[107862] in Cypherpunks
SNET: FDIC heading toward PRE-PAID Cash Cards instead of CASH
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Vladimir Z. Nuri)
Tue Jan 26 18:22:43 1999
To: cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 99 15:08:35 -0800
From: "Vladimir Z. Nuri" <vznuri@netcom.com>
Reply-To: "Vladimir Z. Nuri" <vznuri@netcom.com>
From: "The Christian Alert Network" <ctomlin@ns.vvm.com>
Subject: SNET: FDIC heading toward PRE-PAID Cash Cards instead of CASH
Date: Wed, 20 Jan 1999 16:18:38 +0000
To: TCAN.Alert.Net.#.9@ns.vvm.com
-> SNETNEWS Mailing List
URGENT * URGENT * URGENT * URGENT * URGENT
Subject: FDIC heading toward PRE-PAID Cash Cards instead of
CASH.
The first part of this message will sound familiar .... however there
is NEW information following the background.
BACKGROUND
On 19 November 1998, "The Christian Alert Network (TCAN)"
dispatched an URGENT ALERTthe subject of which was "Big
Brother and YOUR Bank Account". That alert referred to a Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) document entitled
"Minimum Security Devices and Procedures and Bank Secrecy Act
Compliance." That document is summarized as follows;
"SUMMARY: The FDIC is proposing to issue a regulation
requiring insured nonmember banks to adopt and maintain "Know
Your Customer" programs. As proposed, the regulation would
require each nonmember bank to develop a program designed to
determine the identity of its customers; determine its customers'
sources of funds; determine the normal and expected transactions of
its customers; monitor account activity for transactions that are
inconsistent with those normal and expected transactions; and
report any transactions of its customers that are determined to be
suspicious, in accordance with the FDIC's existing suspicious
activity reporting regulation. ---"
As noted in the quoted SUMMARY of the document identified
above, the "key operative statements" are as follows;
1. Identify its customers.
2. Determine its customers' source of funds.
3. Determine the normal and expected transactions of its
customers.
4. Monitor account activity for transactions that are inconsistent
with those normal and expected transactions.
5. Report any transactions of its customers that are determined to
be suspicious ---. [to the IRS and the FBI ].
Given the above background, you can refresh you memory on the
details of this very dangerous legislation by going to the TCAN
Web Site at [ http://www.vvm.com/~ctomlin ]
The government objective here is to eventually make local financial
institutions the only source of legal tender for the individual. At
this point and for the purpose of this paper, legal tender is defined
as dollars, debit cards or other credit cards. When the above
objectives have been fully accomplished, it will then be a very
simple matter to implement the rest of the plan which is, to outlaw
all cash transactions and require all transactions now involving
cash, be accomplished through the use of checks and or smart cards
followed by the eventual elimination of the checks.
Since the above alert was published we have been doing additional
and more extensive research into the background and history of
such an invasion of individual privacy. As a result of that effort
we
have assembled a rather large inventory of U. N. and other related
documents. One of those documents is identified as follows. This
FATF document is rather long thus we will quote only five
paragraphs from that document as follows.
The entire FATF document can be viewed at
[ http://www.oecd.org/fatf/evaluati2.htm ]
******************************************************
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF)
[ http://www.oecd.org/fatf/evaluati2.htm ]
Background
The Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF)
was established by the G-7 Summit in Paris in 1989 to examine
measures to combat money laundering. In April 1990, the FATF
issued a report containing a programme of forty Recommendations
in this area. The Recommendations are designed to provide a
comprehensive blueprint for action against money laundering
covering the criminal justice system and law enforcement; the
financial system and its regulation; and international co-operation.
The Recommendations are not a binding international convention,
but each of the FATF members has made a firm political
commitment to combat money laundering. In 1996 the
Recommendations were modified to take into account recent
money laundering trends and potential future threats.
