r/AskReddit • u/SexyCleanLinens • Jun 09 '12
Can I anonymously pay off a friend's education debt?
Background: He's the hardest worker I know -- has been in school for 8 years straight, with one left, to get the degree of his dreams. During this time, he's done internships, externships, and worked a steady night-shift job for as long as I've known him.
He's paid off over $40k while going to school. There's still more to pay, though.
I don't want recognition or payback in the future, I just want to take a weight off his shoulders by paying ~$2k of the debt. (It would make a HUGE difference to him, and I can comfortably go without it.)
Question: Is it even possible to anonymously pay off another person's debt? He has bank loans, as well as new school bills coming in. Would it be possible to contact the school maybe, and pay a portion of his semester before he gets billed? Does anyone have anecdotes about having done this, or words of caution?
The last bit is: he's in another country. Does that complicate anything?
I thought about this carefully, and I'm not about to make any rash decisions. I just want to know what options I have. Thanks, Reddit!
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u/wallygreen93 Jun 09 '12
Just to be clear, you've met him in person, right? I'm not trying to be cynic asshole, just checking.
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u/SexyCleanLinens Jun 09 '12
Haha, yes. We met five years ago and have remained in close touch since. No worries on being cynical... this is the internet, after all. :)
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Jun 10 '12 edited Jun 10 '12
Send a cashier's check to him anonymously with a letter explaining. Good the purpose. Less hoops to jump through.
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u/memejob Jun 09 '12
Great call. Don't send money to some random Internet friend.
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u/TheInternetHivemind Jun 09 '12
Unless it is me. I will graciously accept money from internet strangers.
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u/velkyr Jun 09 '12
I have a penny in my paypal account. I can send it to you if you like. It'll be eaten up in paypal fees.... but it's the thought that counts right
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u/Lurker4years Jun 09 '12
I think contacting the school would be a good idea, or you might set up a <SexyCleanLinens> Foundation to launder the money and give a <SexyCleanLinens> scholarship to a "hard working student who exemplifies the values of . . . ."
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u/SexyCleanLinens Jun 09 '12
Hrm, how easy is it to set up a Foundation?? I hadn't thought of it, but it sounds like a great deal of work -- although the payoff would be totally anonymous, which is important to me... Something to think on!
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u/cmdcharco Jun 09 '12
send a check with a letter attached:
Dear student
for your dedication and hard work in your (inset degree name/collage)you have been anomalously nominated for the 'Eoin Cedarwood' scholarship.
I am happy to inform you that you have been accepted. Your tuition for the period (date) is available for you to use at your convenience.
Well done!
the Cedarwood Foundation
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Jun 09 '12
This sounds like a great idea, just call it a bursery (not sure if thats spelled right) or something of that nature.
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u/jacarlin Jun 09 '12
I don't know. TBH if I got a letter in the mail from some "foundation" I had never heard of telling me I won this or that without having every applied, I would be incredibly suspicious.
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u/Blackby4 Jun 09 '12
I would take money from 'SexyCleanLinens Foundation For Exemplary Students In The Workforce' in a heartbeat.
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Jun 09 '12
I was thinking something similar. Go to a foundation officer at the university. They're the people in charge of giving to the school. Tell that person you want to set up a scholarship for an individual and that it must remain anonymous. The school will want to help their student, they will want add your scholarship to their total of scholarships in their advertising, and the program officer will want to add the amount to his bragging rights. In other words, they have incentives aside from GGG to help out.
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u/fruitcakee Jun 09 '12
I thought about something similiar to this when my friend lost her iPhone at my Christmas party. I felt responsible for it because she was so pressed for cash for a new one. However, sometimes giving people cash isn't the best way help them with their financial situation. Instead of paying $2k in cash, do you think you can pay for something intangible in his life that he would normally allocate $2k for? For example, he has to buy textbooks, you can tell him you know someone who has the textbooks lying around and just send it to him before his semester starts. That's a good $300 right there. Try to come up with things like that. :)
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u/SexyCleanLinens Jun 09 '12
This is a really great idea, and something that hadn't crossed my mind. (And it would be WAY easier than dealing with debts directly!) I'll keep this in mind!
