Call from Chase headquarters b/c of high transaction volume

[Pennysaved]

I got a call from a call center from Chase in San Antonio; I verified this because I had gotten a couple of calls from them last week and called back the #

The guy said we was monitoring my account since there were a high volume of transactions and $$ going in and out of my account.

He said he didn't understand why I was taking out 2 or 3k and then a day or two later depositing that exact same amount at another branch.

I explained to him that the branches were ordering me coin and I was going through it and turning it in at another branch.

I was honest with him and told him I was a coin collector looking for collectible coins and just turn back in what I don't want

I told him he could call the branches and verify that info.

I asked him if he was trying to prevent me from doing this and he said no

He said that he had never heard of a customer doing that; he said he has to put an explanation of what was going on with my account in case the auditor asks what is going on.

Has this happened to anyone else?

[NHsorter]

You should have told him that you keep setting up "dates" with high end hookers so you take the cash out so that you are prepared. But then when they see you, they turn you down, so then you put the money back in the bank.

But seriously, I'm very interested in finding out if they contact you about this again. I have also thought that my bank activity would probably be suspicious looking if big brother was to take a look at it.

[Copper Catcher]

I think I can explain...Years ago long before all the electronic transfers and instant data some folks would what would be called "kite money" around town by pulling money from one account and depositing it into another and keep the cycle going and ultimately not having sufficient funds to fully cover the total. See: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/kite
Obviously in todays world it does not work but still flags are raised when the transaction volume occurs.

Also be aware that you are probably getting numerous Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) reports filled out on you. See: http://www.fincen.gov/forms/files/fin104_ctr.pdf
For more detail go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Currency_t ... ion_report

Depending on your income level this may or may not be a problem but if the number is high enough it will flag your and you will be audited by the IRS. Congradulations!

[Pennysaved]

I had been doing this at Wells Fargo with no issue for almost 6 months; weird it is now an issue with Chase

How do you recommend getting around that so that one is not audited?

[Lemon Thrower]

i'm not going to defend this practice but this is about the bank complying with antimoneylaundering regugulations.

i haven't gotten such a call but i treat these questions like the questions i get from the TSA at the airport. I don't want to end up on a list. i'm a realist, not an altruist.

[neilgin1]

oh penny, that is a most disturbing report, it just jibes with the times we are in.

y'know...i appreciate technology, even the fact we have this internet, which was originally a creation of DARPA, way back when, so that national command authorities could communicate in the event of a nuclear war, etc.........but there are a lot of unsavory ways, technology is now being used...not for our freedom, but to pen us in. i even saw, in a documentary, about the latest warfighting efforts in Afghanistan, we actually have in use, a portable retina scan to catalogue jihadi's...and thats swell. i'm ALL for keeping our boys safe, but that begs the question, when is the day, that the retina scan is used on Americans, as a form of ID?
i'm telling you, you might not read the Bible, which is a person's own decision, but John in that cave on Patmos SAW some pretty hairy stuff and wrote it down in the Book of Revelations.

i'm personally about two steps away from ending my relationship with JPM anyway. thanks for the antedote.

[highroller4321]

I would switch banks.

[neilgin1]

I would switch banks.

wise words.

[Pennysaved]

I guess I could find another bank; just sucks when I found a branch that will order me as much coin as I want

It is a really big branch downtown and they do high business volume so the business teller will order me whatever I want.

Maybe I will just stop depositing and withdrawing and just do all cash whenever I pick up or turn in coin and see how that works.

[Copper Catcher]

I disagree. If you switch this will be another red flag on your account. Just keep on keeping on....

[franklin]

NH, you are one crazy guy.

[highroller4321]

I guess I could find another bank; just sucks when I found a branch that will order me as much coin as I want

It is a really big branch downtown and they do high business volume so the business teller will order me whatever I want.

Maybe I will just stop depositing and withdrawing and just do all cash whenever I pick up or turn in coin and see how that works.

Cash would work as well.

[NHsorter]

NH, you are one crazy guy.

I was just talking smack. I would be tempted to mess with them with some outrageous story like that, but it is likely that I would have just told them the truth like penny did. We are not doing anything illegal and we should not be ashamed. But we are taxing the coin shipping system a bit so we should expect them to push back at times.

I think that moving to CASH is the way to go. On my weekly pick up I pay CASH. When I dump at the Penny Arcade I have them give me CASH. I just keep recycling the same wad. This greatly reduces the frequency of transactions that get logged on my accounts and it helps me stay under the radar a little.

