The IRS spent tens of
thousands of dollars on controversial technology that tracks people by their
cellphone, according to government documents revealed on Monday.
The heavily redacted
documents obtained by The Guardian show that the tax agency spent more than
$70,000 on upgrading and training the devices — known as StingRays,
IMSI-catchers or “cell site simulators” — in 2012, the newspaper reported.
The briefcase-sized
devices mimic cellphone towers and pick up signals sent by people’s phones to
reveal their location. Those signals can include identifying information about
who owns the phone and can also contain a list of people’s contacts, messages or
other personal content.
The IRS had not
previously been known to use the technology. It remains unclear whether or how
it used the device.
Its name adds to a
growing list of government agencies that have used the devices, much to the
chagrin of civil liberties advocates.
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