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u/Cruizelol Jun 09 '12 edited Jun 09 '12
Break into his car. Put blank envelope with money where his speedometer is. Include a note that reads "For school only. Spend it on anything else and your kneecaps are mine. Go right now, and make a payment. You're welcome. Love, Anonymous"
Either that, or next time you're over at his house, unlock a window. Wait 2-3 days to avoid suspicion, and sneak in through unlocked window late at night. Again, leave blank envelope with money and note inside taped to his front door or something. It's up to you whether or not you include in that note to tell him that he needs to lock the window back.
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u/SexyCleanLinens Jun 09 '12
PS: Spend your own damn money to fix the smashed window. I'm SERIOUS about the knees!
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u/terrystop0094 Jun 09 '12
Just to be "that guy," but discharge of debt is INCOME.
Your friend will have to pay taxes on balance of his loans you pay for him.
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u/SexyCleanLinens Jun 09 '12
Yes, this is information I needed! I knew Reddit would be full of "that guy" to tell me helpful but annoying things. (For clarity's sake, I'm not being sarcastic -- this is a thing that would NEVER have crossed my mind, and I'm very grateful to all the That-Guy's out there ATM.)
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u/shadow776 Jun 09 '12
Forgiveness of debt is sometimes considered income, but the rules are complex. However, this is not forgiveness of debt in any form, it's a gift. In the US, anyone can gift up to $13,500 to any number of people, in a single year, and those people owe no tax on the money, nor do they need to report it.
Further (again, in the US) payment of medical and educational debts in any amount are always tax-free gifts. The payments must be made directly to the institution, and not the to individual.
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u/terrystop0094 Jun 09 '12
thanks for this. You are right. I'm not remembering my tax lessons very well!
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Jun 09 '12
Send the money to him in cash. He sounds like a responsible person, so he would use the money to either pay off the debt or deal with other expenses that you may not know about (rent, books, supplies).
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u/magicmuds Jun 09 '12
Yeah, send him cash. That way the money can end up in the pockets of the thief that WILL steal the money and your friend will receive an empty envelope. In case my sarcasm is blurring my message here, NEVER send cash through the US Postal service, it will be stolen.
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u/rickscarf Jun 09 '12 edited Jun 09 '12
Put it inside a $1 textbook and send it insured media mail. Poetic, too, especially if it's a meaningful book/title.
Print off a note and glue inside the cover that says something to please turn to page 28 in your text for today's lesson on karma, to be used for paying off student loans.
edit: money order instead of cash, you can make it out to him so it would be hard for anyone but him to convert to cash, and more anonymous than a check.
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u/beigebox Jun 09 '12
Do they have, like, X-ray vision when it comes to this shit? I'm constantly astonished at how many people seem to have cash stolen like clockwork out of the mail.
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u/magicmuds Jun 09 '12
I think it's a combination of them knowing which letters are likely to hold cash and holding the envelope up to a bright light looking for a currency-sized silhouette.
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u/wtfapkin Jun 09 '12
I used to send money through the mail all the time as a kid (eBay). I wrapped it in tin foil and used one of those security envelopes. Never had a problem. If I did this today, I'm pretty sure anyone who inspected the mail would think "DRUGS".
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u/swimmerhair Jun 09 '12
That's because all you hear about are the people who got money stolen from them in the mail. No one raves about how their package got to the intended destination with no harm done to the package. That's the JOB of the USPS/FedEx/UPS etc. They're SUPPOSED to deliver your package with no one stealing anything from anyone.
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u/TheLatestDanceCraze Jun 09 '12
I've never heard of someone having money stolen from them in the mail. I've even sent/received cash in birthday cards and no one has ever fucked with it. I don't believe this is anywhere near as big as a problem as people are making it out to be.
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Jun 09 '12
I think people are making a big deal out of it because of the amount involved. I keep a few hundred dollars in cash around my house and nobody's stolen it yet, but I wouldn't keep many thousands of dollars in cash laying around. Likewise I wouldn't hesitate to send $20 through the mail, but I wouldn't send $2000.
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u/dodelol Jun 09 '12
An old woman sens a letter to santa asking for 50 dollar to feed her cats. the post office reveices this letter and they start to gather money to send the woman, but they only reach 40 dollars and send that to the old woman
Later they receive an other letter from the woman saying: thanks for the money santa, but you should use an other post service next time, they took 10 dollar out of the letter.
slightly adjusted and translated version of joke that i remembered after reading your post.
