KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A young man went in to buy a car and realized he had been mistakenly identified as a terrorist.

Ryan Allen (pictured, left), 19, turned up on a government list that includes Osama bin Laden and members of al-Qaida.

Allen wanted to buy a new Chevrolet Cavalier. He filled out the paperwork at a Kansas City dealership and then the results of the credit bureau check came back.

"I filled out the credit thing. I'm probably sitting there an hour ... hour and a half," Allen said.

But the dealership's manager came back with what Allen thought was an odd question.

"'Have you ever been to Yemen?' I go, 'No,'" Allen said.

That was enough to pique Allen's curiosity. Apparently when Allen's Social Security number was entered in the computer, it came up as Ramzi Bin al-Shibh (pictured, right), one of the masterminds of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

Bin al-Shibh is on a U.S. Treasury list of so-called blocked persons, including terrorists. Financial institutions check this in part to make sure someone opening a bank account is not doing it to fund terrorism.

Allen did not get his new car.

"Granted, I'm glad I found out about it now," Allen said.

Allen is not sure how a terrorist ended up with his Social Security number. He believes it has to do with the fact that his birthday falls on Sept. 11. After talking to the Social Security Administration, the U.S. Treasury, the FBI, lawyers, and local police, Allen said that he is still not sure how to clear his name.