You're On the List
So there's this list of terrorists, right? You can get it from the government. In fact, you're really supposed to get it from the government, because anyone who does any business with anyone on the list gets a big-ass fine.
So -- you need a loan? Mortgage? Apartment? Car?Exercise equipment?You better hope your name ain't on that list. Or that your name isn't slightly similar to a name on that list. Or that your name isn't "Hussein" or "Muhammed." Because you gonna get screwed.
Despite the fact that only one US citizen's name even appears on the list, companies are terrified of getting caught not abiding by the rule. Because they wouldn't want to cause another 9/11, like this guy did:
Still, Neil Leverenz, chief executive of Automotive Compliance Center in Phoenix, a firm that helps auto dealers comply with federal law, said he spoke to the general manager of a Tucson dealership who tearfully told him that if he had known to check the OFAC list in late summer of 2001, he would not have sold the car used by Mohamed Atta, who went on to fly a plane into the World Trade Center.
Uh... DUDE COULD'VE TAKEN A CAB TO THE AIRPORT, CHIEF.