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Are You Funding Terrorism When You Use That Card?

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It is a fair question. Most fraud is card based, law enforcement claims money from fraud goes to fund terrorism (and drug, etc). Customers have to wonder at the real price of the billions of dollars in fraud. Are you inadvertently giving money to terrorists when you participate in card networks?

How much of card-holders money gets to fund terrorist activities?

The question is whether you can afford any of your money going to support terrorism. The September 11th attacks on the US were estimated by the 9/11 commission to have been funded for between $400,000 and $500,000.

Since 2001, fraud was probably enough to have funded 10,000 attacks like 9/11.

Although not all fraud goes to support terrorists, how much does?

10%, 120%, 30%?

1% is still enough for 9/11 x 100.

It seemed relevant to mention it after news and intelligence reports that suggest there will be a resurgence of attacks against the western countries, possibly as a way to revive their flagging relevance amongst would be extremists. Particularly worrying is the news that the attacks may be carried out but as many as thousands of disaffected would-be terrorists already within the target countries.

How much of your money has gone to fund terrorist attacks against your own or another friendly country? Have you been the victim of fraud? Do you know where the money went?

If it means stopping using leaky and poorly secured financial systems and going back to the branch and cash, it is probably worth it, at least the only place your funding neighbour's job at the local branch. The banks can't get it together with fraud risk, just like they couldn't get it together with credit risk, why let all that money add to the terrorism risk? The anti-money laundering laws are aimed at just that problem, and compliance has cost millions but unless we close the loop it will all have been wasted.

Someone has to ask the question before, rather than after, billions more of our money goes to terrorists and criminals. Look how much 9/11 cost us all. Anyone fancy a hundred or a thousand more such attacks?

I'd suggest that the first step would be to stop financing it. Governments need to get together and make a concerted effort at fraud reduction and practical identity protection. While you're bailing the banks out would be an opportune time.

Until then, you are probably safer all round going back to cash. I don't remember their being billions lost in muggings before we all had the fancy cards.

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