How much useless junk is the NSA collecting due to fictional people?

[Godfather]

There are a lot of people on the Internet who don't exist in real life. There are scambaiters who operate fake email accounts to mess with Nigerian scammers. There are a lot of Lennay Kekuas out there.

I have to wonder how many files the NSA has on people who don't really exist?

[Seven]

This is a good point. The identity system as an entirety has become a crisis not just in the US but worldwide. Perhaps that is part of the motive behind these invasive acts in the first place. I could buy that as an explanation. Not accept it, mind you, but I could buy it.

[Mach1]

How many fictional people are employed by the government?


A May 31 response to a Freedom of Information Act request showed, however, there seemed to be some model employees at the EPA. Like Richard Windsor.

Three years in a row, he was awarded a Certificate for Ethical Behavior, and was also given a certificate for completing cyber-security training courses. The only problem: Richard Windsor isn’t real. It was the email pseudonym adopted by former EPA Director Lisa Jackson, raising serious questions about whether she was intentionally avoiding FOIA requests for her email correspondence.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/06/07/where-obama-as-irs-epa-compete-for-most-bizarre-scandal-in-washington/#ixzz2WEHRFlWS