Bank of America Says It Won't Process Payments Intended for WikiLeaks

[Hissyspit]

Source: Kansas City

Posted on Fri, Dec. 17, 2010 08:48 PM

Bank of America says it won't process payments intended for WikiLeaks

By RICK ROTHACKER
McClatchy Newspapers

Bank of America Corp. said Friday evening that it was joining other financial institutions in declining to process payments intended for WikiLeaks.

"Bank of America joins in the actions previously announced by MasterCard, PayPal, Visa Europe and others and will not process transactions of any type that we have reason to believe are intended for WikiLeaks," the bank said in a statement.

"This decision is based upon our reasonable belief that WikiLeaks may be engaged in activities that are, among other things, inconsistent with our internal policies for processing payments."

Companies that have cut ties to WikiLeaks have faced cyber-attacks from hackers who back WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's anti-secrecy organization. MasterCard, for example, has said its website was brought down but that card transactions were not compromised.

Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2010/12/17/2528138/bank-of-america-says-it-wont-process.html

[niyad]

1. so they can say ANY payment for ANYTHING is, in THEIR opinion

will not process transactions of any type that we have reason to believe are intended for WikiLeaks,"

[ProgressiveProfessor]

16. Pretty much...private services...nothing says the transaction must go through

[TomClash]

34. "Private services" LOL!

With the Taxpayers' money . . .

[ProgressiveProfessor]

67. They are considered private companies and as such can make such choices

Sometimes that is a good thing, other times bad.

[TomClash]

83. Yes, I know

But given the baillouts that phrase is a hilarious non sequitur.

[primavera]

85. Yep, that part always amazes me about our legal system

It focusses so exclusively on constraining what the state may do, but allows private actors to engage in the most morally reprehensible actions and it's all totally legal. It's such a disillusioning part of studying law.

[liberalmike27]

69. Fascism has arrived

Corporatism is in full swing, and their citizens hold way more sway, even exercising their control over YOUR money.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

2. good. I hope the backlash destroys them

beyond redemption

[Me.]

7. Yep

They're all but flat out asking for it.

[tridim]

9. Hmm, they know they're asking for it..

So, what makes them feel like it's okay? Maybe they have a plan to take out "Anonymous" for good?

This is some serious shit going down. The major players need to be careful.

[Me.]

13. Do They...Know?

Arrogance often blinds intelligence.

[Raschel]

21. I agree. Sounds like a set up.

[Kaleko]

27. There seems to be a concerted effort to provoke hacker attacks

in hopes that free speech supporters will finally go too far.

They'll cry, "Terrorism! Anarchy! blah blah blah," then use these relatively minor infractions as an excuse to curb internet access to more and more sites for people trapped in the USA.

[MH1]

35. maybe they feel that wikileaks supporters are no more relevant to them than a buzzing fly

an annoyance, but not something that can significantly affect their bottom line.

They also probably have some sort of insurance against damage from cyber-attacks.

Also 'Anonymous' will be pissing off even more people if they take actions that affect otherwise uninvolved customers of BoA.

This is a more complicated calculation than some might think.

[molly77]

45. comment from the guardian..note the recommends

I'm sorry my government is doing this to you guys in the UK i live in the states and i cant believe all the stuff there saying about this case on the news this is the only site i goto to get news about wikileaks the US government has been censoring the Internet moving the story to the back of the sites and such even shutting down protest sites that are for wikileaks im sorry UK not all of the people in the US post crazy right wing nut stuff i support a free press and we dont have that anymore in the US i have to goto other counties to see the truth

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[JackInGreen]

53. They're going to...to

Take out...Anon...Good-eefing Luck with that one.

[PBS Poll-435]

43. Must mean that the forthcoming "leaks" don't really hold any water...

:shrug:

[Xithras]

66. I still have two accounts with BofA. I'll be closing them Monday, and letting them know why.

Not that they'll care, but there's no way I can do business with them anymore. This is too much.

I do most of my banking with a local CU, but like to maintain accounts with larger banks because it makes mobile banking easier when I'm travelling out of the area my bank serves. BofA has plenty of competitors.

[CoffeeCat]

81. No kidding...

They're inviting people to withdraw their accounts.

I hope many do.

Scumbags.

Can't wait until the information that Assange has on BOA, is released. I didn't
know this until I just read it, but a BOA employee gave Assange a disc. It sounds
like the information is horrendously damaging.

