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presents no problem.
However, never communicate with BMO via e-mail, nor give them your e-mail
address. The obvious reason for this is to avoid any evidence that you even have a
Canadian account. For the same reason, I strongly suggest that you never keep any of the
records in your computer. Keep your bank records the old-fashioned way. By hand.
Use the Opt Out forms
Although unknown to most customers, the Bank of Montreal has two option forms,
one to keep the bank from sharing your information, and the other to keep the bank from
sending you any mail other than your statements. Since they are not often used in the
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smaller branches, they may not have them on hand. However, do request them. They can
be faxed to the branch bank while you wait.
The specific names are Direct Marketing Opt Out Form and Shared Information Opt
Out Form.
Could a private investigator (PI) locate my account?
This depends on the PI, and on whoever is paying him. I asked this question of a
skilled PI friend who tracks down assets both in the U.S. and abroad. He says he first
checks for American accounts. If he comes up dry, and if his client is willing to spend
more money, he will expand the search. However, his next step is usually offshore banks
in known tax havens. The latest targets on his list are banks in China, since China is fast
becoming the place to bank for anonymity. (Note: He says he himself would never open
an account in China because there is little if any security.) The only specific searches he
has done in Canada have been for targets who are known to be Canadian citizens.
"The searches are done by province," he says, "and I'd need the insurance number of
the individual (insurance numbers are like Social Security numbers in the States). If this
number is unknown, it would cost the client extra for me to find the account."
He says the bottom line is that if he somehow learned that the person did have a
Canadian account, he could track it down& but it would be far more difficult than in the
United States and his client (usually a law firm) would have to pay him a substantial
additional fee.
Can the police track the use of my ATM card?
I put the above question to a forensic computer expert in the police department of a
large city on the U.S. West Coast. His answer:
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I think finding someone through their use of an ATM card, even frequently, under
those circumstances would be exceedingly difficult. Having done financial asset
investigations against narcotics traffickers, I know that if you don't know the identity of
the bank account, you are shooting craps trying to find it. I've been to a lot of training on
asset tracking, and I've worked joint investigations with the feds. I don't think anyone in
traditional law enforcement would have any different of an opinion than mine. (I say
traditional, because who really knows what the NSA, CIA, and the like are capable of?)
When we had good reason to believe our suspect had assets, and no paper trail of
them turned up in a search warrant of their residence, we were reduced to calling all the
security folks we knew from the various banks and ask them if there were any accounts
under a certain name. I doubt if anyone would think to check Canadian banks. If it was a
common name we would have to write a search warrant (thank God for the Constitution)
and would have to convince a judge that we had reason to believe it belonged to the right
person. A judge may or may not go for that. If they used an alternate name for the
account, of course, they would be (to borrow your trademark) invisible.
So I believe that, in your scenario, a person would be almost impossible to find
through that means. Of course, using the card infrequently and at random locations away
from home, it gets closer and closer to the perfect ideal.
Conclusion:
If you are fleeing a stalker, you may wish to close all your U.S. accounts. Otherwise,
if it is merely a law firm that may hire a PI to go after you, you may wish to keep one or
two small U.S. accounts (perhaps out of state) for paying bills etc. That way, if the PI
does discover your account(s), he may reach the false conclusion that he has finished the
job.
He may then report back to the law firm that you do not have much money, and they
in turn may decide not to pursue the case.
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Remember:
It is absolutely vital that others do not learn about your Canadian account.
Therefore, never, never, never talk about it. Set the account up, use the Opt Out forms,
and arrange to get just one statement each year, mailed to a secure address.
CROSSING THE BORDER INTO CANADA:
Americans traveling to and from Canada by air are now required to show a valid
passport. Travelers entering Canada by land currently have these options:
U.S. citizens:
" A valid U.S. passport; or
" An original U.S. birth certificate plus photo identification; or
" An original naturalization certificate plus photo identification.
U.S. permanent residents:
" Original alien registration card (green card); or
" A valid I-551 stamp in the traveler s passport.
Other documents such as a driver's license or voter registration card will not be accepted
as proof of U.S. citizenship.
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Note:
Beginning on June 1, 2009, passports will be mandatory
for all U.S. residents and citizens entering Canada,
whether by land, sea or air. For up-to-the-minute
information, go to:
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html
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APPENDI X B
European Bank Accounts
The European Union (EU) consists of 25 member states. They are Austria, Belgium,
Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece,
Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland,
Portugal, Spain, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
Privacy: Europe vs. the USA
In Europe unlike in the United States privacy is a human right. Personal
information cannot be collected without consumers permission. For example, when
Mormon missionaries or Jehovah s Witnesses go door to door, they are not allowed to
write down the householder s name or address without permission. In fact, for
organizations of any kind, those who join must give their written permission to have their
names entered as a member. And, if additional information is then entered, the members
have the right to review that information at any time and to correct any inaccuracy.
Any company that processes names and addresses must register its activities with
the government. Personal information cannot be shared by companies or across borders
without written permission from the data subject. Employers cannot read workers private
e-mail. Checkout clerks cannot even ask for shoppers phone numbers.
These rights, and many others, stem from The European Union Directive on Data
Protection of 1995, which mandated that each EU nation pass a national privacy law and
create a Data Protection Authority to protect citizens' privacy and investigate attacks on
it. As a result, the average European trusts his government far more than does the average
American.
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EU Banks
All banks in the EU have a Know Your Client policy, for the most part forced upon
them by the United States. A new client, therefore, must appear at the bank in person and
produce government-issued ID. The government tax agencies have full access to all bank
accounts. In fact, banking information for income tax purposes is included in the forms
sent to taxpayers by most of the EU countries.
The next five subheadings are directed to citizens and permanent residents of the
European Union. If you are a Canadian or an American, skip down to the sixth
subheading, Is a North American allowed to bank in the EU?
Legal access to your bank account
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