A Quebec businessman whose name erroneously ended up on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's flight passenger "watch list" has masterminded a way to get off the harassment list. But it didn't take a barrel of cash, repeated body cavity searches, lawsuits, or even powerful magnets, he simply changed his name. And while not an overly sophisticated approach, it was apparently enough to fool DHS computer systems.

The Montreal record company executive formerly known as Mario Labbé faced repeated difficulties in his dealings with U.S. customs agents each month he flew to the U.S. since 2004, when he received a letter from DHS stating that he had been placed on their watch list. Apparently, Labbé had fallen victim to identity theft and the actions of his identity captor prompted DHS to closely scrutinize his movements across the border. 

"I was pulled aside in a room ... and you have to wait your turn to finally be released," Labbé said. "An hour, an hour and a half, two hours, whatever it is after. Once I was caught in Miami like that for six hours.

"It's always the same questions, about if I've lost my passport, if I've been to Japan — I don't know why Japan, but in their file it was something to do with Japan."

Labbé wrote letters to DHS protesting his situation and proclaiming his innocence, but they failed to emancipate him from the infamous watch list. Out of moves and frustrated from four years of DHS abuse, Mario Labbé officially became François Mario Labbé. The name change involved a good amount of work in obtaining all new documents, but it did manage to get DHS off his back.

DHS began compiling the travel watch list after the 9/11 attacks using information from 17 different government departments and law enforcement agencies. It is designed to keep terrorism suspects from boarding commercial airline flights. But the list grows monthly and now holds the names of over 400,000 people, according to the Transportation Security Agency (TSA). But some estimates, like those from the American Civil Liberties Union, place the watch list closer to one million names.

Either way, given the size of the watch list, it's no surprise that stories like Labbé's are becoming more and more common. Just last month, CNN covered a story about James Robinson, a retired Air National Guard brigadier general and a commercial pilot for a major airline who flies passenger planes around the country but still has difficulty getting onto a flight because his name matches that of another on the watch list. 

Many people with no connection to terrorism can end up on the lists if their names match those of another who is on the list. Such "false positives" are usually the cause of stories like Labbé's.

"The most notable one in the United States is Sen. Edward Kennedy, who for quite some time was prevented from getting on airplanes. Apparently, there was some other Edward Kennedy who was on the no-fly list," said U.S. security expert Daniel Steinbock.

Unfortunately for the Senator, in the meantime, it looks like he'll have to change his name if he wants to get through TSA security faster.

Also Interesting:

Congress lobbying for a Life Insurance Awareness Month 
Texas government loses track of $1.1 billion
Bush sums up his experience as President as "a cool time"
DHS self-deportation policy fails
Federal employees go AWOL
The parking ticket that turned one man homeless
McCain confused over how many houses he owns
Screener Testing Labeled 'A Waste'