Office of Homeland Security at the door.

Short story of the events of about an hour ago.

First our details.
I am staying at a friends house. Her background, shes an attorney working at some wellsfargo offices, grinding paperwork to sue many people a day, whose houses are being foreclosed upon (personally i am ashamed of this... but its her job)
She applied for some government job. some investigator for some DEA's office somewhere to overlook drug companies or something. So many background and medical checks are required for her, and its a long painful process (shes been at it almost 6 months now), essentially she got the job pending all this government bureaucratic mess.

I do not have a criminal history. i dont associate with questionable people. or have been to questionable places.
However i do own and buy guns, i buy chemicals online that are legal, but dangerous (its a hobby of mine to refine silver and gold from electronic and flatware scrap)
and i hang out on sites like this, including wikileaks, and alternative news sources.

Ok what happened just now.
This friend of mine is at work (9-5 bank hours lol) and I am home with my girlfriend visiting.
We ordered a pizza and are waiting upstairs for it while we watch tv.
she goes down to answer the door for the delivery at the exact time these 2 suited homeland security men are flashing their badges at her and asking about the owner of the house's name.

Now my girlfriend is a little naive -.- she actually assumed these guys were salesmen.... she told them the owner is out of town and she refused to give the owners name when they asked. They said they would return in a few days.
I do not know about whats going on downstairs, till she tells me when shes back upstairs with the pizza.

So now i am my usual paranoid self. are they here to question me? the owner? or other?
How do i handle this, i am home during the day. I will likely see them soon here.

while yes im not doing anything illegal, i know currently that dosnt matter anymore. its easy for the government to harass us anyways. Its worrying

Having had a run in with these guys in the past I would suggest you screw with them and send them on their way. It's what I did.

Probably just there to ask about your friend and get a character witness statement from someone she knows.

It's nothing unusual, they have them in the UK too, especially if you're doing something related to security. They're not there because you did anything.

Tell them you will sell them the kitchen table. Seriously.

Seriously meaning with a straight face.

Homeland security ID is used my many differnet law enforcment groups. I bet it was the pizza police.

It's not worth being too worried about stuff like this.

If they really had anything on anyone they wouldnt be knocking and showing badges.

They'd just ram down the door at 4AM and flex-cuff everyone. Real trouble means it's out of your hands.

Still, dont waste time talking to them. Nobodys ever helped themselves by running their mouths.

Agree with the post by Curious7, they're doing a background check on your friend and you are listed as a reference. Normal stuff, don't mess with them, answer thier questions so your friend can get hired.

The paranoia about the government is crazy.

They are there for her. It's not about you. Suggestions to mess with them will put her job in jeopardy, which you really don't have the right to do. Just stay completely out of it. The lower your profile, the better for her.

reply to post by Bisman

what makes you so sure it was homeland security?

yeah all background checks

it happens just be honest

If they wanted you, they would have you.

This was purely a bureaucratic call.

reply to post by Bisman


How does she know what a Dpt. Homeland Security badge looks like? How would she be able to tell if they were real?

For all we know, they were mobsters with fake badges trying to collect on a deal...or break bones for a deal gone bad.

It can happen.

Originally posted by BulletShogun
reply to post by Bisman

 

what makes you so sure it was homeland security?

well i wasnt down there to see them. if this was about my friend(home owner) this would be all done by now.
the girlfriend told me thats how they introduced themselves. with the badges that im sure she didnt look at.

im not proud about how my naive gf handled it, but it left me in the dark as well.

As much as I dislike the government, I do believe these suits were there to ask questions.

My husband had a neighbor who had applied to work for the FBI. They actually came to his house (he lived about 4 houses down), flashed their badges and asked him a bunch of questions about her.

It's all good. Don't start freaking out until they start questioning your neighbors about YOU!

If she's getting a government job, then it is part of her background check. For example, the FBI will question your friends, neighbors, and relatives- in addition to checking your criminal history- before hiring people. It's S.O.P. for them. I'm sure they were there just to verify that she lives there. Nothing to worry about.

Source: My first job out of college was working as a records clerk for a local law enforcement agency doing background checks for the military, FBI, and anybody else who came in with three bucks (usually potential employers and ambulance chasers).

Originally posted by BulletShogun
reply to post by Bisman

 

what makes you so sure it was homeland security?

Yes why think anything but salesmen if that's what your girlfriend the only one to see their ID thought. is she incapacitated in some way?

well i feel a little better then lol

now i hope they come back soon. so my gf didnt just ruin my friend's chance at a good job here

reply to post by Bisman


Unless your hiding something, why the paranoia?

Hopefully you won't cost your host this job in some way. You do seem overly concerned over not much.

Most people who act suspicious and scared have a reason. That's the way they will look at it. Shake their hands and answer their questions and don't mess it up for the person who's home your in. Odds are they are nice people and no threat to anyone. Not their fault if some are paranoid for no reason.

Originally posted by NoClue206
Having had a run in with these guys in the past I would suggest you screw with them and send them on their way. It's what I did.

Since its not this persons house and it might hurt the person who's home he's staying in, that is pure nonsense. You'd have to be a real jerk to do that.

I agree with lesigh, in practice. But in theory, I'd love to mess with these guys