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Old 01-06-2009, 04:46 PM   #1
NorthernSanctuary
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Default fingerprint required to cash cheque

Another indication of where US is headed:


Bank Requires Fingerprint to Cash Check
Published on 01-03-2009


Source: MetroWest Daily News

FRAMINGHAM — Ariel Sarousi felt surprised and dismayed when asked to provide a fingerprint to cash a check at a Framingham Bank of America branch on Monday.

The 25-year-old Framingham native, who lives in Virginia, brought a rent check to the Bank of America branch on Beacon Street. He does not have an account with the bank, but the check came from a Bank of America account.

"They asked for an ID, which I provided, and after that they brought out an ink pad," Sarousi said. "I asked why, and they said they wanted to take a fingerprint. I said, 'Get out! Please!' and they said, 'No, we're serious."'

Sarousi said he had other forms of identification and that should be enough to cash a check.

"I said, 'You can't expect me to provide fingerprints to cash a check,"' Sarousi said. "I took my check and left.

Anne Pace, a Bank of America spokeswoman, said the company does not comment on individual customer situations. She also said she did not have information on the use of fingerprints.

The Massachusetts Bankers Association has a program to install thumbprint touch pads, intended to deter people passing counterfeit or fraudulent checks, according to the organization's Web site.

A fingerprint can be used by law enforcement to investigate claims of check fraud made by a member of the bank. Thumbprints are taken from those who do not have an account when cashing a check at a branch. According to the Web site, fingerprints are not kept on file by the banks and only are shared with police and other law enforcement if fraud is suspected.

Representatives from the Massachusetts Bankers Association could not be reached for comment yesterday.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts has received complaints similar to Sarousi's from other non-members trying to cash checks at Bank of America branches.

"While Bank of America says this measure is an effort to reduce and discourage check fraud, we believe the bank has taken a step that could endanger individual liberties," the ACLU said in a press release.

The ACLU also raised concerns about fingerprints being kept on file and used for purposes other than theft or check fraud investigations.

Sarousi expressed concern about what could happen to his information.

"The reason I was worried about giving my information is, number one, nobody knows where the fingerprint goes," he said. "Or it could be discarded in an incorrect way, or could be found by someone going through trash. It would have my name and my Social Security number is on my license.

"Who knows what could happen."

He also worries about other ways the fingerprint might be used.

"In a time of terrorism, the Department of Homeland Security is buying fingerprints from private organizations," Sarousi said. "The whole thing is a dehumanizing kind of event."

http://www.blacklistednews.com/news-2834-0-9-9--.html
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Old 01-06-2009, 04:53 PM   #2
Dantheman62
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Default Re: fingerprint required to cash cheque

We've had thumbprints for years, I guess I've never thought twice about them.
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Old 01-06-2009, 05:15 PM   #3
sleepingnomore
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Default Re: fingerprint required to cash cheque

This is outrageous, we're not talking about a law enforcement or government agency but a private corporation. Wake up peoples.
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Old 01-06-2009, 05:35 PM   #4
Dantheman62
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Default Re: fingerprint required to cash cheque

What's there to worry about? I mean if you're not a felon or hiding from the law then why worry? Just my simplistic way of thinking, I mean I don't have anything to hide.
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Old 01-06-2009, 06:32 PM   #5
NorthernSanctuary
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Default Re: fingerprint required to cash cheque

Hi Dan, It's not an issue of whether you have anything to hide. It's an issue of what your basic rights are as a human being, and the right for you to protect your own private information. Consider a hypothetical scenario where the government is corrupted, and they have a way to duplicated a finger print at will. With the knowledge of your fingerprint, they can literally create any damaging evidence against you at will if they like. The "you" here is generalised to the society. Do you wonder why the official identification is not good enough to identify you? After all, that is the purpose of the identification paper.
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Old 01-06-2009, 06:40 PM   #6
Orion Morris
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Default Re: fingerprint required to cash cheque

Just incase you didnt realize it by now..... Dan was being sarcastic.... I am sure that he is aware of the fingerprint database problem... They have been taking our fingerprints for years... I just cashed a check yesterday and they took my finger print... The local police have taken my finger prints since I was 15... Then when I got my job teaching here at the school they finger printed me as well.
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Old 01-06-2009, 06:54 PM   #7
Dantheman62
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Default Re: fingerprint required to cash cheque

I see your point Northern Santuary, but I'm just a minnow in an ocean of alot bigger fish!, If I worked for any top secret type company or something like that then maybe I might think twice, but I think it would be paranoid of me to think that they would waste any time with me. Oh and I should add that it is a shame that a photo ID or ID card is not good enough for them, hence the fingerprint thing.

Last edited by Dantheman62; 01-06-2009 at 07:13 PM.
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Old 01-06-2009, 07:30 PM   #8
NorthernSanctuary
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Default Re: fingerprint required to cash cheque

I understand what you are saying. I was looking at it from a societal point of view; another milestone for the police state.