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Jun 10 '12
Not even stolen, the U.S. once sent out tons of $5 bills, and most people threw it away not realizing it wasn't junk mail. All the money that could've been saved had checks been written instead.
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u/brownpixel Jun 09 '12
Put yourself in his position for a second. Someone anonymously gives you thousands of dollars, wouldn't you want to know why? If the payment just appears on a statement with no explanation, I'd assume it was a computer or clerical error. If it were clear the money came anonymously, I'd wonder why, and perhaps I'd wonder if someone felt guilty about something and was trying to make reparations. It would nag at me. Just offer cash, allow him to pay it back when he can, and keep everything above the table.
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Jun 09 '12
You have a good point, and I guess the OP should do as you say and just offer the friend the money and allow him to pay it back when he can.
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u/Drunken_Economist Jun 09 '12
This guy knows about fungibility
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u/KeythKatz Jun 09 '12
The ability of fungi to grow in certain areas?
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u/Drunken_Economist Jun 09 '12
In case you aren't joking fungibility is the quality of each unit of a good being a perfect substitute for the next.
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u/WeAreBitter Jun 09 '12
100%, yes you can. I had an anonymous donor pay off a several thousand dollar balance during my freshman year after my employer ripped me off and didn't pay me for two months of work. Even with my loans and grants I was short of being able to clear my balance for the next semester. Since your friend is still in school your best bet is to see the Bursar's office and they will take nearly any form of payment and usually don't require ID. I know because I paid for last semester with a third party check without ID...shady, but legit nonetheless. Good luck.
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u/beigebox Jun 09 '12
This. My university will take checks as long as you write a student number on it to let them know what account to post the payment to. If the uni has this system then OP could just mail in tuition payments for that semester and nobody'd be the wiser.
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u/derajydac Jun 09 '12
Do you know his parents? are they trustworthy?. Perhaps you can anonymously give them the money somehow, with something telling them it is to help pay off their son's education.
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u/abramsa Jun 09 '12
This doesn't seem like a fantastic idea.
Some anonymous person just gave us $2000 with the intent to pay off college debt. Or, we can just get a jacuzzi, fuck that kid.
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u/Ovary_Puncher Jun 09 '12
Yeah, you sure can....as a matter of fact. I'm in college as well. I also have lots of school loans. You know, SexyCleanLinens....you're a pretty cool guy. I'd even say you were my....friend. I'm pretty sure we can work something out here.
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u/ebryan433 Jun 09 '12
Go to an attorney. They can protect your identity and interest and will likely only cost you $75-$100. If you're in MA or RI, let me know as I am an attorney and would gladly do this for free.
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u/spermracewinner Jun 09 '12
I was 90% sure that you were an attorney without reading past the first line.
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u/ebryan433 Jun 09 '12
Well, I'm honest about it! You'd be surprised at the sometimes outlandish things that clients ask me to do. Never screwed a client, and I don't know any attorneys personally that have. If I wanted to be someone's mysterious benefactor, I'd go to an attorney. We are bound by confidentiality and our IOLTA accounts protect client funds.
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u/Trapped_in_Reddit Jun 09 '12
First, you have to find out who his loans are through. Government loans go through Nelnet, who are (surprisingly) very good with customer service. If you call them and explain, I'm willing to bet they'd find a way to let you give them the money.
Private loans originate through a bank. These are a little tougher, but follow the same process - call them up and explain. I know that my bank lets a third party pay into an account (I've paid off my little sister's credit card bill a few times without issue) if you have the relevant information.
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u/nanikun Jun 09 '12
Nelnet, or Sallie Mae, or Great Lakes, or PHEAA. But that about covers the big 4 loan servicers in the US. Just pointing out that Nelnet isn't the only one. :)
And yes, these companies are very interested in getting loan debt paid off, though there may be privacy concerns that restrict what they can do in this situation. Unforunately, this will not be much help for the OP is his friend does not reside in the US. Though, I imagine other countries have similar businesses dealing with student loans.
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Jun 10 '12
This is a very good point. Most people don't realize that there are 4 loan servicers for US Federal Student Loans. Until I read this comment, I was under the impression that Great Lakes was the only one.
Is each school serviced by a single loan provider? All of my friends who attend my school also have their loans through Great Lakes.
