Have you ever experienced intense questioning by authorities (see details!)

I’m actually kind of surprised that they didn’t have more intense scrutiny, giving their history. It is the TSA – if you don’t feel violated, they don’t feel they’ve done their job.

Yes, during the questioning section of my school trial.

The J-board asked me three or four times if my door was locked or not, whether I lock my door or not, how much I drink, whether I play video games or not, whether I’m dating anyone, and a bunch of other ridiculous and prying questions.

If you go on sites like intelius.com, you can get some of that information yourself. I would think the state’s DMV has car info, and Facebook the IRS would have your sister’s employment information. Perhaps the agent called a DHS Fusion Center or someone with access to a similar database.

Yeah, it’s creepy as fuck, and I agree with your sentiment, but the info is already out there. I think the surprise is how it’s all at the fingertips of pseudo-governmental security theatre employees.

@obvek “creepy as fuck” is an understatement’s understatement. I saw that movie and I didn’t like it.

When I was being interviewed prior to emigrating, I remember them asking me questions and they made statements that showed me they already knew the answers and they knew everything about my family members. “So your brother works for…” etc. It was a little unnerving. This was years ago too and long before the increased scrutiny in a response to potential terrorist activity.

I once flew into Orlando Sanford and instead of checking my passport and letting me through I was taken aside and asked to wait in a side room. A dozen people were sitting about on chairs and I waited with them for half an hour before being summoned to a small private room for my interrogation.

I was puzzled and curious as to what it was all about. A coloured guy who looked a bit stern asked me a few questions and then disappeared. When he came back he was pleasant and relaxed and apparently I was free to go. There was no explanation and no apology and it wasn’t really what I expected when arriving in the ‘land of the free’. No harm done however and I stepped out of the building into the sauna like heat of Florida to catch a taxi.

This happened after I got pulled over leaving a rest area that was getting busted and the cops thought I was there, uh, trying to get lucky:

Me: Look, I didn’t solicit any sex, OK? This is a huge misunderstanding. I was really going out to pee, I was walking to the bushes, I tripped over this guy – and suddenly all those cops and their helicopters…
Detective Stabler: Jon, Jon, it’s OK, we believe you. The problem is we found your friend in the car.
[Detective Stabler is referring to a dead body they found in my car, which unbeknownst to me was left by the hitchhiker I had picked up earlier. I had no idea about the body. I’m thinking the police are going to charge me with giving a ride to hitchhiker, because the hitchhiker told me it was a felony in that state.]
Me: Oh, the hitchhiker? That’s what this is about, the hitchhiker? Oh, oh, great. This is my luck – I get caught for everything.
Detective Krevoy: So… you admit it?
Me: Ah, yeah, guilty as charged. Look, I know you guys got a job to do, alright? And I’m really sorry. I did it, I admit it. You know, the guy even told me, the hitchhiker told me it was illegal.
Detective Krevoy: Well, uh, can you tell us his name?
Me: Ah… no, I didn’t catch it. Can we cut to the chase, I mean, am I like in a lot of trouble here?
Detective Stabler: First tell us why you did it.
Me: Why I did it? Ah… I don’t know. Boredom? The guy turned to be a blubber mouth who just would not shut up.
Detective Krevoy: Jon, this wasn’t your first time, was it?
Me: No.
Detective Krevoy: How many are we talking here?
Me: Hitchhikers? My whole life? Ah… I don’t know – twenty-five, fifty… I mean, who keeps track? Hey, you know, I know this is the Bible Belt and everything, but where I come from this is not that big deal, I mean…
Detective Krevoy: You son of a bitch! You’re gonna fry!
[exploding in rage due to my seeming indifference to murder, detective Krevoy roars, grabs me by my shirt and repeatedly slams my head against the desk. I yell in pain and Detective Stabler finally steps in.]
Detective Stabler: Take it easy! Calm down!
[Stabler manages to separate Krevoy and my battered head. I fall backward on the floor]
Detective Stabler: [to Krevoy] Are you OK?
Me: [to Krevoy] What the hell is wrong with you?

I’m alarmed that Sprint has that much info !
The TSA, unfortunately I expect that.

No,but I did date a police officer who was very nosy. XD

Maybe I am a bit jaded, but I don’t consider the OP questioning to be intense.
Did they shine a bright light in his face, and were they screaming the questions at him before he could finish answering the previous question?

I have had the same kind of questions from banks and credit bureaus to confirm my identiy.

Not about my family, thought, only but about me.

Where did I live in 1998, on which of these streets have I lived in the past ten years, in 2002 you bought a car, was it a Toyota, Ford or Honda, etc.

Bottomline…...it’s all about national security. Suppose this person had been a terrorist and was allowed to board without the intense scrutiny? Then, everyone would have blamed TSA for not doing their job.

Like I said, it’s all about national security.

After all, falling out of the sky from 35,000 feet is no picnic.

Lucy, that officer was not me, right?

Questions about myself that I’m used to (former addresses, my car, mothers maiden name, etc, etc) .... I would not be surprised by and would have no problem answering.

Questions such as “Where did your dad live in 1990?” “What color is your sisters car?” etc… would get a “who the hell cares and/or what business is it of yours and/or what does it matter?”

@john65pennington Unfortunately, the TSA has proven over and over again that they are not prepared for the job. Our policies of “airport security” are a joke and the terrorists know it. As someone who deals with the TSA every day all over the US, some of the things they do are ridiculous if not criminal.

I don’t think the questions asked of the OP were very intense or way off base however, just answering questions like those do not “prove” identity. Sorry to say he/she should not have been allowed to board even if they knew the answers.

From the TSA’s Web site:

We understand passengers occasionally arrive at the airport without an ID, due to lost items or inadvertently leaving them at home. Not having an ID, does not necessarily mean a passenger won’t be allowed to fly. If passengers are willing to provide additional information, we have other means of substantiating someone’s identity, like using publicly available databases.

@obvek Which is a joke! What keeps someone from gathering all the info needed on John Q Public and going to the airport with stolen identity. Notice it also says they MAY be subjected to additional screening. For terrorists this is a numbers game. Plain and simple.

@Blondesjon That’s not a real story…IS IT??

It certainly has plot and characters. Looks real to me.

Even fiction has plot and characters…

OMG. You’re right!

@Dutchess_III That is a scene from “Something about Mary” I think.

I hate @Blondesjon!! I feel so sheepish!

This is part of the answer to questions such as, “Who needs privacy, if you have nothing to hide?”

I’ve never been given the third degree quite like that. Sigh. Control freaks.

I am amused though about what false information is available out there about me. I kind of hope that is the answer. I think eventually they will annoy enough people that there will be some popular revolt where people will start spamming the information networks with invented crap, so that their databases become useless.

Anyone want to trade shopping store club cards?

@john65pennington -No,but he was very tall. :)

Yes, I was a witness in a federal firearms case. The guy I testified against got 25 to life. Them federal prosecutors ask a lot of probing questions.

But they asked less probing questions than the lawyers when I was picked for jury duty.

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