Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2016/08/17/paypal-halted-a-transaction-be.html
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3 Likes
Better yet, use Bitcoin? I’d think it was less convoluted and idiotic to just drive to wherever the other person is and hand them cash, or just mail a check.
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I wonder what other words will trigger this kind of action?
Ummmm. Hmmm…
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the same thing happened to me about a month ago with a cigar tin from the 1950’s that said Kuba import on it.
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Any words related to a country on which the US has placed sanctions can trigger this. So names of countries or cities in, say, Syria, Cuba, Iran, N Korea…
Also names of particular individuals who have been sanctioned (see, certain Russian oligarchs).
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Drive all the way to Cuba? Come on!
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What’s more problematic: turning bitcoin into real money or driving a car to cuba? I’d give even odds.
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LOL. Welcome to my world.
Hot tip, never spell out what KIND of parts you are paying for online.
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This is the standard reaction when someone tries to send money with a message that suggests it might be a back channel to an embargoed country or a terrorist organization.
No, it’s not a great way to do it, that’s why it’s a review and not a refusal.
No, they won’t tell you what words trigger it, the terrorist will just stop using those words.
No, in the long run it doesn’t do anything be stall very incompetent senders of small transactions. But it’s slightly better than doing nothing and is a step towards meeting federal regulations.
Send the same message (regarding Cuba) in a month and it probably won’t happen.
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Being Amish, I have to say “both”.
“Penis” is fine. “Tiger penis” is not. Or so I’ve heard.
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don’t use paypal… seriously.
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Cuba.
Cuba.
CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA
CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA
CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA
CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA
CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA CUBA
!
(I loathe Paypal.)
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What we need is a variation on the ICAO phonetic alphabet where all letters are represented by words that trigger the filter.
Might actually be a little tricky. Can anyone think of something better than ‘UXO’ for ‘U’?
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Snowden?
I wonder if Cuba Gooding Jr. Has issues
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I think this is a USA problem, and not a PayPal problem. PayPal is just asking you to document for them that you are not breaking a stupid rule that we are all obliged to follow. It’s a shame that their system is not more nuanced, but this is not a very onerous burden and attempting to ensure compliance with these laws is not anywhere near the primary focus of their business. And their hit-it-with-a-hammer approach to screening is probably a lot more effective than you think.
A lot of people have a lot of different perspectives on PayPal. I’m pretty happy with it, personally. They have been more than fair to us in a number of chargeback situations.
But if both your wife and her reviewer are BitCoin users, I can’t think of a reason for them not to use it instead. Heck, he probably wouldn’t even need to report it as income.
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Uh oh.
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An autographed photo of Cuba Gooding, Jr.
A chicken incubator
Steinberg Cubase
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I still need to fill a few gaps…
Al-Shabaab
Boko Haram
Cuba
Darfur
ETA
FARC
G
Hamas
Iran
Jabaat al-Nusra
Kim Jong Un
Libya
Mosul
North Korea
Osama
Pasdaran
Qaeda
Raqaa
Syria
Taliban
UVF
Venezuela
W
X
Yemen
Zimbabwe
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W is obvious: WMDs
(Although the algorithm may not be able to find the message if it has that initialism in it).
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Paypal sent me a nastygram telling me to stop running March Madness pools through my account because a friend mentioned March Madness in a payment for a gift for a mutual friend with cancer.
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