<snip>
83. Denmark has recently introduced legislation dealing with the
issuance of prepaid cash cards. The issuers of the cards are under
the supervision of the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority
except for cards with a value under DKK 500 (approximately US$
80). The legislation does not prescribe any identification
requirement to individuals or companies buying prepaid cards, but
the issuers must keep a register of all cards in circulation. Such
registers can contain useful information for security purposes (the
balance outstanding on a cash card, counterfeit cards, card used for
a total exceeding the value).
(ii) Record-keeping requirements
84. Some FATF members are confident that an adequate track of
the transactions which are carried out by stored value cards,
particularly for large transactions (Australia) or for any kind of
transaction (France), would be maintained, because the general
anti-money laundering requirements would apply. This is probably
true where stored value cards are issued and managed by banks.
85. Although the re-loading of smart cards is ultimately made
through the debit of a bank account, they can be used by anyone,
anywhere, and for whatever reasons, in the same way as any other
bearer means of payment, especially for the multi-purpose smart
cards. There is therefore no effective means of keeping track of the
relation between the bank account holder and the card holder.
86. It is in fact possible to keep track of the bank account which is
debited if the card management company regularly reports to every
issuing institution all the transactions which have been settled
through each card. It would also be interesting if the amounts
loaded in a card could be registered in a central database.
Maintaining a central database of transactions, or data retrieval
capacity, would allow the participating banks to monitor
transactions. Furthermore, where cards are not linked to a bank
account, both the loading operation and the subsequent payments
are anonymous, so that no paper trail is generated. This problem
could of course become more acute if purse-to-purse transactions
are allowed.
<snip>
******************************************************
The U. S. Federal Government, thru the FDIC is without question
rapidly heading toward a cashless society where even the most
minute activity of individuals can be monitored, tracked and
recorded in a master data base. This monitoring and tracking is
accomplished thru the use of the magnetic strip on the back of the
card or the computer chip imbedded with the card or a combination
of both.
In view of the many dangerous possibilities inherent in such a
system "The Christian Alert Network (TCAN)" is launching a
NATIONWIDE PROTEST to oppose the government plan.
ACTION REQUESTED
We (TCAN) urge ALL AMERICANS to IMMEDIATELY:
1. CANCEL ALL" BANK DEBIT CARDS" and other credit
cards.
2. Cut each debit/credit card into four pieces. WE NEED TO
SEND CREDIT CARD PIRCES BY THE TRUCK LOAD TO
THE FOLLOWING.
3. Send a letter of protest to each of the following and include one
piece of the debit/credit card.
The FDIC must receive your letter of protest before March 8, 1999.
Address your letter of protest to:
Robert E. Feldman, Executive Secretary
Attn: Comments\OES
FDIC
550, 17th Street St, NW
Washington, DC 20429
and also
Communications Division
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Attention: Docket No. 98-15
250 E. Street, SW
Washington, DC 20219
4. Send a letter of protest to your U.S. Representative and include
one piece of the debit/credit card.
5. Send a letter of protest to the President of your local bank and
include one piece of the debit/credit card.
6. Then, withdraw ALL the funds in your personal checking
account and conduct your personal business in CASH ONLY. Do
not write personal checks for anything other than cash.
This alert is extremely important and very urgent. Friends, lets be
realistic ... the only way we are going to be able to protect our
"right to privacy" is for AMERICANS BY THE MILLIONS to
come down on the federal government and the FDIC in particular,
like a brush fire in a wind storm. For that reason we urge that you
forward this alert to the maximum extent possible and encourage
nationwide mass participation .
If your and or your organization will participate in this protest, I
would appreciate it very much if you would send me an email and
simply put the following words in the subject line.
"FDIC PROTEST YES"
Rev. "Curt" Tomlin
Major USA Ret
President TCAN Inc.
***********
-> Send "subscribe snetnews " to majordomo@world.std.com
-> Posted by: "The Christian Alert Network" <ctomlin@ns.vvm.com>
