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Comment by hoffspot | Hacker News Reader

Agree with the other comments here and would like to add that the OP may have the same name as a person on one of those government lists like OFAC and are getting identity confused with a "known terrorist". US Gov requires certain companies to check the list before doing business with people.

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I can confirm I had issues flying for about the first four years post 9-11. The first flight I took, there was kind of a panic and security showed up. Every time I flew, there was always some kind of issue and a call for assist, though each time it got less and less of a panic. One time the desk attendant lamented, “more and more of these every day”. I asked why this keeps happening. He said my name or ssn was close enough to someone on the govt watch list that I was effectively on the list.

I had the same issue post 9/11 for a few years. I was unable to check-in to flights or receive boarding passes. I had to get a "gate pass" from a baggage agent to go through security and then check-in with the gate agent to be assigned a boarding ticket. This also applied on every connection and they required identification and occasionally additional questions each time.

Exact same for me for about four or five years post. I eventually came across my (extremely normal) name in an article about common names that were on the watch list and causing issues for many Americans. Even members of Congress were caught by it. Unfortunately, that article came out a few years of no airline agent being able to tell be why I couldn’t check in for my flight. They were cagey every time I asked.

One of the gate agents told me I must share a name with someone on a terrorist watch list early on. I have a common name as well so I figured that was it. Most gate agents thought nothing of it but being unable to get a seat assignment until near boarding meant I was stuck in the middle a lot. Several were awesome and took pity by upgrading me, but a few power tripping ones treated it like an interrogation. I can easily see how much worse it was for those with Middle Eastern names or appearance.

We need to remember this every time some politician says "if you're on the terrorist watch list, you shouldn't be able to..."

Or just better fund actual security.

These scenarios always result from watering down actual security.

I'm pretty sure I run into this any time I fly internationally. Our group always gets held up, a manager gets called, and we're approved.

One time the manager pointed at me and said with a smile, "You're trouble."

There was a (presumed dead) Canadian terrorist with my name.

> ssn was close enough to someone on the govt watch list that I was effectively on the list

This is exceedingly dumb if true. Numerical adjacency of SSNs is completely meaningless.

Yes, but if I was looking to make a fake identity, I would steal a real one and fudge something like the SSN plus or minus one on a random digit. Then you can blame the mismatch on their people making a typo, and they would be less likely to look closer at my forged SSN card/Passport/Drivers License.

Okay but the issue here is SSNs close to one that's already flagged also get flagged apparently. If you know your social is flagged and are giving a fake one why would you make it anything remotely similar to your own already flagged one?

It’s what I remember the desk agent telling me. Who knows how much that person knew about the system (and even if my memory is 100% accurate).

I guess Elon Musk had the right idea giving his kid a non-alphabetic name.. less chances of this stupidity to affect them.

(The above is a joke, I'm guessing US government systems can't handle non-ASCII characters, and a German named Müller would have to be Mueller or Muller)

It's definitely not a terrible idea to have a unique(ish) name. Your name is somewhat like your username for non digital things, or at least part of your username.

I don't have a particularly common name but when I google it I share it with an English football player and someone from South Africa who has been convicted of real estate fraud.

I've never been to South Africa but I have worked for a real estate portal, and it's on my LinkedIn (which I barely use, but still). I can see how someone outside would not be able to separate the two.

Or the opposite, I imagine a name like "John Smith" couldn't have this issue because there would be so many matches.

I had issues travelling a few years ago, nothing serious just lots of back-to-back secondary screening. I contacted DHS and was notified weeks later my case had been reviewed. They never explained what happened but the screenings stopped.

https://sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov/

Go to this tool and check to see if your name is coming up with any returns.

Ouch. I can't think of any other plausible explanation. If so, is that a problem that can actually be fixed except by changing your name? They're not going to strike the name from the list (and all its copies) just because it's a nuisance to someone.

It kinda makes one wonder if anyone getting into a bit of terrorism for a hobby wouldn't do well to change their name to that of someone in the US congress first: no way that name would stay on a blacklist for long.

> If so, is that a problem that can actually be fixed except by changing your name?

It wouldn't shock me if even changing your name didn't do it, the name change records are surely data available to the algorithms.

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