Author: Freedomwat.ch Staff

This author has written 1563 articles

I never knew how screwed up global banking was until I started my own bank

"You can imagine my surprise when I found out that SWIFT runs on Windows Vista - an obsolete operating system that Microsoft no longer supports. When my bank received its SWIFT code, we were told that we had to have a computer running Vista in the office in order to connect to SWIFT. It was such an absurd exercise to find an obsolete computer running an obsolete operating system to connect to the supposedly most advanced and important international payment network in the world. Unsurprisingly, SWIFT has been hacked numerous times, both by the NSA as well as private hackers who have stolen a great deal of money from their victims." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingI never knew how screwed up global banking was until I started my own bank

AmEx Must Share Dutch Account Info With IRS

"In its latest John Doe summons, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is requiring American Express to send account information of Dutch residents with credit or debit cards linked to bank accounts outside the Netherlands to U.S. tax authorities. The IRS had requested the information in cooperation with the Dutch government as part of an investigation to determine whether Dutch citizens living outside the Netherlands are complying with tax laws." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAmEx Must Share Dutch Account Info With IRS

151 million records, 42 targets: US Intelligence “transparency report”

"Because the NSA collects data on numbers that are 'two hops' away from a targeted phone, records would be collected from any number that called or was called by the target number, and then every number each of those numbers interacted with. As a result, collection expands exponentially as additional targets are added." Continue reading →

Continue Reading151 million records, 42 targets: US Intelligence “transparency report”

FBI’s Comey: Americans Should Not Expect ‘Absolute Privacy’

"FBI Director James Comey has put to rest any hope of achieving privacy in the United States. Speaking at a cybersecurity conference at Boston College on Wednesday, Comey said that 'there is no such thing as absolute privacy in America.' He added that everything Americans engage in, including conversations with members of the clergy and their attorneys, live within 'judicial reach.' 'In appropriate circumstances, a judge can compel any one of us to testify in court about those very private communications,' Comey said, according to CNN, which obtained a video of his remarks." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFBI’s Comey: Americans Should Not Expect ‘Absolute Privacy’

FBI Building National Watchlist That Gives Companies Real-Time Updates on Employees

"Employers are even offered the option to purchase lifetime subscriptions to the program for the cost of $13 per person. The decision to participate in Rap Back is at employers’ discretion. Employees have no choice in the matter. There are no laws preventing the FBI from using the data it collects for other purposes, said Jeramie Scott, an attorney with the Electronic Privacy Information Center. A massive trove of digital fingerprints collected by the FBI, he noted, could be used to open up devices like smart phones without the owner’s consent. In addition, Scott pointed out that the FBI often collects a photo of Rap Back participants’ faces." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFBI Building National Watchlist That Gives Companies Real-Time Updates on Employees

Trump administration is looking at 50- and 100-year bonds

"The Treasury disclosed that it is studying the possibility of ultra-long bonds, with maturities greater than 30 years, currently the bond with the longest maturity. It also said it is preparing for the time when the Fed begins to reduce its giant $4.5 trillion balance sheet — by buying fewer Treasurys and mortgage securities, and perhaps ultimately even unloading the ones it holds." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTrump administration is looking at 50- and 100-year bonds

As Inventor of Subprime Car Loans Exits, Critics Smell a Lemon

"In January [Foss] stepped down as chairman of Credit Acceptance Corp., the company he started in 1972 that pioneered extending auto loans to customers with rock-bottom credit scores or none at all. A month after he left, he sold a big chunk of his Credit Acceptance shares for $128 million. The company didn’t say why Foss sold his shares and declined to comment. Foss didn’t respond to requests for comment." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAs Inventor of Subprime Car Loans Exits, Critics Smell a Lemon