I found out today that a co-worker also got called by American Express yesterday telling him his accounts were suspended until he handed over the same financial documents they demanded from me. Like myself, he has a great credit rating, never made a late payment or missed a payment. He is however from the same area of the world my family is from -- Southern Asia (India, Bangladesh, etc.)
I just came across an old article published by City Limits on Muslim New Yorkers having their credit cards cancelled. I was searching the internet after being called by American Express telling me that they have suspended my account and I will need to submit my past 3 consecutive bank statements along with last year's tax return and W2 in order to get the flag lifted. If I did not comply within 15 days, my cards would be cancelled.
This rubbed me the wrong way. I didn't want to think it, but I felt I was being targeted for being a Muslim. I've never missed or made a late payment. In fact, I just checked my credit report a month ago and it was clean -- American Express reported "Paid/Never Late". I then decided to do a search on Google when I found this City Limits article along with others reporting similar incidents.