Bank Puts Hold On Man’s Transaction For The FUNNIEST Mistake!


With events like the extension of the Patriot Act, the American people seem to be constantly reminded that we need to sift through everything in order to stop terrorism. Bruce Francis learned this when he attempted to pay his dog walker for walking his pit bull mix, Dash, and the financial institution flagged the payment. The reasoning? In the memo line for his check, Francis said that it was “For Dash”, and the Bank thought that his dog’s name sounded suspiciously like Daesh, the chosen Arabic name for ISIS.

According to a local station, banks are required to scan all transactions that their customers have. Anything that looks like it might be fishy (or smells of wet dog) gets handed off to the Treasury Department. According to Edward Hasbrouck, who heads the Identity Project, all of this is done in secret, without alerting the account holder. It makes sense if someone is trying to wire money to an organization that presents a national security risk, but can leave a dog owner rather confused.

When interviewed about the hold on his account due to the bank confusing Dash with Daesh, Francis said that:

“I thought to myself, ‘Great, they’re stopping the world’s stupidest terrorist.’”

The bank defended their actions, saying that if a name on their list appears on a payment, then they are required to review it. And that:

“This is an important part of ensuring that crime does not filter through the US banking system. In this instance, the payment was flagged, reviewed and eventually released.”

Francis wasn’t excessively bothered by the issue, as the payment still managed to go through, and even supported the action, saying:

“I think anything we can do to stop the terrorists and the funding of terrorists, let’s do it. And if it means an inconvenience to me and my dogwalker, then that’s a price I’m totally willing to pay.”

This raises two big questions. Does every check that gets sent with a name like Dash (which seems like a relatively common name for a dog) get held for further inspection? And is there really anyone funding terrorist cells by openly putting on the memo who it’s for?

Whatever the answers, you can bet that this author will make sure his bad handwriting won’t allow a bank official to misread IKEA as ISIS.

Featured image via Julia Meslener, available under a Creative Commons license. 

Ben is a struggling mastermind in the great city of New Orleans. He divides his time between organizing his world empire, working in IT, and pursuing all the sights and sounds of the Crescent City. You can follow him on Twitter @bendetiveaux.