I tried fairly hard to chase this down but can't put much meat on it.
All the reports I found refer back to the same source. I eventually
found this:
<http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2006/03/the_terrorist_t.html>
which references sections 351 and 352 of the Patriot Act which amends
the Bank Secrecy Act. But reading sections 351 and 352 will not leave
you much enlightened. They're fairly straightforward and rather blah
paragraphs having to do with a bank's requirement to report "suspicious"
activity having to do with money laundering or securities fraud and what
constitutes "suspicious" is not defined. The part I found most
interesting is that the bank is specifically prohibited from informing
the customer of the fact that he has been reported to the feds which
makes a lot of sense if you're trying to catch bad guys red handed.
Therefore, if the alleged incident occurred as reported the bank itself
was in violation of the law for having told the customer what they had done.
Finally, if the bank construed paying of a credit card debt as
"suspicious" activity related to money laundering or securities fraud
then I think the overreaction is on the part of the bank and not the feds.
I think I'll chalk this one up to internet legend.
Chuck Norcutt
John Hermanson wrote:
> That was sarcasm. Of course, WHY would a bomber bother to pay off his
> debt. It's the dramatic change of a regular routine that makes someone
> "suspicious". It's all part of the wonderful Patriot Act. HS is worming
> it's way into all our lives, like we are the criminals.
>
> http://www.shns.com/shns/g_index2.cfm?action=detail&pk=RAISEALARM-02-28-06
> http://www.freemarketnews.com/WorldNews.asp?nid=8735
> http://techrepublic.com.com/5208-6230-0.html?forumID=8&threadID=191477&start=0
>
> John
>
>
> On 5/1/2008 10:19:17 AM, Chuck Norcutt (chucknorcutt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx)
> wrote:
>> Somehow, John, I
>> can't imagine a suicide bomber bothering to pay off his
>> credit card. Sounds a bit off-the-wall to me.
>>
>> Chuck Norcutt
>>
>> John Hermanson wrote:
>>> If you have the habit of paying minimum due on your credit card but then
>>> suddenly pay off the balance in full, the bank first notifies Homeland
>>> Security. They investigate you, 'cus
>> a terrorist would pay off his
>>> bills (!) first. Then if HS clears you, the bank credits the payment to
>>> your account (which would make it a late payment btw.)
>>>
>>> ___________________________________
>>> John Hermanson | CPS, Inc.
>>> 21 South Ln., Huntington NY 11743
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