Mum ‘flagged as potential TERRORIST’ over bank transfer called ‘funds for Isis’ – as it’s the name of her horse
A MUM was "flagged as a potential terrorist" over a bank transfer called "funds for Isis" as it was the name of her horse.
Susan Govindasamy was left "speechless" when she learned a £500 payment to a horse trainer friend on PayPal was temporarily frozen because of the transaction name.
The 57-year-old had innocently pinged over the cash to cover the costs of "horse Bootcamp" for nine-year-old Arab horse Isis.
But Ancient Egypt fanatic Susan, from Bolton, Manchester, failed to spot the issue with her wording, submitted the payment and went on with her day.
It was only three days later when her friend said she hadn't received the cash, noticed a temporary pending status on the transaction and was contacted by PayPal that she realised there was a problem.
Red-faced Susan, who has previously owned horses called Pharaoh and Nefertiti, says she was forced to explain to PayPal and Interpol that she was paying for her horse's training and not funding terrorism.
She claims she even had to provide her pet's passport to prove Isis was indeed her real name and sign a declaration confirming she had no links to the infamous terror group.
Susan now admits she remains vigilant about what names she gives transactions, claiming it has been very much a "lesson learned".
"I'm a bit scatty, there are tons of things I've done and my husband has said 'I can't believe you've done that," Susan said.
"I named the transfer 'funds for Isis' and sent the money off, at the time it went right over my head.
"I only realised there was an issue three days later when my friend said the money hadn't come through."
As an avid fan of Ancient Egypt, Susan has been to Sharm El Sheikh a couple of times and Egyptiana sometimes features in her art.
She also has an Egyptian-themed bedroom and has painted a huge eye of Horus over the top of the bed frame.
Susan said: "I'm really interested in Ancient Egypt.
"Isis is the goddess of goddesses. She's very revered and astute goddess that's looked up to, she's come through a lot in my life.
"When Isis was born, if she'd been a colt he would have been called Osiris. When I knew she was a filly I knew Isis was the name for her."
Horse lover Susan said she was mortified by the mix-up but was relieved that no harm was done.
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A PayPal spokesperson said: "Government regulations require that payments companies including PayPal scan all payments for terrorist and other references.
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"We do everything we can to eliminate references that have nothing to do with terrorism, and work with customers to resolve quickly any issues that might inadvertently arise."
A spokesperson for Interpol explained that it would not have been someone from their General Secretariat that contacted Susan as they do not contact individuals in this way, but explained it could have been national law enforcement in one of Interpol's 194 National Central Bureaus.
