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PAY A DEBT, SET OFF ALARMS
Friday, March 03, 2006 - FreeMarketNews.com
If you suddenly liquidate your debts, pay off your credit cards, and return to a cash-only life, be prepared for a visit from Homeland Security - at least that's the lesson of Walter Soehnge. According to a story in the Providence Journal, Soehnge, a retired Texas schoolteacher, migrated north to Providence with his wife. As part of their readjustment, they opted to pay down some debt.
They sent a check for $6,522 to JCPenney Platinum MasterCard to make future payments more manageable - and the alarms went off at DHS. As the story says, "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."
As it turns out, the Penney's folks were required, under the Bank Privacy Act, to notify DHS about the whole transaction due to the large payment, "[a]nd the money doesn't move until the threat alert is lifted." Walter has contacted TV stations, the ACLU and the reporter of the story; he's also been on the Internet, and reportedly says, "The more I'm on, the scarier it gets. It's scary how easily someone in Homeland Security can get permission to spy."
staff reports - Free-Market News Network
Friday, March 03, 2006 - FreeMarketNews.com
If you suddenly liquidate your debts, pay off your credit cards, and return to a cash-only life, be prepared for a visit from Homeland Security - at least that's the lesson of Walter Soehnge. According to a story in the Providence Journal, Soehnge, a retired Texas schoolteacher, migrated north to Providence with his wife. As part of their readjustment, they opted to pay down some debt.
They sent a check for $6,522 to JCPenney Platinum MasterCard to make future payments more manageable - and the alarms went off at DHS. As the story says, "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."
As it turns out, the Penney's folks were required, under the Bank Privacy Act, to notify DHS about the whole transaction due to the large payment, "[a]nd the money doesn't move until the threat alert is lifted." Walter has contacted TV stations, the ACLU and the reporter of the story; he's also been on the Internet, and reportedly says, "The more I'm on, the scarier it gets. It's scary how easily someone in Homeland Security can get permission to spy."
staff reports - Free-Market News Network
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