Can I cite one person who was harmed?
Yes I can. I can’t prove it and rarely talk about it, but I was. I had personal issues with a man. Due to his military service he had connections in the intelligence community. Pulled my phone records in realtime, GPS tracked my phone, read my browser history, read my email, full background check uncovering obscure details that nobody knew, caused problems in my personal life...
Sounds outrageous and unbelievable. Like I said, I can’t prove it. But I know. And I’m pretty bitter about it.
Yes,
it is be very easy for anyone to get dragged into an investigation.
Anyone that you have ever had phone contact with (innocently or not)
whether it is a friend, a coworker, a neighbor, or a relative,
who, that person in turn, may have had phone contact (innocently or not)
with someone else who has been identified on some watch list such as a
gambler, prostitute, drug dealer, tax evader, gang member, or whatever.
Yeah, I trust these people about as much as I trust the IRS...