************ The Boston Globe http://www.boston.com/ New Federal Patriot Act Turns Retailers into Spies against Customers By Scott Bernard Nelson, The Boston Globe Nov 20, 2001 2:18 AM Nov. 18 --Ordinary businesses, from bicycle shops to bookstores to bowling alleys, are being pressed into service on the home front in the war on terrorism. ************ One problem with these horror stories -- this has been the law for circa 20 years. See IRS Form 8300: http://ftp.fedworld.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8300.pdf I forget when these rules were enacted but I do remember writing about them in the middle 1980s. DCF