In a move that has riled British and European air travelers, foreign passengers who have used a credit card to book a flight could have their credit card and email accounts inspected by the Department of Homeland Security.

The extent of the demands were disclosed in “undertakings” given by the US Department of Homeland Security to the European Union and published by the Department for Transport after a Freedom of Information request. [read more...]

However, foreign travelers are not alone. The US government has been quietly assigning US citizens who travel internationally a “terrorist risk rating.”

Virtually every person entering and leaving the United States by air, sea or land is scored by the Homeland Security Department’s Automated Targeting System, or ATS. The scores are based on ATS’ analysis of their travel records and other data, including items such as where they are from, how they paid for tickets, their motor vehicle records, past one-way travel, seating preference and what kind of meal they ordered. [read more...]

Many of the details of the program are unknown. While privacy groups fret, the government asserts that the programs are vital to national security. For better or worse, it seems one thing is certain: If you’re traveling to or from the United States, you’re not the only one watching how you spend your money.