justice department off to Spitzer's purchasing habits.

For the last 10 years, and particularly since September 11, 2001, banks have been analyzing all transactions through their accounts, looking for patterns. And it's not just large amounts of money they're looking at -- it's everything.

A woman from a company called Actimize was featured on the segment. It's their software that's used to analyze the vast amount of data collected. They're looking for terrorist activity, of course, but also money laundering.

In the story, the Actimize woman gave the example of making small purchases at delis all over New York as something that could be perceived as money laundering. I'm sure their software is smarter than that, but at the same time, it piques my sense of paranoia.

It's already common for people in major cities to have all of their movements trackable by the use of their Easy Pass or metrocard (if I learned anything from years of watching Law and Order, it's that!). Our phone records are subject to review at any time, with or without a warrant, of late. And now the patterns of our spending are being surveilled.

This all seems so far from the world envisioned in our constitution and bill of rights. Remember the words: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons"... "unreasonable search"... "probable cause"...

I don't feel very secure in my person. What about you?