Bring it!

[Amonester]

82. If I were you, I wouldn't 'hope' too much: these bunch of banksters...

will be BAILED OUT (again, again, and again) with (PARTS OF) your money, and everyone else's the government for the Rich by the Rich taxes (and BORROWS trillions in their names), so their banksters partners can continue writing themselves record-breaking bonuses each year.

You risk feeling betrayed again, and you know you will.

[Johnny Harpo]

3. BoA Has A Target On Their Backs...Go Julian!

n/t

[Pavulon]

4. a big fat lock me up for taking the bait and ddos'ing

boa target.. beartrap, dont step on it.

[girl gone mad]

15. lol..

hope they don't own your machine, too.

Be afraid!!!!!1!!

[sabrina 1]

11. Lol, looks like they are scared of having their little secrets revealed

hoping to put Wikileaks out of business before the revelations. He should reveal them now. I'm sure BOA has been pressuring their bought and paid for members of Congress to come with a crime to charge him under.

Go Julian is right.

[Poll_Blind]

5. Wonder if their "principles" would extend to processing payments for the NYT?

Probably not. Oh well, their days are very numbered, anyway.

PB

[defendandprotect]

6. Bank of America will launder drug money .... and try to cripple WikiLeaks ....

hmmm....

[bluesmail]

8. Good One. eom

[sabrina 1]

10. Lol, probably because they are afraid they are the bank that

Wikileaks will be exposing in January. I see they avoided accusing Wikileaks of being involved in illegal activities. That claim was smashed at the Judiciary Committee hearings yesterday.

I cannot wait to see what Wikileaks reveals about the bank that they say will most likely fall as a result of these revelations. Many people believe it is the Bank of America.

[Tunkamerica]

25. Or they know they are.

[femrap]

12. like we need

the f*king B of A to get money to the Truth.

[man4allcats]

14. I really hope Julian

takes this asshole bank out!

[bhikkhu]

17. Makes me wish I owed BofA money

...because if I did, I'd have to cease processing payment requests from them, based upon my belief that they may be a fascist organization, or a bunch of toadies to fascists.

[burrowowl]

18. BofA

is bags of stinking shit! Checking fees, credit card high interest, cheating on accounts, ect. May B of A DIE!

[boppers]

19. Well, that's another reason not to use them....

As the masks are coming off, it's interesting to see who values transparency, and who values the back-room dealings.

[MilesColtrane]

20. I told Bank of America to fuck off long ago.

Any company that's "too big to fail" needs to be dismantled.

[gateley]

22. Like B of A has a moral leg to stand on. nt

[avaistheone1]

24. There name should be changed to the Bank of Asses given their track record the last few years.

B of A is a bunch of fraudsters and they are afraid that wikileaks will expose them for they are.

[ixion]

23. if only they were so zealous with THEIR OWN pursuits

which are openly fraudulent, and with which they seemingly have no problem pursuing.

[Imagevision]

26. Bank of America must have something to hide...

[slay]

28. Bank of America OWNS you - and they want you to know it

it's pure class warfare now - the rich and powerful vs. the rest of us. good luck everyone.

[dgibby]

47. Unfortunately, they do own me,

or at least my house. My mortgage was with Countrywide, now BOA(constrictor) has it. Bah Humbug!

[trud]

29. Bank of America is scum/how to donate to WikiLeaks

Only once have I given a bank permission to take payments automatically out of my account - BofA for my mortgage. They screwed up and took one payment out twice in a month, knew about it almost immediately and didn't fix it for a month (on purpose - oh, we'll just not take the next month's payment out.)

Then there was the time they announced that they were only interested in business accounts and private individuals could go hang, until, oops, that wasn't a viable business model.

This is yet another reason to avoid them.

I'm happy to see that my small (all I could afford, wish I could have sent them more) donation made it to Wikileaks through Visa before that avenue shut down.

Well, folks there's always cash, or bank to bank transfers other than thru BofA. Note they suggest that if you're sending mail to their PO Box you use some name in the address other than Wikileaks to reduce the chance it gets intercepted. My guess is if you do business with a credit union (so much better than a bank), they might not get to blocking payments.

Here's Wikileaks donation page link:
http://213.251.145.96/support.html

[whoopingcrone]

30. How about "International Money Order"?

Available at any post office for a small fee.
No need to tell the p.o. who you're sending it to.
No need to put your name on the money order.
Probably cashable at any p.o. in the world.

