My Passport Is Flagged Because of My Name

Lkhoaaa on 27/12/2019 - 13:40

Hey guys,

This started happening about 2-3 years ago where my passport gets denied at the e-gates in and out of Australia (no problems overseas) and sends me straight to the customs service desk where they spend a good amount of time going through my file on their computer whilst i wait. Once the customs lady called her supervisor over and asks him "what should i do"? for him to respond "if you feel comfortable his fine". Also every time i come back to Australia that write an "E" on my inbound card and this is followed by myself getting pulled over whilst they make a few phone calls and sometimes check my bag.

When i asked a friendly customs lady last week, she said my passport is flagged because of my name and no other reason, and no matter if i get a new passport this will keep happening.

Just for my background, i have no records and i get a comprehensive background check by the government every 2 years for security clearance.

I wanted to ask if this has happened to any of you guys before and anything i can do? It's quite literally discrimination, but there must be a better way to flag someone suspicious.

Travel

Comments

  • Nugs on 27/12/2019 - 13:42
    +52

    Osama?
    .

    • khoaaa on 27/12/2019 - 13:44
      +1

      haha nah i have a pretty common viet name

      • dingdong3000 on 27/12/2019 - 13:59
        +6

        Nguyen?

        • dbui8743 on 27/12/2019 - 14:06
          +27

          id venture and say Khoa lol

          • Scrooge McDuck on 28/12/2019 - 16:20
            +89

            @dbui8743: Long Dong would explain the strip searches.

            • Kangal on 29/12/2019 - 16:13
              +6

              @Scrooge McDuck: I had an Asian patient once, and the legal name was something like Fuc Mi Nao…. I had to goto the corner for a quick giggle before putting on a straight face.

      • [Deactivated] on 30/12/2019 - 16:33

        Phuc da bhic?

    • Nillionaire on 28/12/2019 - 20:36

      I don't think they'd stop you over Osama, it's a pretty common arab name. If it was 'bin Laden' then I'd understand if they raised eyes lol

      Tho I guess any of that family or same surname would have changed it by now

  • fossilfuel on 27/12/2019 - 13:48
    +41

    Possibly because there's someone with your name who has outstanding warrants/criminal charges. Happened to a friend of mine in the past - held up at the airport for an hour or so whilst border security conducted checks. 1 year later, they found out in the newspaper that a person with the same name was arrested for money laundering.

    It's all probably for good reason to stop criminals from attempting to flee the country.

    • BugsBunnyAUS on 27/12/2019 - 14:03
      +10

      As long as there is nothing suspicious in your activity or patterns OP, this is 100% the answer.

      • khoaaa on 27/12/2019 - 14:05
        +1

        Thanks, this is something i have come to terms with over the years, just curious if someone else has experienced this.

    • khoaaa on 27/12/2019 - 14:22
      +2

      Did you friend stop getting flagged after the criminal was caught?

    • skid on 27/12/2019 - 16:52
      +2

      Happened to me too. Made to sit on a chair and wait while they did their checks. This was leaving Sydney. When asked what the story was they just said that it was something to do with my name. Didn't happen again.

    • deme on 28/12/2019 - 22:23

      How does dealing this dude from entering stop people fleeing?

    • OzBrogains on 28/12/2019 - 23:45
      +1

      Surely their data matching would be cleverer and not use just a name. I bet there are more than one “John Smith” who would have an outstanding warrant.

  • apsilon on 27/12/2019 - 13:52

    What would be a better way to flag someone than by their name?

    Unfortunate but short of changing your own name there's probably not a lot you can do.

    • khoaaa on 27/12/2019 - 13:59
      +18

      I'm not sure, perhaps they can refine the names a little with passport number and DOB?

      • apsilon on 28/12/2019 - 06:52
        +3

        They may not have that info, the person may not be an Aust citizen.

        • [Deactivated] on 28/12/2019 - 18:35
          +6

          That info would be on their passport when they entered

      • gromit on 28/12/2019 - 19:21

        Most likely if this was a warrant or police notice etc they may not have passport details. realistically all they can do is take the information on hand and compare against you.

      • Kangal on 29/12/2019 - 16:16
        +2

        Well, your first name is very common…
        …but your last name is "AAA" is very famous on the leaderboards of many Retro Games. Maybe they just wanted to meet a living legend?

      • hotdish on 29/12/2019 - 16:43
        +2

        I'll give you a hint OP - there are plenty of common names with the identical gender and DOB.

        Passport numbers can be used for alerts, but due to the fact that you can "lose" your passport and get a replacement easily, authorities wouldn't be putting weight on the passport.