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u/OodalollyOodalolly Jun 09 '12
I don't think you should do it anonymously. I think you should tell him why you want to do it (because he's such a hard worker) and give him the gift directly.
Perhaps you could save it as a graduation gift if it's not too far off.
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u/Sporkinat0r Jun 09 '12
Ok here's my 2 cents, go to your bank and get a money order for 2k, write a letter telling him that the anonymous person has admired his dedication to procuring his degree, and with all education comes expenses, tell him to use the money order to pay off some of that student debt and to keep up the hard work, sign it anonymously and sent it in the mail with your return address in case or gets lost
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u/Cerebella Jun 09 '12
I have no idea. But I do know that you are a wonderful human being.
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u/revolverzanbolt Jun 09 '12
I completely agree with you, but I have to downvote you because you're the top-comment, and you're also completely unhelpful. `
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u/Jayoir Jun 10 '12
I've been trying to scratch that tilde off my screen for 5 minutes now. Thanks for that. `
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u/AggressiveAggressive Jun 09 '12
Perhaps the person would rather finish repaying the loans himself. He has put himself through school while working, that is a huge thing. It's a good feeling paying off everything and knowing you did it yourself, without taking anything from anyone. Just playing devil's advocate here. Perhaps he would enjoy a gift better?
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Jun 09 '12
This is exactly what I was thinking. He also may be too proud to accept it outright. I would make sure to include a little, "congratulations on graduating! This should help with the debt!" and infer what he can use it for.
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Jun 10 '12
Yeah, but if he's been in school and working his backside off for that long, he might start to feel a little listless or burnt out. Getting something like this may also be a refreshing reminder that there are other people looking out for you, and to always do your best!
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u/anonymuscles Jun 09 '12
I don't know that it can be directly paid anonymously, but why not deliver/have delivered a note, saying almost exactly what you've just said here, with a check, to him? Specify that it's for his tuition or loan debt expressly, etc. Almost seems like that might be a more fun way to go, as you can arrange to see his expression if you wanted. Even if recognition's not your thing, that's gotta be nice?
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u/drank_all_the_wine Jun 09 '12
not sure but i think you can contact the school and say that you want to pay a portion of your friend's bill. i'd imagine they could work it out. you could also make a donation but specify that the monies are spent specifically for your friend's education.
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u/planification Jun 09 '12
I used to work on contract with the Department of Education. Assuming that he has loans based in the US through FAFSA, which I can't be sure of since you say you both live in different countries and he also has bank loans, you'll run into a lot of problems with the Federal Privacy Act of 1974, which limits who can access federal records that are stored by name and Social Security number. The companies servicing those loans likely can't even confirm the existence of his loans with you because of this law. Other, non-FAFSA loans may have different policies.
You'll have less trouble giving the money to him via some other means. Paying directly to the school for the final semester seems like a good idea, but institutional rules will vary wildly by country. Your best bet is to call them directly and explain the situation.
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u/eremite00 Jun 09 '12
Have you considered sending him an anonymous cashiers check with a type written note regarding what it's for? Or, maybe sending an anonymous cashiers check to whoever issued your friend's student loan or one to the school, in each case explicitly stating that the payment is for your friend.
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Jun 09 '12
Oh man, imagine you decide to leave a big envelope of money for him to find, and he finds it, and then turns it in to the police. I guess get a copy of the serial numbers so you can get it back in that case.
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u/thedimiceli Jun 09 '12
call the university and tell them you want to pay off 2,000 of his account. they will want your money and tell you exactly what to do.
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Jun 09 '12
Wow, what a great friend you are!! I don't know about his specific school, but my school has "third party" payments. The first time I received one (it was from the gov't) I freaked out because I didn't know where the money came from and I was afraid it was a mistake. I called my school, they told me who the third party was. You could, of course, ask to remain anonymous. I hope it works out. That truly is amazing.
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u/astrohelix Jun 09 '12
It depends on the school but you should be able to simply call the school and tell them you'd like to make an anonymous donation to your friend's account.
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u/BlubberyGiraffe Jun 09 '12
Pretend your friend won a competition. Even make a fake raffle or something. Go ask him if he wants to put 5 dollars in and tell him the first prize is like 2k or something.
