The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is going undercover to gain a look into banks and providers of financial products and services, according to a report from the Washington Times.
The publication points to a series of ads recruiting for investigators who will be hired to establish and conduct surveillance to develop intelligence and evidence toward investigations that show the CFPB’s efforts in this direction.
The bureau also said that investigators, who would earn $98,000 to $149,000 per year, may have to arrange for and oversee contracts with private investigators. These private investigators “may know the players, culture, history in a specific geographic area in which a case is centered,” according to the advertisements, which outline a host of other responsibilities.
The recruitment effort also makes clear that while working under enforcement lawyers, investigators would be assigned to “delicate matters, issues and investigative problems for which there are few, if any, established criteria.”
Officials at the bureau declined to discuss specific investigative techniques, but said the practices would not engage in any sort of activities that violate the civil liberties of subjects.
“Investigative work conducted by our staff will be covered by Consumer Financial Protection Bureau policies to ensure all practices comply with applicable laws and regulations and protect individuals’ privacy rights,” said bureau spokeswoman Moira Vahey.
“The investigation activities described in the posting are intended to inform our enforcement office about what consumers may experience with different financial products or services,” Ms. Vahey said. “We anticipate that the type of information gathered generally will be information available to the general public. Investigation activities like these are typical among agencies charged with civil law enforcement…”
Read the full Washington Times article.
Written by Elizabeth Ecker
