[mstade]

Yeah the microwave thing seems made up. But it is true that large amounts of cash (as in hundreds of thousands, not something like 10k) will raise suspicions. Banks are also legally obliged to report all amounts over 10k I believe, and do impose restrictions on the amounts of cash they will deal with at any given time. Many cards (and ATMs) also have a limit on the amount of cash you can withdraw, although this has been the case for years. I remember when buying a computer some 15 years ago or more – from a private seller who only accepted cash – and having to withdraw cash from three separate ATMs because there was a limit on withdrawing more than 8k or so per ATM. This was on a Sunday I believe, so the branches were all closed.

[elliotec]

All this is definitely true everywhere in the world though.