        The issue is your name and DOB are likely identical with another Australian Viet who has an active (ongoing) alert.

        Short of changing your name, you just cop the inconvenience and help yourself by answering their questions to save yourself time.

        If you spit the dummy or argue it will not help facilitate you.

      • sarahlump on 30/12/2019 - 10:12

        The police don't have access to your passport number unless you give it to them. So they wouldn't know this person's passport number. However I'd assume that for this person they likely do have their date of birth.

        edit The police should only have access to a tiny bit of information about a person unless some process has been undertaken to obtain it. Privacy is good.

    • deme on 28/12/2019 - 22:24
      -1

      There is a lot of info on the passport Jesus even the country of citizenship.

      If OP isn't a threat then just whitelist his passport from the check.

      • RSmith on 29/12/2019 - 08:16
        +2

        Did Jesus have a passport?

        • deme on 29/12/2019 - 09:06
          -2

          Passports are a very recent thing in history.

          • harrywwc on 29/12/2019 - 12:57
            +2

            @deme: not as 'recent' as you might think.

            There is a record from the Middle East of a "letter of safe passage" for a traveling dignitary as a representative of 'The King'.

            Early Hindu texts discuss documents quite similar in purpose to modern-day Passports.

            The Chinese Hans had documents that permitted (or not) the free passage of the bearer of the document.

            The Romans had 'certificate of citizenship' that acted at times like a passport.

            And we've not yet progressed much past the time of Christ in the above examples.

  • AbsX on 27/12/2019 - 13:58
    +2

    That really sucks. Especially as its outside your control, so there's probably nothing you can do. Just allow yourself extra time at airports for the unjust searches etc.

  • whooah1979 on 27/12/2019 - 13:59
    -8

    It's quite literally discrimination,

    Border controls should be able to racially profile passengers for security reasons.

    • khoaaa on 27/12/2019 - 14:02
      +8

      Yes they racially profile you, but they don't say it to your face.

      • whooah1979 on 27/12/2019 - 14:08
        +16

        They are just doing their job. Profiling allows them to screen more passengers faster.

        • Autonomic on 28/12/2019 - 21:14
          +11

          I'm fine with this. As long as cops and border patrol agents are racially profiled for white nationalism.

        • deme on 29/12/2019 - 09:07
          +2

          I bet your smart ass wouldn't be so happy if you were the one being held back.

          • whooah1979 on 29/12/2019 - 14:10
            +1

            @deme: I don’t mind that they are doing their job to keep us safe.

            • deme on 29/12/2019 - 14:40
              +4

              @whooah1979: They seem to be doing a terrible job if they cannot exclude someone who 3 times has tripped one of their alarms but was a false positive.

            • TightBungholio on 30/12/2019 - 17:50

              @whooah1979: You must be a riot this new year's eve

        • ely on 29/12/2019 - 09:38
          +1

          Hopefully they do a better job than just "oh, funny name"; that level of profiling doesn't improve security, it reduces it.

          https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2005/07/profiling.htm… is worth a read, as is most of the other things Schneier has written about it (his shredding of Sam Harris, a fan of race based profiling, was pretty savage).

      • nikey2k27 on 30/12/2019 - 18:22

        your name is profile deal with it it not discrimination if want try this border control see how far it get you. last person got trip to detection center.

        • jackspratt on 30/12/2019 - 23:36

          Who was the last person?

          And does Australia have a detection centre?

    • Diji1 on 27/12/2019 - 15:13
      -6

      Border controls should be able to racially profile passengers for security reasons.

      White American males are the number one terrorist problem in America but no one checks them. American born Muslims have committed no terrorist attacks at all and they are targetted. Racial profiling is not just unfair it's leading to criminals getting away.

      • pegaxs on 27/12/2019 - 15:28
        +18

        White American males

        You forgot to add cis-gendered, heterosexual, Christian, non-vegan and patriarchal to your list…

      • Jolakot on 27/12/2019 - 15:32
        +24

        American born Muslims have committed no terrorist attacks

        I'm sorry but you're blatantly wrong, 83% of jihadist terrorists were either natural born citizens or permanent residents: https://www.newamerica.org/in-depth/terrorism-in-america/who…

      • whooah1979 on 27/12/2019 - 16:52

        Yes, life is unfair.

        The majority of law abiding citizens are being inconvenienced because of a minority. I prefer customs profile passengers that could cause a problem then having a flight brought down because they didn’t profile them.

        • khoaaa on 27/12/2019 - 17:15
          +3

          Don't you think profiling the same person 9-10 times over the past 3 years is a bit excessive..