[truth2power]

46. I need clarification of this from someone. So I can donate to Wikileaks...

International MO seems the way to go.

I've always used money orders (not international, though)whenever I bought anything on eBay. Never used that accursed PayPal. I would send the seller a MO immediately. Then they wouldn't have to wait for a check to clear and I'd get my item right away. Now, the majority of eBay sellers accept ONLY PayPal. So, some items are unavailable to me. It's all good.

But I digress...If I don't put my name on a MO, can it still be cashed? I wonder if our fascist govt is intercepting mail to certain destinations. Wouldn't surprise me.

Ya' know, this whole Wikileaks thing is turning me, utterly, against the US govt. Next time I rise for the national anthem will be a cold day in hell. "bombs bursting in air", indeed. Pfft!!

[whoopingcrone]

55. re IMO

Buying a money order is like buying stamps.
you don't have to tell the p.o. anything.
If you're concerned about being tracked, just walk up to a window at p.o. #1,
tell them what you want, pay them cash and collect the form.
Fill it out at home, put it in an envelope, go to p.o. #2 to buy the stamps you'll need to mail it and leave.
Finally, go to a p.o. with an outside collection box and drop it in the box.

info re what countries handle imo's <http://pe.usps.com/text/imm/immc3_022.htm#ep28532>

O8) :bounce: O8)

p.s. spread the word. suggest to wikilikers.

[truth2power]

61. Thank you so much for the response. I'm not so worried about being tracked

I guess "Agent Mike" already knows that I totally support Assange and WikiLeaks. I would hope my small donation would get there at all.

How sad! It's getting like Soviet Russia to speak out in this country. Thanks, Pres. Obama!

[fasttense]

31. Since when has B of A become the arbiters of what free speech is and what free speech is not?

The Dancing Supremes have ruled that money is free speech. At least they have ruled that in the case of corporations.

So, why is B of A allowed to limit our free speech? What right do they have to determine who gets our money and who does NOT. Who will they target next? The Red Cross? The Democratic Party?

When did they become king? Oops, never mind.

[myrna minx]

32. MEthinks we'll be reading more about them in January. n/t

[paparush]

33. THESE bastards need crushing! nt

[sirthomas66]

36. Bank of America is the most crooked of all the Banks. I fully believe

it is B of A that Wikileaks will name as the problem bank. So Bank of America is striking first, so as to discredit Wilileaks and their information to somehow preemptively attenuate the damage. This may well work, not for the people here, who will understand immediately what is released about B of A, Ken Lewis, the mortgage loan packages, etc. The common man will not understand because he has been bombarded with so much horror and distraction lately he can no longer process information. This is a fight we must undertake. But what this board has to do, rather than simply put up protests, cartoons and clever sayings is to work to formulate a plan to deal with this company, a strategy, if you will. In the big scheme of things it may not matter, but if we are going down, let's at least take a few of these rancid vectors with us.

[NYMdaveNYI]

39. +100000

My sentiment exactly.

:applause: :yourock:

[dkofos]

37. Destroy them Anon.

[rosesaylavee]

38. LOL... my first thought too. n/t

[findrskeep]

41. Bank of America is EVIL with a capital E...

I can't begin to tell you how they screwed us over. We had two homes, both trying to do a short sale on and BOA postponed and postponed and postponed, then finally the homes went to foreclosure. Well after that BOA bought them back, relisted them with an agent for LESS than the several offers we had received on the homes!??!??!!! I'm convinced that there's something seriously crooked here. My suspicion is that they got the bailout money, and the more loss they can show, i.e. foreclosed homes, they are eligible for either more gov't assistance, they can re-sell the loan to bottom feeding money sharks and they can write off what they've "lost". I know there MUST be other people out there they've done this too.

I hope Julian Assange releases EVERYTHING he has on BOA and SOON!!!!!

[Raksha]

60. Interesting theory about the connection to the bailout money.

Re "My suspicion is that they got the bailout money, and the more loss they can show, i.e. foreclosed homes, they are eligible for either more gov't assistance, they can re-sell the loan to bottom feeding money sharks and they can write off what they've "lost". I know there MUST be other people out there they've done this too."

