5 ms·

Especially when “the wrong word could get you in trouble”: https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_571f8057e4b01a5ebde34b97/amp https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_5

• cortesoft 8y ago
  It is so ridiculous that the comment for a payment would be used against someone. Writing jokes in the 'for' line on a check is a time honored tradition when paying your friends money. I don't want to live in a world where I am not allowed to make jokes because it might get me a visit from the FBI.
  • gowld 8y ago
    Making jokes in private is fine. But publicly declaring an intent to violate the law is a joke that is going to get attention from law-enforcement unless they can be convinced it's a joke.
    • lostlogin 8y ago
      Guilty until proven funny?
    • CydeWeys 8y ago
      Which is exactly why random bullshit payments shouldn't be public, and why Venmo defaulting to it (or even having it be an option) makes no sense.
    • freeflight 8y ago
      Quite relevant: "Caution on Twitter urged as tourists barred from US." http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-16810312 http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-16810312
    • recursive 8y ago
      The very point in question is about whether this information is public.
    • SilasX 8y ago
      "Cuba" is not declaring intent to violate the law, and investigating such a case seems like a poor use of law enforcement resources, since a) there are many legal transactions describable as "Cuba", and b) it depends on the violators being overt about their lawbreaking. The payer could very well be referring to drinks at the Cuba Libre bar, or tickets for the Cuba Gooding Jr. movie/show.
  • etxm 8y ago
    I used to write vulgar stuff in the memo line like “hookers” or “blow”. Stupid college shit. One day my bank called me and said if I did it again they’d cancel my account. I asked the rep her name and promised to stop... I wrote “fuck you sarah” for two years until I changed banks.
    • kazinator 8y ago
      Sarah got punished twice there. First, being the one who had to make this unpleasant phone call, and then being the target of these notes.
      • d0lph 8y ago
        I think calling people was probably part of her job.
      • odammit 8y ago
        As noted below it wasn’t a company policy she didn’t personally like seeing things like “emergency eunuch surgery” on checks. She said she would make it a policy. All bark, no bite.
    • ShabbosGoy 8y ago
      What an odd thing for a bank to do, police how someone uses a memo line in a check. At least you got your revenge on them.
      • toomuchtodo 8y ago
        It's my understanding that Venmo will flag transactions with certain words in the memo. "I Tried to Venmo $12.66 for 'ISIS' and the Government Was Pissed It turns out the Treasury Department doesn't appreciate my sense of humor." https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/5gqyzd/i-tried-to-venmo-1266-for-isis-and-the-government-was-pissed https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/5gqyzd/i-tried-to-venmo-1...
        • Apocryphon 8y ago
  • Paul-ish 8y ago
    Why is it important to put jokes there? I view a check as a pseudo-legal document. Do you slip jokes into the contracts you sign?
    • RandallBrown 8y ago
      I draw smiley faces on the signature line at stores and restaurants pretty often.
    • function_seven 8y ago
      A long time ago, checks had to be deposited at a bank counter, in person. If I wanted to embarrass my payee, I'd write something risque or vulgar in the memo line. That way they would have to suffer that embarrassment if they wanted my money. Yeah, it's juvenile. I don't understand why the FBI would care though. There's a 0% chance that a real terrorist is writing "ISIS" on their checks to fund terror.
    • DSMan195276 8y ago
      I would agree, I don't really understand the logic in this thread. You're literally giving the check to a bank who is then going to have read it and look at what it's for and who you're sending the money too - and part of their job is to decide if it is legitimate, or if they should ask you about it, etc. If you put something extremely suspicious or flat-out illegal in the memo line, I would presume they're obligated to at least report it, or else they could be on the hook if it turns out it was actually true and they let it go with no questions asked.
  • jliptzin 8y ago
    Too late, you already live in that world.
  • marssaxman 8y ago
    I don't want to live in that kind of world either, but it goes on existing around me all the same.
• closeparen 8y ago
  A friend in college got a fun letter from the Comptroller of the Currency after writing “A Night in Tehran” on a reimbursement for Iranian food in Chicago.
  • froindt 8y ago
    Did that happen to be the name of the restaurant?