So, an IRS Special Agent just stopped by...
No, not a Revenue Officer, a Special Agent… you know, the ones with the guns an handcuffs? He stopped by my house, unannounced, to ask me some questions about some banking transactions which have come to their attention. For the past few years I have been using our favorite miles-earning debit card to purchase money orders at our favorite retailer. Apparently depositing “several hundred thousand dollars” over the past year does seem to catch someone’s attention.
Once I explained the basics of what I was doing and why, the matter appeared to be resolved in a few minutes – it was clear I was not laundering money, which is their concern of course. In fact, the Special Agent’s response was that they are seeing this (debit cards with money orders) “more and more these days”. The IRS agent did even mention to me that the T&C of the debit card do not allow for MO – the T&C didn’t use to, but apparently it does now.
YMMV...