"stoney" <stoney@the.net> wrote in message
news:crcf029dtmeltbqfdu360fsr7817rfp76b@4ax.com...

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

Pay too much and you could raise the alarm
By BOB KERR
The Providence Journal
28-FEB-06
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Walter Soehnge is a retired Texas schoolteacher who
traveled north with his wife, Deana, saw summer change to fall in Rhode
Island and decided this was a place to stay for a while.

So the Soehnges live in Scituate now and Walter sometimes has breakfast
at the Gentleman Farmer in Scituate Village, where he has passed the
test and become a regular despite an accent that is definitely not
local.

And it was there, at his usual table last week, that he told me that he
was "madder than a panther with kerosene on his tail."

He says things like that. Texas does leave its mark on a man.

What got him so upset might seem trivial to some people who have learned
to accept small infringements on their freedom as just part of the way
things are in this age of terror-fed paranoia. It's that "everything
changed after 9/11" thing.

[snip]

They just paid a hefty chunk of their credit card balance. And they
learned how frighteningly wide the net of suspicion has been cast.

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.

[snip]

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.

[snip]

(Bob Kerr is a columnist for The Providence Journal. E-mail
bkerr@projo.com.)

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.shns.com.)

What strikes me as REALLY stupid about this is that, rather than just
notifying DHS about the transaction, the credit card company froze the
transaction.

Wouldn't a REAL terrorist also get suspicious if their account was suddenly
frozen?

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Geez. I'm one of those smartasses who pays his credit card off every
month. I wonder when they're coming after me?

In article <crcf029dtmeltbqfdu360fsr7817rfp76b@4ax.com>,
stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:

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

Pay too much and you could raise the alarm

By BOB KERR
The Providence Journal 28-FEB-06

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Walter Soehnge is a retired Texas schoolteacher
who traveled north with his wife, Deana, saw summer change to fall
in Rhode Island and decided this was a place to stay for a while.

So the Soehnges live in Scituate now and Walter sometimes has
breakfast at the Gentleman Farmer in Scituate Village, where he has
passed the test and become a regular despite an accent that is
definitely not local.

And it was there, at his usual table last week, that he told me
that he was "madder than a panther with kerosene on his tail."

He says things like that. Texas does leave its mark on a man.

What got him so upset might seem trivial to some people who have
learned to accept small infringements on their freedom as just part
of the way things are in this age of terror-fed paranoia. It's that
"everything changed after 9/11" thing.

But not Walter.

"We're a product of the '60s," he said. "We believe government
should be way away from us in that regard."

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 just paid a hefty chunk of their credit card balance. And they
learned how frighteningly wide the net of suspicion has been cast.

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.

Walter called television stations, the American Civil Liberties
Union and me. And he went on the Internet to see what he could
learn. He learned about changes in something called the Bank
Privacy Act.

"The more I'm on, the scarier it gets," he said. "It's scary how
easily someone in Homeland Security can get permission to spy."

Eventually, his and his wife's money was freed up. The Soehnges
were apparently found not to be promoting global terrorism under
the guise of paying a credit-card bill. They never did learn how a
large credit card payment can pose a security threat.

But the experience has been a reminder that a small piece of
privacy has been surrendered. Walter Soehnge, who says he holds
solid, middle-of-the-road American beliefs, worries about rights
being lost.

"If it can happen to me, it can happen to others," he said.

(Bob Kerr is a columnist for The Providence Journal. E-mail
bkerr@projo.com.)

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.shns.com.)

/end

Geez. I'm one of those smartasses who pays his credit card off every
month. I wonder when they're coming after me?