I think you're probably right. There is an absolute epidemic of foreclosures in my neighborhood also--at last count, 396 foreclosures and pre-foreclosures JUST in this ZIP code! That includes the rented house I'm living in and the one next door, which my landlord also owns. The auction date was set for December 20th, but in this case the bank (GMAC, not BofA) seems to be allowing the short sale to go through. They sure waited until the last minute, though--the auction was only postponed to January 20th two days ago.

[BakedAtAMileHigh]

40. In Cas You Had Any Doubts As To Who is the Bad Guy Here

They just want to be able to dontrol your life. I hate BOA and they are my mortgage holder.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/17/arizona-sues-bank-of-amer_n_798439.html

PHOENIX — Attorneys general in Arizona and Nevada filed civil lawsuits Friday against Bank of America Corp., alleging that the lender is misleading and deceiving homeowners who have tried to modify mortgages in two of the nation's most foreclosure-damaged states.

Bank of America violated Arizona's consumer fraud law by misleading consumers who tried to reduce their monthly payments to keep their homes, state Attorney General Terry Goddard said. The bank also violated the terms of a 2009 consent agreement requiring its Countrywide mortgage subsidiary to implement a loan modification program, the Arizona lawsuit alleges.

Hundreds of homeowners kept making their mortgage payments because Bank of America repeatedly assured them that their loans were being modified, Goddard said. Instead, many lost their homes anyway.

[Raksha]

73. Thanks for the Huffington Post link - very informative article.

I've had my BofA checking account for 30 years now. It will be a hassle to close it since it's the only account I have and my Social Security pension is direct-deposited to it. I live so close to the ede now that I can't afford any delays in processing payments. But at the same time I want nothing to do with bloodsuckers. Should I just wait for BofA to go into receivership after the shit hits the fan in January?

[Heywood J]

77. My suggestion is to open your new account somewhere else,

and maintain both until you're sure the pension has been moved over properly. Until it has, just go to BoA the day after the deposit and withdraw the balance in cash (or something equally negotiable that won't be held by the receiving bank), then deposit it in the new account. Then you can kick BoA to the curb.

I've got no idea how long SS takes to change over, though. At least it would be coming into one of the two accounts - just a question of which one, but you can check that online before making the drive.

[soryang]

42. BOA is widely considered to be the next TBTF to fail

That's too big to fail but may fail. I know they put out a lot of hype about their stock price going up and their profits but some in the industry say they are very unstable and the most unstable of the big ones.

[felix_numinous]

44. Insert

Jack Nicholson "You can't handle the truth!!"

[peacetalksforall]

48. If the wealth is so tilted in this country - they could lose all of us and still

prosper from the business of the rich. They have private wealth, spy company AT & T type wealth, drug money, weapons money, foreign partner money. I doubt that the risk of losing us plays big. This is a tidy up exercise. When the leaks come out that they won't want to be criticized for having facilitated payments to WL but that will play mild if worse things happen. They have a lot of propaganda fronts to cover. They want to be a 'poor victim' to hang onto all those people who march along with big banking and never doubt in the great B of A.

But if there is a domino issue that makes things even worse for the B of A member and non-member serfs because of what happens to B of A's wealthy, there might be pain because it will spread. B fo A does not operate independently. There will be more burden for the serfs to carry because the rich have advisors and connections who will make sure they don't carry any.

That's what it comes to - it's been going on for a long time. We are in a Bilderberg World. B of A is a part of that world. LAWS ARE FOR THE POOR.

[KansDem]

49. Say, you don't suppose BoA is that "nameless bank" that Wikileaks has a shitload of info on?

Suppose to be released after the first of the year.

Let's wait and see! :woohoo:

[pmorlan1]

50. Corporate Criminals BOA

Great...now we have major corporate criminals deciding where you can spend your own money. It would be laughable if it wasn't so serious. I guess they know what documents will be revealed about them.

[alturn]

51. B of A understands that it is wrong to do something against your self interest

Bank of America knows that it is not in your interest to support people or organizations that undermine your own interests. Wikileaks, because it exposes wrongdoing, is not in the interest of a company like B of A that has many skeletons in the closet.