            • khoaaa on 27/12/2019 - 17:25
              +9

              @whooah1979: Who said anything about Asia? Customs or you?

            • deme on 29/12/2019 - 14:43
              +3

              @whooah1979: Are you a hermit? That's a tiny amount for:

              • Has family there
              • Does business

              Do you not leave the house mate?

  • wetsandwich on 27/12/2019 - 14:18
    +28

    It's wierd that all the tech doesn't STOP this from happening.
    I mean, your passport is unique to you with a unique number, and you got it made with all the other unique-to-you ID at the post office. Chances are, your age and birthplace are different to the criminal, so the name is the only thing matching.

    Surely they could just add a note that says 'lol he isn't THE osama'.

    It's about as silly as you getting flagged because you have the same DOB as hitler if you think about it. Are you sure you aren't really hitler even though every other bit of info is completely different?

    But sorry, I have no solution. Maybe ask one of the immigration guys to do something about it next time you do get stopped.

    • kipps on 27/12/2019 - 18:21
      +10

      There was a Boston Legal episode about this very thing. Similar things were said.

      • Shaun Prawn on 28/12/2019 - 15:36
        +5

        I loved that show back in the day. Must set aside some time to rewatch some of it, I can't really remember it that well.

    • fossilfuel on 27/12/2019 - 20:49
      -2

      I mean, your passport is unique to you with a unique number, and you got it made with all the other unique-to-you ID at the post office. Chances are, your age and birthplace are different to the criminal, so the name is the only thing matching.

      I'd err on the side of caution. If the criminal somehow managed to obtain someone elses passport and thoroughly changes his/her appearance to match, then border security has good reason to extensively examine/investigate the person of interest. Does not matter if they've gotten annoyed multiple times in the past, it's a matter of national security.

      • cheng2008 on 28/12/2019 - 22:22
        +9

        The perp must be pretty stupid to continue using OP's name/copying his face when there's so much attention on it.

      • deme on 29/12/2019 - 14:47

        Why err on the side of caution? Life is about risk, mitigation and trust.

        Society could not function without trust. You are trusting OzBargain right now not to hack your browser, you are trusting your CPU not to spy on you and deliver correct results.

        You couldn't possibly verify everything is safe in your life, and if you could that would be an immense toll.

    • jackspratt on 28/12/2019 - 20:01
      +4

      It's about as silly as you getting flagged because you have the same DOB as hitler if you think about it……

      Certainly is - can't be that many people travelling who were born in 1889.

  • CodeXD on 27/12/2019 - 14:22
    +4

    This might be better posted on Subtle Asian Traits and see if others with your same name also get flagged. If they do, there's no much you can do about it if one particular individual with your same name is deemed a risk. You can change your but there's a whole bunch of paperwork to be done.

    • mbck on 27/12/2019 - 14:57
      +1

      I reckon even if you changed your name, your pld name would sitll be there in the system, and youd still be flagged

    • deme on 28/12/2019 - 22:25
      -1

      What is subtle Asian traits?

  • John Kimble on 27/12/2019 - 14:59
    +2

    Change your name?

  • Hiroko on 27/12/2019 - 15:02
    +2

    happened to someone i know
    so he kicked up a stink after the 3rd time
    and it never happened again

    • khoaaa on 27/12/2019 - 15:03
      +2

      oh wow ok, i didn't think kicking up a stink with customs would ever lead to good things haha.

      • Hiroko on 27/12/2019 - 15:15
        +2

        if you have something to hide, then yeh kicking up a stink would not work in your favour.
        but if you have a clean record like you say, they could “unflag” you just as easily as they flagged you.

  • try2bhelpful on 27/12/2019 - 15:13
    +1

    Haven’t had that issue in Australia but after 911 happened in America we found ourselves searched at just about every airport we passed through in America. We were two 40ish year old “skips”, so we were about as far from “traditional” profiling as we could get. We wondered if we were the token “white people” to show they don’t profile.

    I wouldn’t kick up a stink but I would try to find out if there is anything you can do to stop this happening. It’s going to ugly if you are running late for a plane.

    • skid on 27/12/2019 - 16:55
      +2

      Happened to me plenty of times in the USA. I reckon they check how much time you have before your flight, whether you seem noob, if you look at them wrong, they'll flag you for a search. PITA but don't take it personally.