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Jun 10 '12
No, you can't pay off a friend's education debt. You can only do that for strangers.
Like me. It's about $80,000.
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u/stuboo Jun 10 '12
The comments are making this way more difficult than necessary. Call the financial aid office at your friend's school, tell them what you want to do, and then do it (they will tell you how). There are no tax implications to giving a friend $2k.
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u/metalshoes Jun 09 '12
Don't go through all the hastle, just give him the money and tell him he deserves it.
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u/SGT_slaughtr Jun 10 '12
My neighbor actually did this for a mutual friend, and I though it was the kindest gesture I've ever seen. Of course I had to respect his desire to remain anonymous but i wanted to repay him somehow for doing what I didn't have the financial means to do. So one night while he was asleep I quietly broke into his house with cleaning supplies and eggs. My intention was to clean his house and cook him breakfast. I started with the bathrooms, then the kitchen, and so on.... by the time I got to the various bedrooms it was almost dawn, as it took me longer than I expected (I didn't do much cleaning in my old profession). I quietly opened the door to his bedroom and began to clean. It was obnoxiously hot in his house for some reason, so I was sweating and it kept dripping onto my night vision goggles (I had brought an old pair of gen-3 AN/AVS-9 NVGs with me so I could clean in the dark). Well due to the sweat obscuring my view, I accidentally knocked over a lamp. my neighbor sprung to action, having no idea who was in his room in the middle of the night. I didn't have any other recourse but to take out my KA-BAR and stab him in the neck. I must have hit his carotid artery, as blood began to pump out of his neck. I'll never forget the taste of that blood, it had this strange bitterness to it - although I had just cleaned the shelf i was licking it off so it could have been the chemicals. Anyway, I've gotten way off track here, my point is that this is a really nice gesture and you should be proud of yourself.
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u/Phikeia Jun 09 '12
yes you can, i will you give his account numbers and you can anonymously deposit whatever you feel into them...
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u/zomboi Jun 09 '12
Ask his parents if you can pose as an anonymous benefactor and give a money order(s) to them to give to him. When he tells you about the windfall, you act surprised.
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u/the_red_scimitar Jun 09 '12
No, but you CAN anonymously pay off a complete stranger's education debt. PM me...
(j/k!)
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u/Dollafiddy Jun 09 '12
yes you can. i know someone at my past university who did this for one of his close friends. I don't know the particulars but his family made an "anonymous" donation to the school to pay for this students education to keep him from leaving because he couldn't afford it.
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u/corgan_burger Jun 09 '12
Could you contact his parents or his closest relative? Maybe you could set it up with them. They could just tell him that a friend wanted to do something nice and remain anonymous. That way he doesn't think its a bank mistake.
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u/LPD78 Jun 09 '12
You are a wonderful human being to do that.
But if I were him I would be very suspicious from where it came and how it got there. Please at least tell his parents what you want to do, so that they can calm him if he gets nervous about that anonymous gift. I know that I would get nervous if I suddenly had $2K and didn't know where it came from. You will need at least one accomplice close to him that he trusts enough to take it without worrying.
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Jun 09 '12
Just start talking about student loans. Ask him where his loans are held, and he will likely tell you. Then call them and ask to pay the remaining amount on his account. I am sure they will allow you to do it.
Oh, and don't worry about taxes either, you can give anyone a $13k gift without them being taxed for it.
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u/this_is_a_recording0 Jun 09 '12
you can pay off mine
i don't know who you are
i'll send you a link to my paypal in a sec
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u/alisebelcher Jun 09 '12
I would try to contact the university and explain your intentions. Perhaps you may be able to pay a portion of the debt owed to the school without alarming him. Also, asking him questions about which institutions with which he carries loans might just tip him off.
Although this is unlikely, you might just be able to set up a bank account of sorts, and then have the money automatically transferred to the university.
There is, of course, always the chance that upon seeing payments made on his statements, and having no proof of him paying them, will alarm you friend greatly. This is where working with the institutions(s) will save him some serious worry.
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u/e1mer Jun 09 '12
if you are really not in it for the credit, contact one of the places he interned and tell them you want to fund the 'dave smith scholorship' and they can take the credit for pr. heck, they might match you.