"money multiplied by money contributes to the stress of modern life. Money is not the priority; sufficiency is the priority. When sufficiency becomes the priority, it orders society in a different way, creating stability. In this regard, sharing is both a moral value and a method of implementation. This will create a more peaceful atmosphere, in which people will not struggle to make millions. They will fulfil their duties, care for their families, and children will be able to evolve."
- World Teacher Maitreya through an associate and as reported in Share International magazine

[GoldenOldie]

52. BOA plays by their own rules......

They refuse customers payments to Wikkileaks, yet accept customers mortgage payments while supposedly re-working their loans and then slam them with foreclosures. Terry Goddard, one of the few Democrats from Arizona and Attorney General, has filed law suits against BOA for stealing monies from mortgage holders in the process of re-working payments and then foreclosing. Goddard, lost to Jan Brewer.....tells you everything you need to know about politics in Arizona.

[tavalon]

54. Well, Duh

Perhaps they should wipe the shit out of their collective pants before they start getting pissy. I mean, poop and pee, all mixed together - yuck.

This could only happen in a bad pulp fiction book. OMG, we're living in a bad piece of fiction.

[rhett o rick]

56. We need to compile a list of corporations to boycott. BoA is high on the list. nm

[JAbuchan08]

57. "This decision is based upon our reasonable belief"

Of course it must be reasonable, why else would they feel the necessity to assure us its reasonable?

[texshelters]

58. B of A being sued by Arizona AG

and Arizona is a neocon run state, so they must have been really bad to be sued by my state.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/17/arizona-sues-bank-of-amer_n_798439.html

They were too big when they took over Countrywide in 2008. Where is the FEC on this? They were in the back room kissing the ring of the CEOs of the biggest banks.

They also help fund the IMF which has hurt the poor all over the world through their structural adjustment programs.

http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/IMF_WB/IMF_Sanders.html

Peace,
Tex Shelters

[ooglymoogly]

59. The strings to manipulate the world are being clipped.

They will be exposed as the fascist vampires they are.

[SoapBox]

62. Typical...

...they throw innocent Americans out of their homes.

Why shouldn't they jump on the Wikileaks band wagon.

I would just like to know who exactly, behind the scenes,
in the government pressured them into this.

Welcome to China! or Russia...or Iran...or....fill in the blank.

[Peggy Day]

63. Another Bof A story

25 yrs ago I didn't have a credit card. I tried to cash a PAYROLL check (with my passport as I had an lost my Ohio drivers license) that was drawn on their bank, and they refused. I asked to speak to the manager and he said I should have a credit card and that I had to "conform" by getting a credit card. I finally got it cashed, but I stopped using BofA ever since.
I like the idea of an international money order (maybe obtained from BofA)!!!

[quiller4]

64. Makes me happy I have a BOA Visa.

[NeoConsSuck]

78. I have one too, but they're not happy :)

It's a Defenders of Wildlife card. I've had it for four years, pay it off in full every month, and Defenders gets some crumbs thrown it's way for me using the card.

It's a win-win situation for me & Defenders, but not BOA, LOL!!

[vssmith]

80. BofA still makes money on your account

They charge the merchants a percentage for all purchases

[pitohui]

65. let's see the same people who said they'd quit using paypal quit using BOA

oh wait a minute...where ARE those people who were crapping on paypal in the other thread? that's interesting...so they're going to give up a service that mostly helps the little person but they're not gonna give up their big ole bullshit bank of america

thought so!!!

i dumped BOA a long time ago, no excuse for a bank to charge for a checking acct, too many free checking accts out there, if they can't manage their business any better than to need to charge $12 a month for a checking acct they need to be shut down and their assets if any distributed back to their victims

[davidwparker]

68. then it must be BofA Wiki has the drop on n/t

[Lost-in-FL]

70. What took them so long? Yeah... must be all of those frivolous lawsuits. nt

[vanlassie]

71. I thought money was free speech.

[Ticonderoga]

72. What part of Innocent until proven guilty

do these corporofacists not clearly understand? Boycott these assholes, moveyourmoney.com

[Smashcut]

74. This is a war being waged by the powerful to protect their status.

Whatever wikileaks is doing must be working.

[fascisthunter]

75. fascists

[ProudDad]

76. I think it's time to NOT process our payments on our mortgage

Fuck, we're underwater in a down market...

Have already lost my entire savings on the down payment and lost equity...

Nothing really to lose...

Fuck BofA...

A.P.Giannini must be spinning in his grave...

[emsimon33]

79. I hope that the next Wikileaks leaks ruin BofA

[kirby]

84. Our gov't can't stop foreclosures...

but we can apply pressure to shutdown wikileak funding.

hmm.