Many smartphone users looking for a quick and simple way to pay friends back are turning to Venmo, an app from Paypal that allows for simple, user-to-user mobile payments without having to deal with pesky fees. It’s a great service because all you have to do is type in a friend’s name and how much you want to send them, hit send, and you’re done.

Well, unless your friend is named Ahmed, or something equally “suspicious.”

One user was trying to send $40.00 to her boyfriend and accidentally had her phone autocorrect his name to “Ahmed.” Her account was immediately frozen, with Venmo emailing her to find out who this character was and why she was giving him money.





Venmo was, apparently, enforcing laws from the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control, whose job is to make sure Americans do not funnel money into drug cartels and terrorist organizations. There are a few people on their list of automatic red flags who have “Ahmed” as part of their name, but that’s about it.

Why would Venmo assume that a $40.00 exchange between two people in San Francisco has anything to do with terrorism? They have some serious explaining to do.

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[via Gawker]