This came up in an earlier thread: depositing $200 cash in a bank account via a teller triggered all kinds of questions. Someone else came on to say it was a result of a "new Federal law". So yesterday, when I went to deposit a VA mileage compensation check with a grand total of $8, I asked the teller if I deposited $200 in cash, would I be asked all these questions (where I got it, etc.), and the answers were "no" and "never heard of such a thing".

The teller went on to explain that sometimes they would ask question if things looked odd, such as with repeated withdrawals, particularly with older customers, because of all the phone and internet phishing scams which abound these days. Things like this: the (alleged) IRS called for the third or fourth time yesterday to inform me of pending legal action against me. The only problem is the IRS doesn't call, they send a letter, and the IRS is quit clear about the subject. The media reports this almost on a regular basis (fortunately they got this one right).

There is a Federal requirement for transactions of $10,000 or more (that anti-money laundering etc. thing), and you can't break them up into smaller amounts to stay below the threshold. However, it looks like this brouhaha over being quizzed for lesser amounts is more a question of company policy than law.

How much of that asking for your ID when you use your credit card is the seller trying to protect himself against fraudulent charges made on a stolen credit card?