Dept of Homeland Security on the case, blocks credit card payment

This is the kind of shit that Boxer, Feinstein and Pelosi voted for: a perfectly average American citizen, flush with a little cash and trying to pay off his credit card, is nailed as a potential terrorist by DHS’s massively intrusive rules and regulations. Via Steve Bartin.

They said it couldn’t happen here, Gentle Readers, but it already is. Did 9/11 change everything? Damn straight, and here’s an example:

From The Providence Journal, by Bob Kerr

"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."

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