Consumer bureau data-mining hundreds of millions of consumer credit card accounts, mortgages

Washington Examiner ^ | 29 January 2014 | Richard Pollock

[Errant]

Officials at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are conducting a massive, NSA-esque data-mining project collecting account information on an estimated 991 million American credit card accounts.

It was also learned at a Congressional hearing Tuesday that CFPB officials are working with the Federal Housing Finance Agency on a second data-mining effort, this one focused on the 53 million residential mortgages taken out by Americans since 1998.

[Errant]

"The NSA does not ask Americans' permission to collect their phone records and emails and texts. The CFPB does not ask permission to collect information on America's financial consumers

The mortgage information is being compiled in a database that can be "reversed engineered" by hackers seeking information for identify theft, according to an expert cited during the hearing.

The revelations came in a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee, during which CFPB Director Richard Cordray was repeatedly pressed about federal officials rummaging around in the private financial affairs of millions of Americans."

[Errant]

an estimated 991 million American credit card accounts

Just HOW many credit cards do you people have???

[JRandomFreeper]

No credit cards, no mortgage, no bank accounts. I must not exist.

/johnny

[houeto]

Just HOW many credit cards do you people have???

991 million.

[Paladin2]

~ three.

[Jim Robinson]

Totally unconstitutional!! Fascism!! Tyranny!! Stalin would be proud of his little Marxist bro.

[null and void]

Nut-job Conspiracy Theory Ping!

To get onto The Nut-job Conspiracy Theory Ping List you must threaten to report me to the Mods if I don't add you to the list...

[ChildOfThe60s]

Congress' powers to oversee the CFPB are limited. The federal Dodd-Frank Act that created the bureau requires that the Senate confirm its directors, such as Cordray, and that the director testify before Congress twice a year, but Congress' authority stops there. The bureau is part of the Federal Reserve, for which Congress similarly confirms top officers but has no direct oversight. Cordray's nomination to the CFPB director's post was confirmed by the Senate last year.

That pretty much tells you what the real goal here is.

How many of our worthless, traitorous Republicans voted for the POS law that created this? As far as "little oversight" goes, they passed the law, they can repeal it and/or defund the agency. Just like ObamaCare. Oh, well never mind then.

Republicans have your back all right. Problem is, they are inserting a knife in it.

[Jewbacca]

Missing from these reports is a REASON for the data collection.

Does anyone know the purported excuse for this?

[Patriot365]

Well I have four, myself. Same for the wife. So eight in the household and not a carry over balance on any of them.

[TurboZamboni]

Then foreign faceless donors could make donations to Dems under fake names using your credit card.

win/win for rats.

[Nifster]

with more to come

[bgill]

Now we know who really hacked Target.

[silverleaf]

to chase tax evaders

[Errant]

I must not exist.

Smart. I just have one and of course a bank account that goes with it - no mortgage though, thankfully.

[Errant]

Yep, no telling who all they’ve got working on this big of a project as contractors. We’re doomed...

[justrepublican]

Just the fed gov balancing there checkbook.

[Errant]

Paypal donation on the way. ;) You ever plan on taking Btc?

[Errant]

Just the fed gov balancing there checkbook.

With this information, O could charge every account if he wished.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

PING!