My BFs security clearance asks that and much more. All debts, all assets, assets sold, proof of insured values, addresses of all houses you have lived in, your overseas trips ), your parents and siblings overseas trips, social media and forum memberships, and so on. And they also interview your friends and family to see if the answers match. Plus they visit his house to do the interview so they can look around. Then they repeat it all every 3 years.
The amount of information they require and how deep they dig apparently depends on the clearance level.
That strikes me as very likely to get a lot of false information. I know my sisters have traveled overseas, but I couldn't tell you exactly where or exactly when. Or the addresses of houses where they've lived, particularly during college. What about people whose friends have faulty memories, so the answers don't match? It seems odd to judge the security-worthiness of someone based on their friends' memories.
I once got one of these calls about a friend. They told me they were checking references for a job, but the questions seemed unusual for a job candidate. Suddenly, the light came on and I exclaimed, 'OH! You're asking me if I know of anything she could be blackmailed over!' The person on the other end of the call paused a minute, then said, 'Well, do you?' I said, 'I know of things she's keeping secret from her mother, but nothing she'd be willing to sell out her country over.' She got clearance to work for the White House, so I guess my, and other peoples', answers were satisfactory.
