Pay Your Credit Card Bill and You are a Terrorist

I had the exact same thing happen to me this year. My wife and I decided it was time to pay off one of our credit cards. When we did I made the mistake of assuming that what was normally a 1 to 2 day process when you use an online ACH transaction would be completed. We found out when the card was frozen that in fact we had been placed on hold pending an investigation to make sure we weren't terrorists. The lesson I learned that day - instead of sending in one large payment, send in 4 smaller ones.

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.

See: http://www.shns.com/shns/g_index2.cfm?action=detail&pk=RAISEALARM-02-28-06 and http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2006/03/the_terrorist_t.html