Canadian man changes name to beat no-fly list
"I was pulled aside in a room ... and you have to wait your turn to finally be released," Labbé said. "An hour, an hour and a half, two hours, whatever it is after. Once I was caught in Miami like that for six hours.Quebec man changes name to dodge relentless airport screening (Thanks, Happy Mutant PaulR!)"It's always the same questions, about if I've lost my passport, if I've been to Japan — I don't know why Japan, but in their file it was something to do with Japan."
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security wrote a letter to Labbé in 2004, saying he had been placed on their watch list after falling victim to identity theft. At the time, the department said there was no way for his name to be removed.
Although Labbé wrote letters to the U.S. department, his efforts were in vain, prompting him to legally change his name.
"So now, my official name is François Mario Labbé," he said.
"Then you have to change everything: driver's license, social insurance, medicare, credit card — everything."
Although it's not a big change from Mario Labbé, he said it's been enough to foil the U.S. customs computers.
the latest
latest episodes
So you're telling me that "real" terrorists don't know this? What a joke. I feel less safe traveling through the US now because instead of focusing their efforts on the terrorists, it seems more like a "War on the common man and woman."
God, I hope the terrorists don't discover this name-changing trick. If they do, we're done for.
Except now that it's been published on the internet they can update his file on the no-fly list.
I wonder what is the dollar cost to him every time he gets detained. Having the change plans and rewrite your ticket every time you fly can't be cheap.
Unless airlines are offering a special TSA-detention rate ... it's like stand-by, you just do your standing by in a "certain special room". With locks. And guards. With guns.
Another day another story about the waste of taxpayers dollars. Can we elect someone who will make them go away?
He should have changes his name to "F*ck the TSA"
Now to book a 'round trip flight, landing in Pakistan, Afghanistan, London and New York and enroll in a basic electronics course in the name of François Mario Labbé.
What the fuck was he thinking, telling us his real name? I'm gonna sign him up to some mad shit..
Hack the system.
DHS: "What the fuck do you mean, you can't find them terrorists anymore?! We spent billions on our lists and to train your staff how to spot terrorists?"
TSA: "Well, what shall we do? They changed their names and got rid of the beards. Some even use fake IDs!"
DHS: "DANG! Who had expected those suckers to be THAT SMART!"
what's with BB for transposing his name?
I half expected to see "The name has been changed to protect the innocent".
I, for one, am glad that our diligent public servants are protecting us from terrorists who are too stupid to change their names.
If terrorists were really smart they'd change their names to 'John Smith', and 'Mary Jones' and every other most common name in America to maximize the number of people who are put on the no-fly list. At one to six hours of detention each, no plane would ever get off the ground. It would bring the country to a standstill.
If it is that easy, just a name change...If every one on list changed names to lets say the top 1000 most popular names it's game over and no one can fly!
What a great idea everyone get your NO Fly buddies to file in court for new names!
At least we can guess that terrorists will be unlikely to employ the same name-changing tactic, given the hassle of getting all their official documentation and accounts changed.
#3 This.
You'd think the reporter would help him out by not publishing it. I guess they want it to be a two-part story.
@14 No problem, they have people to do that for them.
I'm personally less concerned with so-called "terrorists" getting in and out of the U.S. than I am with most things.
Very low on my list of things to be concerned by. It's as retarded as the whole 3 ounce container rule.
Ah, yes, the American security facade complex.
They aren't going to throw his new name on the list just because he changed it. He's not the criminal; his original identity was stolen.
@General Specific (#18)
Right, his original identity was stolen, and now we have to put his new name on the no-fly list because the identity thief can otherwise fly under the new name.
Gee, some people don't know anything.
Why does the TSA hate freedom?
@Tekna 2007 (#4)
I'm a UK national that reliably gets detained on entering the US - often more than once crossing the same airport. I suspect it's because, for many years, I brought model rockets into the US to fly them at events organised by the Tripoli Rocketry Association. Oh, and my luxurious beard can't help.
It never created a problem for the airlines I flew with. Even after being separated from my travelling companions and held at Dallas Fort Worth for four hours, they just put me on standby and had me on the next-but-one flight. They even managed to get my luggage there ahead of me and had it waiting for me on arrival.
I haven't travelled to America since then however. It's too expensive for me to travel to a rocket launch not knowing if my rockets and equipment will make it - or, indeed, if I'll even make it.
This, once again, highlights the stupidity of it all.
Is it bad to feel a bit of snark because this happened to a record exec ?
I think it is important to remember that people aren't on the list, just names.
The goal is to keep those names from flying.
Slighly tangential, but:
"Then you have to change everything: driver's license, social insurance, medicare, credit card — everything."
Oh, look. A man finally noticed that this process is a pain in the ass. How awful for him, poor dear.
