[larodi]

For more than six months now, s.o. is (perhaps accidentally) paying my mobile bill. I have two sim cards, one is data, almost unused. Called the operator twice, concerned that a granny is messing the user ID, or that s.o. is trying to impersonate me by paying the bills and then claiming ownership. Two times reps. assure me that they have no clue who does the payment as it arrives from a partner network taking cash payments only, and that it is impossible for anyone person to claim ownership of the SIM.

And while the amount is not a large one, it is still very suspicious this keeps going on, even after two very long calls with the support. I'm going to soon speak to the partner network, but it is appalling how much these people are not interested in who actually gives their enterprise money. They're only there to take it.

[dkdbejwi383]

What does SO stand for here? I assumed Significant Other but that doesn’t square with the story as surely you’d just ask

[larodi]

s.o. = someone

I have lived for at least a long while with the impression it is common abbreviation :D

[lewispollard]

It's a common abbreviation for significant other, i.e. one's husband/wife or partner, but never seen it abbreviate "someone" before.

[fwipsy]

"someone?"

[Sebguer]

this makes the most sense but i have never in my life seen someone abbreviate someone as SO, haha.

[titanomachy]

They're probably French, the French are always writing qqn and qqch for "quelqu'un" and "quelque chose".

A couple other small tells, although very fluent... "enterprise" instead of "business", etc.

[majewsky]

Not exactly the same, but "sb." and "sth." are common abbreviations in dictionaries, e.g. "to meet sb." or "to pick sth. up". To those familiar with this convention, "s.o." can generally be inferred from context.

[luz666]

xkcd 10000 :)

[fc417fc802]

> it is appalling how much these people are not interested in who actually gives their enterprise money

Why should they be?

In more than a few jurisdictions you can pay utilities or property taxes via an online portal without logging in. You just pull up a property, click "make a payment", and enter an amount along with a payment method into the portal. If you were to use a gift card for a utility payment I believe all they'd have is a browser fingerprint and an IP address. But why should that be an issue?

[larodi]

well... imagine this - you are a concert agency, then some promoter comes, and hires you to do this hall and this artist. you do, it sells out, the room is near empty.

should you be concerned where did the money come and go?

[fc417fc802]

That's entirely different because the agency is an intermediary. How can you abuse a utility service to launder money?

Even then unless legally obligated I don't see why you should care. Just report the highly suspicious activity and let law enforcement handle it. Not your problem.

[larodi]

the utility service gets in trouble because not doing due diligence or even is assumed helping facilitate the scheme.

[fc417fc802]

They don't get in trouble because you can't abuse a utility to launder money. The onus is on you to provide an example here.

You only need to look into your customers to the extent required by law; beyond that it's not your problem. In your example with an intermediary a failure to report suspicious activity could potentially result in you being viewed as an accomplice.

[lqet]

> it is appalling how much these people are not interested in who actually gives their enterprise money

After we bought our house, the property tax was still billed to the previous owner for some time. We called our local city hall, and their answer was basically "just talk to the previous owner and pay the tax for them, we don't care where the money comes from".

Pecunia non olet.

[luxuryballs]

any chance someone who knows you is simply paying your bill out of kindness?