I have to split it up.. I have a bunch of $500 OV cards and asking for split payments on debit is very sketchy. Plus sometimes they just split it up without me asking.

Odd thing is today I hit up winndixie (In a working class area where the median income is like 40k) and did 3k without any questions. I also went to the publix where I got the dorm comment and did 2.5k without many questions.

Oh and I got hit on by the cute CVS girl so I call it a win ;);):p:D

Late last night I bought (2) $1k money orders at WM.

This morning the same clerk from last night was working the customer service desk and I told her that I wanted to load (2) BB cards with $1k each.

She told me that she needed to fill out a form if I wanted to continue the transaction. She took down info from my driver license and I also had to write down my SS#. If my memory serves me right, the title of the form was "Money Services Activity Report".

I'm not really worried, since I'm not doing anything illegal. I just thought I'd share my experience.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it just the case that this woman was confused? I can't imagine how BB transactions would count toward suspicious activity report limits, especially since many people here, from what I can tell, walk in and drop a couple thousand on several different Serve BB cards all in one go. (Without filling out forms.)

Anyone had a SAR filed on them for buying gift cards? This just happened to me at a grocery store where the filed the SAR for my buying one $500 GC because I had bought $2K a couple of days earlier. I have heard of SARs for MO or even BP at WM, but have never heard of it for buying GCs.

I feel like reporting them because they in fact did the illegal activity by letting me know they were filing a SAR to begin with. They handed me the form to fill out. Though complaining to them would likely do nothing for me accept stir the pot and getting banned from buying at other CUB stores as well I suppose.

Did it say SAR on it? Current and former Supervalu owned stores (Cub is currently owned by Supervalu) have an additional form called the CIF (Customer Information Form) when a purchase hits a soft limit. The form is filled out by the customer and is kept on file to be made available on request to law enforcement and/or the IRS. It's done to cover themselves so that they can show that they performed due diligence on their part should that purchase ever be connected with any sort of crime.

I didn't see the top of it. It was the exact same form I had to fill out at Walmart one time when tried to do two BP of $2K each. It had check boxes at the top for activity such as buying $2K, etc, and the cashier filled in which GC # I bought at the bottom. The cashier said they send this to the IRS, (though I believe it is to FinCen).

FinCen is an arm of the IRS. FinCen prefers the form to be filled out online (not sure if they still accept faxes).

If they look identical to the one at WalMart, then it's probably a SAR.

FinCen is not an arm of the IRS. They are part of Treasury Department, with their own Director.

Those are not SARs.

I find it then, extremely strange that it is the exact same form as at Walmart, though I hope you are right.

Ah, I should have googled it before posting that. The most recent version of the Anti Money Laundering training at work pretty much replaced "IRS" from the older one with "FinCen." I should have known better than to trust a bureaucratically operated corporation :P The training still says to fax the form to the IRS (which no longer applies as all the SARs go to FinCen via webform)

I went to a grocery store today and purchased 1 $500 GC and the lady behind the register asked for my ID and filled out a bunch of information. And handed me back my ID and said," she has to take my information because there is a lot SPAM with GC." I didn't give her my SSN. Do you think there is anything to worry about? Has anyone else had any experiences like this. I am still pretty new to the game

FWIW, I don't believe that anyone in MS is making currency purchases of MIs. I haven't seen any guidance from FinCEN or the IRS to indicate that the $3K limit actually applies to debit card purchases.

For that matter, I haven't found any guidance that explicitly states that FIs are treated as currency for the purposes of the $10K limit. I'm not talking about how it happens in practice at banks and MSBs. I'm talking about the actual language from the BSA and FinCEN regs. I could very well be wrong as I'm no expert in this area.

Andyandy

Most likely to make sure that your credit card isn't stolen.

I would worry if I owned stock in a grocery store that left its cash register in the hands of someone who thinks recording driver's license info has anything to do with eliminating spam.

That said, I would go to stores that don't ask for personal info, even if doing so means staying under a certain transaction limit.

While the overall article is concerning, as always, the seventh paragraph reveals some progress.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/26/us...ired.html?_r=0

Kind of surprising that the IRS would change its policies as a result of an inquiry by the New York Times, after years of concerns being raised by Members of Congress, lawyers, and financial professionals.