PayPal triggered a red alert over a misunderstood name

Its funny to see that how your name can put you in the situations that you can never expect of. A similar incident came into the light where an online donation for the treatment of the dog was halted. A red alert then was alarmed due to her name.

Seeking donation for the treatment of the dog

Lynda Owens was seeking help for her dog as she didn’t have enough funds for the treatment of her dog. She approached a charity for help, over which they agreed to help her by collecting funds for the treatment. The charity thought to collect funds from the PayPal as it is a worldwide mode of transaction. And they may easily get a handsome amount of money for the treatment.

Their plan backfired as it triggered an alert

The incident came to light when the charity started catching attention and more number of visitors for help. but suddenly something happened that they had never ever expected of. PayPal halts the transaction of 2 pounds that was made for the donation for the treatment of the dog. Not just this, this PayPal even triggered an alert regarding the dog and its owner.

The reason behind the Paypal’s behaviour

Actually, PayPal halts the payment as they misunderstood the name of the dog. The dog name was “ISIS” which is the name of a terror group. The PayPal misunderstood the name of the dog, relating it to the terror group ISIS and halting the payment and triggering the red alert so that people pay to stop donating to the organization.

PayPal came up with a smart algorithm to look for the words associated with the terrorist or the criminal organizations across the world. The payment company ensured that no person can fool out of themselves and donate to any of the terror or the criminal group across the world. This not only drops the company’s reputation but also encourages the terror activities across the world. So, the company keeps on scanning the names that may harm the security of the society.

Thereby the company caught the name of the dog and halt the payment for the same.

What happened after the clarification?

After the chaos, the clarification was made, that the name “ISIS” is not related to any terror organization. But it was the name of an 11 years old golden Labrador. Also, the funding was not for any terror group but the treatment of the dog. People reacted by stating the incident funny and saying that its good how these companies keep a check on these words but then its too funny because it happened in a case of a dog.

After the incident, the owner of the Labrador changed the name to “Alice”. Now the beautiful pup is no longer misunderstood with such a bad connection.

Komal Sinha: