My bank account got frozen for 5 days because of a 'suspicious' freelancer deposit

Last month a client in Japan wired me $4,200 for a big project and my bank locked my account within 2 hours. They flagged it as potential money laundering because the deposit came from overseas and was over $3,000. I had to call them 3 times, send them a copy of my contract, and wait for them to 'review' it. Meanwhile I couldn't pay my rent or buy groceries. Has anyone else had their bank freak out over international payments like this? What bank do you use that doesn't treat freelancer income like a crime?

3 comments

3 Comments

kai_ramirez387h ago

Wait is it really that serious... I've been getting overseas payments for years and nothing ever happened. Maybe your bank is just extra paranoid or something.

ivan4627h ago

Years? That's a long time to be playing with fire like that. My neighbor had a similar setup for about three years, small payments from a client in Europe for consulting work. Bank froze everything one day, and he spent six months proving the money wasn't from anything shady. They even flagged his utility bills and mortgage because the timing looked suspicious. You might have just gotten lucky with a bank that doesn't pay close attention.

thomasb416h ago

Getting lucky" is an excuse. His neighbor was probably hiding something bigger.