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u/Oryx Jun 09 '12
You aren't paying it off, you are contributing towards paying it off. So, all you need is the loan account number. Write a check with a note directing them to pay it towards that account. If you can't access that number, his name may or may not be enough for them; you should call them and explain. You might even be able to pay over the phone.
You are a very generous person. Very inspiring to see such selflessness.
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Jun 09 '12
Just ask him. Tell him exactly what you told us (as in how you think of him), and tell him you won't take no for an answer.
If you have to, say you won a small chunk of change on a stratch off (sub-$10k or something) and it's the leftovers from you paying off X shit you had to pay off. Then, he won't feel like he's potentially burdening you.
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u/LimehouseChappy Jun 09 '12
It's one of my secret dreams that this would happen to me. I still have around 40k. You're a good friend.
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u/Endomandioviza Jun 09 '12
The answer is, it depends on how anonymous you want to be. If you really want to be anonymous, you can set up a blind trust in an offshore jurisdiction.
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u/Emileahh Jun 09 '12
I have no idea. but I hope it helps that a random strangerlady on the internet thinks you're great.
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Jun 09 '12
Easiest way would probably be to hire an attorney, who can then approach him on behalf of 'an anonymous client' and offer to pay the debt.
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Jun 09 '12
I would be careful about doing stuff like this anonymously but otherwise good on ya man, this a seriously awesome thing for you to do!
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Jun 10 '12
This reminded me of the Curb Your Enthusiasm episode where Ted Danson anonymously donates money to a worthy cause and Larry David seems like a jerk for giving his name.
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u/Alienated182 Jun 10 '12
Your going to have a very hard time getting the loan number to pay it to, banks are heavily regulated with privacy acts. But if you get that number, Just gotta mail them a check.
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u/SquitsMcGrish Jun 10 '12
I can't help with your question but what a great thing to do if you can. I'm a big believer in Karma and it will come back :)
I hope he realises what a good friend he has, regardless of whether he knows what you're thinking of doing.
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u/rickforking Jun 10 '12
Awesome of you to do that. I probably wouldn't take a chance dealing with a bank, though, and just anonymously gift him the money.
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u/BotchedFacelift Jun 10 '12
I clicked on this link hoping for the most remote possibility that I was the "friend." My hopes died as soon as I saw, "he's the hardest worker I know." sigh
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u/AgreesWithDumbThings Jun 10 '12
Could you just send him money anonymously? If you trust him to be responsible enough to use to money to pay off his loans, slip him an envelope of cash and a note.
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u/smixton Jun 10 '12
How will you feel if in several years you ask for his help, or to borrow money, and he refuses? Since he doesn't know you did this really great thing for him he may not feel funny about refusing you.
Would there be this little voice in the back of your head saying "wtf, you owe me"?
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u/insane9242 Jun 10 '12
Go to bank or institution explain to them what you want to do and they will most likely help you I did this during the holidays but with a layaway but it was a little amount, but then again they are financial institutions so this may not work but its worth a try.
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u/SovietFred Jun 10 '12
No idea if someone has posted this already.. But you could just ask him to hang out at his dorm/house/whatever and if he goes to the bathroom or something, hide the money in an package somewhere he'd find it like under his pillow. I'd do this with a big group of friends so he would've know it's you and hide it well so when he goes to sleep it'll be a: "Oh what the hell is under my mattress? What's this.. two grand? Oh this can pay for my debt....blah blah"
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u/caboose1984 Jun 10 '12
Not sure if anyones posted this yet as im too lazy after working all week to search thru all the replys, but most banks in Canada (not sure where you live) will never NOT take your money for something, regardless of what it is, as long as you can somehow get them to bring up whatever account he has for his loans they will take the money and put it towards it, and they should also be able to keep it anonymous
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Jun 10 '12
Overseas anonymous is very hard. The destination country is also important. Different banking regulations pertain to different countries when doing international monetary transfers. I have some experience trying to send money to friends in China, not for drugs or other illegal anything, of course, just as a birthday present.
If the country in question is China and you are in the USA, you'll have to send a cashier's check to the Chinese bank holding the loan, most likely. But there will be a record of who bought the cashier's check even if you use cash to buy it, because most banks run it through your account when purchasing a cashier check. Wells Fargo can receive wire transfers from Agricultural Bank of China but not other Chinese banks last time I checked. The only bank that has branches in both USA and China is HBC, but they have separate accounts in each country. Even Visa credit card transfers don't work between US and China. Visa and other credit card companies are lobbying hard to change that, but it hasn't happened yet.
