U.S. Retracts Canada Spy Coins Claim (AP)

[Eugene]

U.S. Retracts Canada Spy Coins Claim

By TED BRIDIS
The Associated Press
Thursday, January 18, 2007; 3:49 PM

WASHINGTON -- Reversing itself, the Defense Department says an espionage report it
produced that warned about Canadian coins with tiny radio frequency transmitters
was not true.

The Defense Security Service said it never could substantiate its own published claims
about the mysterious coins. It has begun an internal review to determine how the false
information was included in a 29-page report about espionage concerns.

The service had contended since late June that such coins were found planted on U.S.
contractors with classified security clearances on at least three separate occasions
between October 2005 and January 2006 as the contractors traveled through Canada.

"The allegations, however, were found later to be unsubstantiated following an
investigation into the matter," the agency said in a statement published on its Web site
last week.

-snip-

Full article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/18/AR2007011801152.html

[Richard Steele]

1. Gee, what an efficient & well-run Defense Dept. we must have!

Not even competent to weed a goddamn UNSUBSTANTIATED RUMOR out
of official reports.

[Bluebear]

2. I'm so proud. nt

[Heywood J]

3. Honestly, who believed this in the first place?

Any transmitter that could physically be placed in a coin would have a range of maybe three feet - and if you're that close, you can eavesdrop with better methods or you already know where they are. Aside from that, the idea of bugging coins is defeated by making change, buying items, etc. Pretty stupid bug that doesn't stay with the target.


Did they really think anyone would buy this idea? I think that's insulting the intelligence of the American people.

[Richard Steele]

4. I had no reason to disbelieve it.

I assumed the fictional coins were tracking devices, not bugs.

If I had "American Security Contractors" roaming around
my country, I'd sure want to know where the bastards were
every minute of the day.

[Boojatta]

6. Are you sure that it's so simple?

Aside from that, the idea of bugging coins is defeated by making change, buying items, etc. Pretty stupid bug that doesn't stay with the target.

If the target is known or believed to collect certain unusual kinds of coins, then it would be possible to choose an appropriate coin. Lots of interesting coins circulate until someone either adds it to a collection or sells it, so an unusual coin would not necessarily arouse suspicions.

[applegrove]

5. To come clean... Canada did bury a loonie in the ice, at the centre, during

the Salt Lake City Olympic games. Which we then won. But no radio transmitter.

[Pab Sungenis]

7. The confusion is understandable.

They looked at a Canadian 25 cent coin and 5 cent coin, and instead of a caribou and beaver, they thought they had found Moose und Squirrel!