After sending in the check, they checked online to see if their account had been duly credited. They learned that the check had arrived, but the amount available for credit on their account hadn't changed.So Deana Soehnge called the credit-card company. Then Walter called.
"When you mess with my money, I want to know why," he said.
They both learned the same astounding piece of information about the little things that can set the threat sensors to beeping and blinking.They were told, as they moved up the managerial ladder at the call center, that the amount they had sent in was much larger than their normal monthly payment. And if the increase hits a certain percentage higher than that normal payment, Homeland Security has to be notified. And the money doesn't move until the threat alert is lifted.
We are not free citizens. Everything is being watched. Every day they give us more reasons to quit the electronic system, go cash whenever possible. The section of the Bank Secrecy Act that mandates reporting of suspicious transactions to the federal government was enacted in 1996. Here's a PDF of the Office of the Currency Comptroller's BSA handbook. Suspicious activity reporting requirements begin on page 14 of the PDF. It looks like almost any kind of transaction, including paying off your credit cards if you don't normally do that each month, can trigger the reporting requirements. Up until a few years ago I trusted the government not to abuse this power on a wholesale basis.
Kudos to Scripps Howard News Service for publishing this story. They have an excellent searchable website for their news publications.
Comment Preferences