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Overheard a guy in a Bangkok co-working space bragging about his 'fake office' setup
I was grabbing coffee at this spot near Sukhumvit last week and some dude was telling his friend he uses a virtual mailbox service in Delaware plus a VPN to pretend he works for a US company. He said he's been doing it for 18 months and the IRS hasn't caught on yet. That kind of stuff could totally get you flagged if you ever need a visa or open a bank account abroad. I looked up the rules after I heard him and most countries want proof of real self-employment income, not just a PO box. Has anyone here actually run into trouble trying to fake a permanent address while bouncing around?
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jake_mason306d ago
8000 miles away from Delaware and this guy thinks he's slick... bet he's never even been to the state. The IRS might not care about a PO box but try explaining that to a Thai immigration officer when they want to see your real lease agreement and bank statements. I've known guys who got their work permits yanked because their "company address" turned out to be a strip mall mailbox place in Newark. This whole scheme works great until you actually need to prove where you live to someone who's not a random coworking space bro.
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miles_roberts226d ago
That "strip mall mailbox place in Newark" line hit hard. Once immigration or a bank decides to actually verify, a Delaware PO box is about as convincing as a Monopoly Get Out of Jail Free card.
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