> The IG found that the search was based on a tip by an airline employee who passed on the names of passengers who had purchased flights 48 hours before departure.

I have bought last-minute airline tickets three times in my life -- all to buy a car that was a good deal. All three times I had cash to buy said car. Glad I never got snared.

I purchase most of my tickets last minute simply because I tend to procrastinate. And they’re usually one way tickets because I procrastinate deciding my return date, too. I’ve never been flagged for SSS though. Maybe that’s because the behavior isn’t anomalous for me.

48 hours is not uncommon for business trips.

I'm not certain on this, however it has been implied to me by custom officials that declaring excess funds (typically over 10k USD) when traveling internationally can protect against seizure.