Results 1 to 5 of 5

Thread: ISOM and PP

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    Ottawa, Canada
    Posts
    1,786
    Blog Entries
    2

    Default ISOM and PP

    So ... not really cigar-related, but ...

    A local coffee roaster has a delivery service. One orders online, pays via PP, they roast Wednesday/Thursday, with free delivery to your door Friday.

    'Local' here means Ottawa in Canada. The PP site is the so-called 'Canadian' PP site - and follows Canadian financial rules.

    Now, the PP order is for a 1/2 lb or 1 lb of beans. You put in PP's notes which coffee you want. So far, so good.

    I put in an order. I also added a new c.c. to PP at the same time and used it to pay for the order. I got a PP message that the order had been put on hold due to fraud, etc. Annoying, but vaguely reasonable. PP said that it would be 24-48 hours to clear this up. Okay, fine.

    A week later PP told me that they (PP, not the roaster) had cancelled the order and refunded my c.c.

    WtF? I then immediately put in another order - same vendor, same beans, same PP, same CC - and everything went well. I am drinking a cup of that coffee right now.

    A week after that I got a message from PP:
    As part of our security measures, we regularly screen activity in the PayPal system.

    PayPal is committed to complying with and meeting its global regulatory obligations. One obligation is to ensure that our customers, merchants, and partners are also in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including those set forth by OFAC, in their use of PayPal.

    PayPal's Compliance Department has reviewed your account and identified activity that is in violation of United States regulations administered by the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Please consult the following website for further information regarding OFAC regulations: http://www.treasury.gov/resource-cen...s/default.aspx

    OFAC rules currently prohibit the purchase or sale of various goods and services originating from C***.

    In addition, OFAC also prohibits the purchase or sale of goods and services by those individuals designated as Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs).

    It has come to our attention that you initiated a payment for the purchase of an item or items originating from C*** that is currently prohibited by OFAC rules (please refer to payment ... attempted on ... ).

    Any further violations will result in the closure of your account. As a result of the violation, details of your account and the transaction have been reported to OFAC.
    Yup, I ordered ISOM beans. I said C*** in the notes, PP scanned for C***, and PP automatically zapped me. (The second time I coincidentally didn't say C*** in the notes - I just put something like "second try.")

    I always thought it was a tad excessive that people used the acronym ISOM. Now I know better. I suspect that the odds of my car being searched the next time that I go to the US have just skyrocketed .
    Craig
    Ahhhhhhhhhhh Cigar Jesus just wept - kevin7
    A cigar storage primer | Basic Cuban cigar info

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Precipitously close to disaster.
    Posts
    7,007

    Default

    Am I missing something? If I'm not mistaken - Canada has continued doing trade with Cuba for the duration of the US Embargo. I did not think Canada was enforcing the US Embargo. Is this the Canadian OFAC - or the US OFAC that's doing this? Is someone perhaps confused?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    Ottawa, Canada
    Posts
    1,786
    Blog Entries
    2

    Default

    Exactly. What I missed when I did this was that PP is a US company, and thus enforces US OFAC controls on all clients, regardless of location.

    Contrast this with, say Chase. It is a US institution, but also operates in Canada as a Canadian financial institution.

    What I found interesting is that PP is scanning transactions for keywords.
    Craig
    Ahhhhhhhhhhh Cigar Jesus just wept - kevin7
    A cigar storage primer | Basic Cuban cigar info

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia
    Posts
    6,816
    Blog Entries
    2

    Default

    Throw this on to the huge pile of reasons why I absolutely despise PayPal which is owned by eBay.....

    On a slightly related topic, FaceSpace is going ballistic these days on their "real name" policy, what a douchebag outfit they are I can't log into any of my fake FaceSpace accounts anymore unless I provide a photo of some kind of government issued ID. Time to fire up the photocopier and create some fake birth certificates.....

    I'll be God damned if I'll ever use my real name on FaceSpace.
    Last edited by CoventryCat86; 04-24-2015 at 11:28 PM.
    TBSCigars - "On Holiday"
    Grammar - It's the difference between knowing your crap and knowing you're crap.

  5. Default

    Never put anything in the comments or subject - always confirm via email or other.

    LOL - big brother and all!

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •