Couple investigated by Homeland Security for paying credit card bill

[kpete]

Couple investigated by Homeland Security because they paid they credit card bill
by John in DC - 3/03/2006 08:58:00 AM


I'm not kidding. They owed $6000 on their credit card and figured it was time to pay it off. So they did. And that's when Homeland Security was alerted...

Living in a police state? Priceless.

Pay too much and you could raise the alarm

By BOB KERR
The Providence Journal
28-FEB-06


He was referring to the recent decision by him and his wife to be responsible, to do the kind of thing that just about anyone would say makes good, solid financial sense.

They paid down some debt. The balance on their JCPenney Platinum MasterCard had gotten to an unhealthy level. So they sent in a large payment, a check for $6,522.

And an alarm went off. A red flag went up. The Soehnges' behavior was found questionable.

And all they did was pay down their debt. They didn't call a suspected terrorist on their cell phone. They didn't try to sneak a machine gun through customs.

............

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.

...............

more at:
http://www.shns.com/shns/g_index2.cfm?action=detail&pk=RAISEALARM-02-28-06


http://americablog.blogspot.com/2006/03/couple-investigated-by-homeland.html

[TallahasseeGrannie]

1. How crazy is THAT?

I do this all the time. Like if I refinance my house, I'll pay things off in big chunks, including cars.

I wonder how they found out HS was looking into it? (Note: I didn't read the article.)

[file83]

17. Here's how they found out the DHS was involved:

From the article:

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.

So, the Homeland Security Department can CONTROL how much CREDIT you have, at their soul discretion. That is SO FUCKED UP.
Somebody, wake me up out of this dystopian nightmare.

[wakeme2008]

2. rofl

"madder than a panther with kerosene on his tail."

Texas does leave it's mark....
:rofl:

[LisaLynne]

3. Yeah, but you know, if you don't have anything to hide ...

why do we care? I think this tells us why.

[oneighty]

4. My banker tells me

If one moves 10,000 dollars or more at a time the transaction is reported (to someone).

Perhaps the amount of a reportable transfer of dollars has been lowered?

180

[MercutioATC]

6. That's been the case for a long time...

...I think it started with the "War on Drugs".

The solution? Transfer $$ in increments of $9900. No paperwork.

[oneighty]

14. Yes

So the banker told me and so we did.

180

[pitohui]

19. you just committed a felony mercutio! you too 180!

it is not only a felony called structuring to break up sums so that you never trigger the currency transaction reporting requirement, it is also a felony to advise anyone to do so

in your place i would delete my post if there is any way at all this bad advice could be traced back to you

seriously

don't believe pitohui, ask an attorney who is familiar with the money laundering control act of 1986

no paperwork my ass, you just got a suspicious activity report filed on the victim of your advice

please, people, if you don't know what you're talking abt, perhaps don't talk abt it until you do know?

(yes, i used to work in a business where i handled cash)

oh god, and either oneeighty's banker is another felon or oneeighty is victim of an entrapment scheme

no responsible banker would give such advice, most reputable banks and casinos train their personnel not to say ANYTHING at all on this topic, since you can't really speak abt it w.out potentially breaking the law, they are only allowed to hand you a brochure from the feds explaining the law

[MercutioATC]

21. No, I didn't.

I neither admitted that I had done this nor suggested that anybody else do it. I simply posted that limiting single transactions to less that $10k would eliminate the paperwork.

[seriousstan]

7. It is reported to the Feds to stop drug money and laundering of cash.

[Greyhound]

11. This has been the law for a long time, the excuse then was

"The War on Drugs".

[PA Democrat]

20. The rule is they have to report CASH transactions $10,000 and more.

It's to watch for money laundering and organized crime activity. I worked as a teller when I was in college almost 30 years ago and this was the law back then.

[GOPS Worst Fear]

5. More Of Bushcos Radical Fascism in Action!

..Now we know the real reason for Homeland security is not to catch terrorist but to watch over the average American!

[tanyev]

8. Paying off your credit card debt? WHY DO YOU HATE AMERICA???

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

13. Pay off your card and the terrorists win!

This could be fun.

[LiberalinNC]

9. Wait a dog gone minute - didn't Cheney just say people needed to save more

well looks as if these folks wanted to get rid of their debt and get on the path to saving. :crazy:

[DBoon]

10. But this really is a terrorist act

If enough people paid off their credit card debt, our economy would collapse.

It is our patriotic duty to spend on credit, so we can slave away in debt servitude and keep the engines of Walmart busy humming along.

Being free of debt means you don't have to work so hard. In addition to being un-American in itself, all that spare time will inevitably lead to thinking subversive thoughts.

People who are working 2 or 3 jobs to pay down debt don't have the time to read Noam Chomsky. Trust me.

[mmonk]

12. The real question.

Do we own our money or have full rights to it? Or does Homeland Security have more rights to it?

[tanyev]

15. Funny how Homeland Security can't muster up much concern

about a devastating hurricane destroying one of our premiere cities, but they are johnny-on-the-spot when two citizens try to pay off a credit card.

[file83]

18. EXACTLY. Gotta Cat-5 hurricane? No big deal. Old couple paying off

debt? CALLING ALL CARS!! CALLING ALL CARS!!

[file83]

16. Welcome to the Police State.

[MaraJade]

22. Oh no!

I just used part of my retirement money to pay off about $6000 in debt! Will the Nazis
come for me next?!?

[kurth]

23. Remember this Toy Store gem?

Homeland Security Agents Visit Toy Store
Associated Press | October 29 2004

ST. HELENS, Ore. - So far as she knows, Pufferbelly Toys owner Stephanie Cox hasn't been passing any state secrets to sinister foreign governments, or violating obscure clauses in the Patriot Act. So she was taken aback by a mysterious phone call from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to her small store in this quiet Columbia River town just north of Portland. "I was shaking in my shoes," Cox said of the September phone call. "My first thought was the government can shut your business down on a whim, in my opinion. If I'm closed even for a day that would cause undue stress."

When the two agents arrived at the store, the lead agent asked Cox whether she carried a toy called the Magic Cube, which he said was an illegal copy of the Rubik's Cube, one of the most popular toys of all time. He told her to remove the Magic Cube from her shelves, and he watched to make sure she complied. After the agents left, Cox called the manufacturer of the Magic Cube, the Toysmith Group, which is based in Auburn, Wash. A representative told her that Rubik's Cube patent had expired, and the Magic Cube did not infringe on the rival toy's trademark.

Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said agents went to Pufferbelly based on a trademark infringement complaint filed in the agency's intellectual property rights center in Washington, D.C. "One of the things that our agency's responsible for doing is protecting the integrity of the economy and our nation's financial systems and obviously trademark infringement does have significant economic implications," she said. Six weeks after her brush with Homeland Security, Cox told The Oregonian she is still bewildered by the experience. "Aren't there any terrorists out there?" she said.

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