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A California woman recently mailed a $60 check to the IRS only to have it returned back to her entirely blank with the ink severely faded. According to ABC7, San Francisco resident Lou Ann Bassan sent the check as part of a filing fee for a petition to dispute a large IRS penalty. A few weeks after sending in the money, the check was returned and all of the ink had disappeared.
ABC7 mentioned that Bassan initially thought that she forgot to fill out the check in the first place. She later received a notice from the tax court that informed her that her check had been zapped with radiation before reaching the IRS, caused the ink to disappear. Bassan was shocked.
"I can't believe this. Irradiated? I've never heard of any such thing. It's like something from a sci-fi movie or a spy whodunnit," she shared with ABC7. The tax court notice that Bassan received following the return of the blank check detailed that she would need to find a pen that resisted radiation before filling it out and re-sending it to the IRS.
ABC7 explained that despite understandable confusion, mail sent to the government is often irradiated to kill possible bacteria that is intended to harm recipients. In the end, the IRS decided to reconsider Bassan's case. Her $60 fee was waived, and she did not have to appear in court.