If you have a good thing going and they will supply you and accept your dumps, then I don't think that I would stop banking there. Just reduce the amount of transactions that get logged on your account and they should probably quit bugging you. That is unless someone sees the notes in your account now and decides that they no longer want to support your hobby. But even if that happens, you would only get cut off. I say wait and make them end the relationship. Use them for all that you can while the getting is good.

[beauanderos]

I think I can explain...Years ago long before all the electronic transfers and instant data some folks would what would be called "kite money" around town by pulling money from one account and depositing it into another and keep the cycle going and ultimately not having sufficient funds to fully cover the total. See: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/kite
Obviously in todays world it does not work but still flags are raised when the transaction volume occurs.

Also be aware that you are probably getting numerous Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) reports filled out on you. See: http://www.fincen.gov/forms/files/fin104_ctr.pdf
For more detail go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Currency_t ... ion_report

Depending on your income level this may or may not be a problem but if the number is high enough it will flag your and you will be audited by the IRS. Congradulations!

I was just about to reach the point of $10,000 cash transfers when the bank shut me down. I was doing $9000 cash, and $1000 from my acct to attempt to skirt detection and those danged SAR's John refers to. Sure hope I don't get audited

[Oakair]

Ive been working in cash...Im no big fish by any means...But its a lesson I learned in my teen years (cash is a hard to trace medium, electronic money is heavily monitored)

[Lemon Thrower]

the folks calling you don't care that you are wasting the banks' resources with your hobby. they want to make sure you are not a drug dealer that is going to caused the bank to get fined.

most people get coins from one bank and deposit at another. those folks will have more issues because they can't show the netting. all they see is large cash deposits (albeit pennies, lol).

[Copper Catcher]

It really all depends on the average cash balance in your account and how much money flows through your account. Banks don't want to waste resources any more that you do.

Eventually we will all be hit with fees unless our volume is so low it does not go outside their regular change orders. I predict it is only a matter of time.

[JobIII]

Beau - I don't believe coin hunting counts as moneylaundering. As long as the money you are using is clean going in and out. Therefore no one should be all that concerned with SAR's. This form is to protect the banks from being liable. Most of the time you probably wouldn't even know the bank has completed it for you.

And if you go just under the 10,000 limit. This could actually look more suspicious then just going over it. Though i've played around with 8k at one bank and 2K+ at another to keep from hitting the 10k number myself.

[Tourney64]

Tell him you work for congress. Seriously, there are significant requirement put on financial institutions relating to money laudering and homeland security. Surprised not more of us are contacted. There is also a form called SAR (Suspicious Activity Report), which most of us unknowingly has had one filled out by a bank and turned in to the US government.

[BamaJoe]

Actually, I've gotten a call that was something along those lines. I have a checking account with Compass that I use solely to deposit havlves then withdraw to buy more halves. Every transaction that I've ever made whether deposits or withdrawals were in even thousands. My local branch call me a few months ago and told they they were being audited by Homeland Security and they had flagged my account. The bank employes asked why my transactions were the way they where and I simply told them. Haven't heard anything else since.

[schockergd]

I'm sure most of the people that do sorting on here will have SARs filled out, I know i've had one filled out for completely different reasons, lots of $1k-$2k withdraws on weekly basis , then replenishment from another source.

Sad times we live in , but that's just how it works.


Here's a funny story though , a few years back while taking my training for real estate, a broker told us about the most interesting closing he's ever had. It was in a relatively nice area of Columbus Ohio (UA to be exact). We get people with cash wanting to buy a home all the time, it's not a BIG deal because alot of people made alot of money during the boom, took it in cash and have it sitting in an apartment. Well, one guy wanted to buy a home in cash , signed the contracts and got it accepted. He was a tree trimmer and everything was going fine up until day of closing. See, normally when we close on a property with cash , the bank just writes a certified check and we close. In this case the individual had his life savings in jars hidden in his back yard. When closing came he showed up to the title company (Just a small office in a strip mall) with over $400,000 in cash!

Needless to say, everyone was shocked, but then the REAL horror set in - What do you do with $400k in cash sitting on a table? Well , it took something like 6 hours to close the deal. They had to find several off duty police officers , be escorted to the seller (or title company's) bank and then go through mountains of paperwork. He had to verify that the cash really was his, how he had earned it, ect. It did close and he did get his house , but because of such a large transaction it took quite some time to work out.

This is happening more and more often with large and small banks, it really doesn't matter, the question is whether they're calling you on it or not.

[CardsNCoins]

$265,624.00 in coin looked through since Jan. 1, and not one penny of it on paper coming out or going back in.