(no subject)

[fishsupreme]

In his book The Art of the Steal, Frank Abagnale points out that both con artists and security professionals don't think about things the way most people do, and when they see a system they tend to think about how it breaks before they even think about how it works properly. Most people don't do this, and thus miss obvious security holes.

I think I just hit an example of this... sheeplass mentioned in an IM that she had discovered when shipping things internationally that it's important to list the value as being less than $5, because otherwise the recipient has to pay a tax on it to get it to clear customs.

I immediately had two thoughts:

1.) So they check the contents and charge tax on receiving things? Hey, you could anonymously ship junk to people you don't like, and list the contents as Plutonium or Anthrax with values in the tens of thousands. It would be the receiver, not the sender, who got the bill (which they would just refuse to pay) and the accompanying police investigation.

2.) I wonder what they'd do if you shipped something with a high listed value but with the contents listed as something obscure that definitely does not have an established tax code or rate, like phlegm or gnomes. Do they even have a procedure for that? Intangibles like justice or virtue would also be good to send.

Of course, maybe this just means I'm weird. But I knew that.

Comments

[gunslnger.livejournal.com]

Depends on which customs, ours or theirs. Doesn't something hit both when going international?

[anjelabug]

I would think, but over here they only ask questions like "Is this a bomb?" and "Are you shipping napalm?" Over there they actually pay attention to the sticker.

[teleute.livejournal.com]

The only time we've had to pay tax on things is when we shipped my wedding dress fabric over to my friend that made the dress, and that was valued at $150 (which I put on there because I wanted it insured). Of course, I always check the box that says 'gift', which might make a difference.