Three guesses why I won't be going through it if/when I get married. *rolleyes*
@24 Rob:
Here is a new "How Much Is Inside?" for you. With all the stupid rules the TSA has implemented, I think people may just give up flying. So if they keep adding rules, you may be able to expose the long-hidden truth than TSA generated empty planes have no one inside.
All the best!
Sijay @20 Why does the TSA hate freedom?
Just come to terms that "The War On Terror" is really a code name for war on the non privileged classes - particularly those with brown skin - and it all becomes clear.
@24: That's an important point. With how much effort they put into maintaining this list, and including facts such as the Japan connection for the guy in the story above, why can't they add in some key details for a description of the person? At the very least, a D.O.B., ethnicity, height, and weight.
It would still be an absurdly impractical system, but at least then it would stop TSA from investigating children and old ladies.
@28: All the biometrics you could ask for are available here: http://www.no-fly-list.com
"...instead of focusing their efforts on the terrorists, it seems more like a "War on the common man and woman."
This is exactly what it is. Look around, there are plenty of stories about how they use the no-fly list to harass 3rd-party political candidates and peaceful activists. Islam and 9/11 just gives them an excuse to colonize Asia and crack down on anyone they don't like at home. They're doing more to encourage terror attacks than they're doing to discourage them; more terror attacks mean more excuses to increase their "emergency powers". Hopefully we will live to see the day when our country isn't run by a paranoid organized crime syndicate.
This wouldn't work for US citizens. If you get a US passport after having your name legally changed, your previous name is listed in the database as an alias.
When my wife got her passport the first time, it came back with her name listed as "Victoria Black". They got the "Victoria" part right, but that's not her real last name... She jumped through an insane number of hoops to get her name corrected on her passport, but when she goes through customs, "Victoria Black" is listed on the customs agent's screen after they scan the passport.
I'm guessing that the US doesn't have access to the equivalent database for Canadians, and thus this guy was able to get around it.
#25 Janai: He's from Quebec, the province where spouses have to keep their name.
http://www.justice.gouv.qc.ca/english/publications/generale/maria-a.htm#names
the easiest way for the TSA to protect the "Travelling Public" is to vastly decrease the numbers of public travelling. more security charges, and harassing passengers; and now we have raised prices, failing airlines, and people sick of the hassle of flying. i have to wonder if this is actually their tactic to increase safety.
...The real laugh would have been if he'd changed his name from something normal-sounding like "John Arthur Blake" to "Mohammed Ibrahim Abdullah Al-Tarkawiki El-Rashid Jr." and still managed to avoid the No-Fly List.
#27. you've fallen into a common trap. Once you understand that it's properly represented as "The war on Terra" it will all be clear to you.
Hey, wait a minute, that guy's using MY na ....
um, nevermind.
I'm starting to think this might not be a very well thought out system.
That's why names are such a poor identifier. What we need is a biometric that is easy to measure, but impossible to change. There's got be an easy way to map the DNA to a number, right?
This has been a serious consideration for me as well... I'm not even kidding about it, I just got married and I mused to myself that one of the perks would be a name that would get me off that damn no-fly watch list.
[QUOTE] #38 posted by dainel , September 12, 2008 7:21 PM
That's why names are such a poor identifier. What we need is a biometric that is easy to measure, but impossible to change. There's got be an easy way to map the DNA to a number, right?
[/QUOTE]
Are you for real??? That is exactly what the Feds want - All of our PERSONAL INFORMATION. Do you really think that will make you/us any safer???
Everyone really needs to understand just who the real terrorists are. Its not the sheep herders living in caves we have to worry about.
Stop listen to the mainstream media for information - they tell you lies and half truths. They love to help create (false) fear in the public. Go read the Patriot Acts I & II, the Military Commissions Act, etc. The elites who came up with these are the real terrorists. And it isn't just the Republicans who started these into motion - the Dems are just as much to blame
Wake up people.
This is depressing. I'm only being held for an hour, maybe two every time I reenter the country, and I lost my passport in London, a hotbed of terrorists! What does a girl gotta do?
(This is sarcasm. I really would like to reenter my real, beloved home country without being interrogated for a mistake I made in a mall in Bayswater for approximately twenty seconds fourteen years ago without changing my name.)
TSA-agent-A:
"Hey here is this guy, changing his name to evade us!"
TSA-agent-B:
"He must be a terrorist, cause he has obviously something to hide! Besides it can't be that easy to cheat us."
TSA-agent-A:
"Let's get his new name and any abreviations and mixes of both names as well on the list! We have to keep an eye on THESE folks!"
TSA-agent-B:
"RIGHT!"
List size gone up 200 more names!
It's nothing to do with stopping terrorists, and everything to do with keeping people in a state of frightened dependence on authority.
And keeping the security industry nice and fat.
Every time I fly, I get SO angry at the ridiculous waste of time and resources caused by all this bullshit.
"Every time I fly, I get SO angry at the ridiculous waste of time and resources caused by all this bullshit."
I bet that makes security easier to clear!