      • try2bhelpful on 27/12/2019 - 17:09
        +4

        Frankly American security, at that time, was counter productive. The queues were horrendous so people were plucked out of them and pushed through security to get the planes in the air. We used to joke to each other, well away from the airport, if we put a cardigan over the top of any bomb they never would’ve found it in our carry on, because all they did was glance inside. Total insanity. It was an interesting time to be in America.

  • Baysew on 27/12/2019 - 15:40
    +8

    Contact your local Commonwealth member of Parliament.

    • vikvance on 27/12/2019 - 16:43
      +6

      +1 to this.

      This issue is one where your Federal Member could definitely help. The Member will forward your case to the relevant Minister and then the Minister will ask his Department to investigate.

      I wouldn't advise kicking up a fuss at the airport. The front-line staff have no control over these things.

      • khoaaa on 27/12/2019 - 17:05
        +1

        Do you think they have time to deal with petty issues like this? Guess it wouldn't hurt to shoot them an email.

        • rjstev on 28/12/2019 - 07:38
          +9

          Yes that what they’re for.

        • elgrande on 28/12/2019 - 08:40

          Great idea.. if you want an extra flag!

        • CandyMan on 28/12/2019 - 20:24
          +1

          Yes, your vote is very valuable

        • buckster on 28/12/2019 - 23:58

          Peter Dutton will do it for you if you'd agree to be an au pair

        • Davo1111 on 30/12/2019 - 11:06

          At the very least they have to chase it up and write you a letter

  • pantsparty on 27/12/2019 - 16:29
    +5

    I have a similar issue. A guy in the UK with the same name as me committed a pretty bad crime and is in jail for it yet I still often cannot get through the auto gates at customs.

    • whooah1979 on 27/12/2019 - 16:54
      +10

      What did Mr Pants Party do?

      • pantsparty on 27/12/2019 - 17:28

        Suck it up and be extra polite to the customs staff!

        • skid on 27/12/2019 - 19:33
          +2

          Doesn't sound like a pretty bad crime to me.

  • Diggins on 27/12/2019 - 19:55

    never happended to me and yeah it sounds frustrating.

  • lainey13 on 28/12/2019 - 01:34
    +1

    Have you tried to Google your name + various crime keywords?

    • khoaaa on 28/12/2019 - 10:06

      It's not on interpol

      • Nillionaire on 28/12/2019 - 20:45

        Search it on google news

        • buckster on 28/12/2019 - 23:58
          +1

          Maybe see if it was the target of a Trump tweet

    • hotdish on 29/12/2019 - 16:48
      +1

      You don't have to have committed a crime to have a border alert active.

      For example, there are several types of alerts including ones for HECS debts, child safety (one parent not running off overseas with a kid) and even outstanding child maintenance payments.

  • HardQuiz on 28/12/2019 - 08:25

    Have you traveled to the US ? Did you get the SSSS on your boarding pass.

    • khoaaa on 28/12/2019 - 10:06

      Haven't been before, SSSS is for extra security check isn't it?

    • OzJD on 29/12/2019 - 16:31
      +2

      My (approx 13 year old) daughter got the dreaded SSSS on her boarding pass, I almost cancelled the trip as I knew what it was.

      Thankfully, as we were departing Australia they did the secondary security clearance, which mostly just involved a few extra swabs, when we got into the US they didn't do any extra as Australia had done it.

      Interestingly, they did it once and once only. After that, she was given TRS PRCHCK on further US flights! (basically can skip most of the security, which usually costs money to sign up for in the US).

      Honestly, kinda useless though as her parents didn't have it, she had to wait in line anyway.

      • dealman on 30/12/2019 - 14:33

        What's the SSSS?

  • bes44 on 28/12/2019 - 09:46

    This guy had the same problem but 10x

    https://www.ted.com/talks/hasan_elahi_fbi_here_i_am

  • OzHunterNSW on 28/12/2019 - 09:52
    +1

    Why Are you getting a "security clearance check" every two years… it may be bc of this.
    Surely if your name is the same as some al qaeda leader that their would be some discrepancy, at least, like birth date, etc.
    I think it is time to write a letter of complaint to Customs, Border Force, and have them clarify the issue.
    Failing this, you need to write to Dutton…. or change your name.

    • whooah1979 on 28/12/2019 - 10:03
      +3

      Surely if your name is the same as some al qaeda leader

      OP has common Asian name that may be the same as a known drug trafficker.

    • khoaaa on 28/12/2019 - 10:04
      +2

      My line of work requires a govt background check every 2 years.

      • 91rs on 28/12/2019 - 18:34

        Could just be a verification of that and then updating and confirming biometrics (if asked) or updating imagery of you as part of those background checks to verify the person entering and exiting is the same person.

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