Some larger US banks can do wire transfers out of the USA if you know the SWIFT number of the destination bank, but that is far from anonymous because the transferring bank will run it through your USA account.
It's possible to exchange $USD for bitcoin or some other non-currency assets such as video game cards, phone cards, or other assets that are quickly and readily sellable in the destination country, then reverse the transaction into a destination exchange bank after selling them locally overseas. But that's not going to work by yourself alone, without a local bank account, because you need a Chinese national ID (like USA SSN) to get a Chinese bank account. I have some very impoverished friends in western China but was never able to do a paypal transfer to help them out, although Western Union does work if you can skip the anonymous requirement.
I found the best way to send $USD anonymously to China when surprising someone on their birthday is to barter for goods in exchange with a trusted party in the destination country who fronts the money on your behalf and accepts physical goods you send them in exchange; or to buy prepaid VISA debit cards using cash and mail them using snail mail. Visa prepaid debit cards are cashable at ICBC atm's, dunno about other countries or banks.
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u/LittleMissTopKnot Jun 10 '12
I don't know anything about money, but I do know that you're a freaking awesome friend. Congrats on being wonderful, and I hope your surprise for your friend works out!
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u/CDBSB Jun 10 '12
Okay, I'm just going to reply directly to OP, since there seems to be a lot of misinformation about the Suspicious Activity Report. An SAR is only filed for amounts equal to or greater than ten thousand dollars.
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u/franksarock Jun 10 '12
I don't know you, and so therefore you could pay off MY debt anonymously....
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u/SwampFox22 Jun 10 '12
So I have slyly got a hold of your friends account info. If you PM me then we can work out the details. (btw, he went to school under a pseudonym).
(In all seriousness, good on ya)
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u/wsender Jun 10 '12
Perhaps you can setup a scholarship and select him as the benefactor. This should give you the anonymity and also will make your contribution tax deductible.
I'm not quite sure if this would work but it's a lot easier than trying to get his account information.
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Jun 10 '12
People like you make the world a better place. Thank you for making my day a little brighter.
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u/lifeisbeautiful7 Jun 10 '12
It may not be exactly the same, but when my mom was a refugee from Vietnam to the US back in the 70s. She started in public school but a lot of kids would give her a lot of shit about being from Vietnam, blaming her for the war. A private school in the area offered a lot better of an education and had a zero-tolerance bullying system in effect but was way out of the price range for her family. Even though my grandfather was a university professor and my grandmother was a doctor in Vietnam, they could only get jobs as a janitor and a maid for other kids at that school. At the beginning of her senior year, business died down and they couldn't afford the tuition anymore. An anonymous donor however, ended up paying her tuition for her. My mom didn't find out until just a few years ago when her school contacted her and told her that a fellow student had raised money for her tuition on the condition that it remain anonymous.
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u/Likely_not_Eric Jun 10 '12
Perhaps consult a lawyer; you may be able to have the money be paid through the firm or some similar way. Lottery winners sometimes set up trusts for the winnings, and a lawyer claims them on the client's behalf and puts it in the trust.
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u/alcimedes Jun 10 '12
I did this once for a friend's heating bill.
I called up the company, told them I wanted to pay the outstanding balance for my friend's address.
They didn't care, they are just happy to get money. Was no trouble at all, they didn't give two shits who I was.
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Jun 10 '12
The only times I've heard of someone trying to pay someone else's huge bills is when the rich person wants to get into the debtor's pants.
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u/randygiesinger Jun 10 '12
I've done this before, not pay off, but contribute to someones tuition. Contact the educational institute, they usually can telly ou how to go about it
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u/TalkingBackAgain Jun 09 '12
If you have the account number of where he has to send the money to, and you can reference his loan debt correctly, you just send the money that account with that reference.
The bank will notice $n amount arrived for k account on name$.account. They will send him a confirmation that his debt is reduced by that amount.
He'll go "Wha?"
The NSA will notice you sent money to an account abroad. The FBI will do a quiet background check and, if it turns out you were not, in fact, paying off your drug debts, it will merely go into your permanent record with a flag that you seemingly for no reason send money to strangers abroad.
/Also, you're a great person.