FBI name check qusetion...

[ridejewel 0]

Do they seem to focus on middle eastern names, or ones that sound suspicious, or do they just randomly select people? Any ideas?

[LaL 418]

Do they seem to focus on middle eastern names, or ones that sound suspicious, or do they just randomly select people? Any ideas?

everyone goes through namechecks. whether you get stuck for an inordinate amount of time depends on if you have a name hit.

[notrepetiteashley 0]

Agreed. We all go through it. Some names just come up and have to be checked. No fun.

[WifeOHunkyJohn 2]

They check every combination and variation of your name so if you have a popular name, you are just as likely to have your namecheck take a while as someone from a country whose interests are not favorable to the US.

[rebeccajo 14]

They also use a mathematical algorithm called Soundex to create phonetic variations of your name.

In our case, Soundex creates five other surnames, in addition to ours, that are checked.

Edited March 13, 2007 by rebeccajo

[ridejewel 0]

Wow! See, I was thinking that you were safe as long as your name didn't start with Osama or Saddam, or any of Interpol's most wanted. Crazy stuff.