Orion, that's news to me for the U.S.A. I've heard of it in other places.
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Old 01-06-2009, 09:48 PM   #9
Humble Janitor
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Default Re: fingerprint required to cash cheque

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dantheman62 View Post
What's there to worry about? I mean if you're not a felon or hiding from the law then why worry? Just my simplistic way of thinking, I mean I don't have anything to hide.
That's not the point. The point is that you should be able to cash a check using your driver's license or other forms of ID (Social Security card, etc). The fact that Bank of America requires fingerprints is outrageous and dangerous to the liberties of those who would like to cash a BoA check.

I didn't have this problem cashing a check today at a bank that I did not have an account at. All I needed was my driver's license.
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Old 01-07-2009, 10:30 AM   #10
WiNaDeYo
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Default Re: fingerprint required to cash cheque

Hey, guys. I have recently received an irate phonecall from my mother that has to do with a letter she got from one of her banks followed by a few personal phone calls with the people at her local branch...here's what happened:

My mom has a couple of accounts with me as beneficiary at a big bank that failed in the crash which was then adopted by another bank. Around October, following my advice, she closed out one of these accounts transfering it to a local credit union.

Last week she received a letter in my name demanding that I present myself to a local branch of the (originally crashed) bank with the following documents: Birth Certificate, Social Security No., Passport, Drivers License, and latest Tax Return.

My mom called the bank asking why they needed this info. She was told that because of the Patriot's Act, all banks must collect this info on all clients. (Note that she, the owner of these accounts, had NOT been asked to follow this procedure.) My mom proceeded to explain that her daughter (me) did not live in the US, was abroad, had been in the US for only a brief period in the '90's, and that she did not have the documents they wanted nor was she willing to produce them.

Well, the guy at the bank snapped back, "She does not exist!" My mother answered, "I beg your pardon!" He came back with, "We cannot find a Birth Certificate nor a Social Security Number for this person, so she does not exist!" My mother insisted, stating that when she openned those accounts ( years ago) she had given them that info and asked if they had contacted the County for a birth certificate. She also informed them that anyone can get on the internet and get SS numbers (not necessarily so unless the person has died). He responded that the bank did not have this access. She did tell him that every year she files my (blank) tax forms, that she has the one from year (I) was there if he wanted that, and that my address in the States was the same as hers. He then told her to call (me) and have (me) fax him the documentation they needed, and the phone conversation ended.

Not giving up so easily, at that point my mother noticed that the account number related to the letter was the one that she had closed out months earlier. She was getting ready to call the bank again when the phone rang; it was the guy at the bank (my mother had recently moved and had not given the bank her new number yet!) She immediately told him that she had closed out the account in question and insisted on wanting to know why the bank wanted those documents. He immediately told her that he had found the info he needed (birth date and SS no.) and apologized for the inconvenience, good day. He did not explain how nor what had changed his posture on the subject.

I do realize that because of the banking takeover, they will need to update their clients' files, etc... but what exactly does the Patriots Act entail? I will research this... so much is changing so fast, it's making my head swim! And the country where I live does know I'm here and I do pay my taxes and dues here. And my regional American Consulate knows I'm here and where I live, too. Everything's in order as far as I know.

Now, what I'm wondering is this...how many institutions think I don't exist anymore, just because I haven't lived in the US for a while? Are "they" trying to figure out where all the Americans are? Are the Americans abroad risking to lose citizenship in the near future if "they" can't find them? Is there going to be a "call back" to come home and pay taxes like in the times of Herrod, Joseph and Mary? Just brainstorming...

Peace and Good Will!
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Old 01-07-2009, 09:18 PM   #11
Anchor
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Default Re: fingerprint required to cash cheque

@WiNaDeYo: When I read this I suspected that this was social engineering to try to hack your ID.

On the other hand he could just have been hugely over-worked and underpaid, lacking in caffeine, cranky, making mistakes and being short with people!

A..
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Old 01-07-2009, 09:42 PM   #12
Dantheman62
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Default Re: fingerprint required to cash cheque

Quote:
Originally Posted by Humble Janitor View Post
That's not the point. The point is that you should be able to cash a check using your driver's license or other forms of ID (Social Security card, etc). The fact that Bank of America requires fingerprints is outrageous and dangerous to the liberties of those who would like to cash a BoA check.

I didn't have this problem cashing a check today at a bank that I did not have an account at. All I needed was my driver's license.
You know I really hate when just a sentence or so is taken out of my post and used in a quote!, it's happened more than once. If you would've used my whole post as a quote or at least read the last part of my post, than you would've seen that at the end I said that's it's a shame that a photo ID or an ID card wasn't enough to cash a check, hence the fingerprint!, sorry but that's my gripe for the day.
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