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I wonder how deep this goes. What if you a mistyped phone number on a bank form that get submitted to government authorities as part of routine compliance? Is that a crime? Is there even a difference between a mistake and intentionally transposing two numbers?


> difference between a mistake and intentionally transposing two numbers

This is slightly rambling/OT:

I dated a girl who would do that regularly to guys who were being entirely too aggressive about getting her number. She told me it was a pretty effective tactic to shake them off, and even if they figured out it was the wrong number it could be passed off as an innocent mistake.

I'm also fairly certain there's a girl who lives near where I grew up (and likely has a mobile number a short levenshtein distance from mine) who does the same thing, as I have literally no connections to that area, other than my immediate family, who have the same area code and exchange that my mobile number does. Nevertheless, I do occasionally get texts/calls from random guys obviously trying to contact a woman who is not me (this has been happening for almost a decade).

But! To add to your point - what if the aggressive dude trying to get your phone number works for a federal LEO? Could they use the system to hold your disinterest in them against you, just out of spite?

[edit: words for clarity]


TFA says it needs to influence, or at least have some potential to, their decisions as a government agent. So, no.




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