Urban legend that happens to be true

[Big Bad Voodoo]

Hi UMers!

I want to share something with you. Its one urban legend which happens to be true. And its quite usefull. Lets say you want to sent postcard to someone and you dont have a money for stamp or you dont have a time to buy a stamp. Or perhaps you want to save any penny you have. How can you do it? Simply. Instead of stamp wrote down on postcard on the place where usualy stamp goes this code: „ 2FA-BE„ or like this „2FA BE“. I dont know what does it means but it works. One of my friend went in Belgium and he sent me postcard with this code to test this urban legend and I got postcard. We then tried from several destinations and almost everytime worked. So if anyone knows whats the origin of this secret international code please share your knowledge.

[Earl.Of.Trumps]

it's a code recognized by the CIA.

If I were you, I'd wash my hands *real* fast.

[JesseCuster]

Anyone willing to test this "CIA" or other supposed secret international codes?

I'm willing to give my postal address via private message to someone who can send me a letter without a stamp from the far corners of the Earth here to me in Ireland via the above or other supposed secret CIA (or other) codes.

I'm fascinated by the idea of stampless international postal codes that government agnencies use to talk to each other.

[Big Bad Voodoo]

it's a code recognized by the CIA.

If I were you, I'd wash my hands *real* fast.

Can you confirm thats CIAs secret code? If you can I will personally warn admin to delete this thread.

Also it urban myth where I from so it isnt like Im telling some extraordinary info.

[Big Bad Voodoo]

I'm fascinated by the idea of stampless international postal codes that government agnencies use to talk to each other.

So was I.

[Jacques Terreur]

Anyone willing to test this "CIA" or other supposed secret international codes?

i was about to tell you "i'll do it", but i really got a bit scared by this CIA-thing. I don't want us both to find out that "waterboarding" isn't a fun sport..... Edited February 22, 2013 by Jacques Terreur

[RebelInsanity]

i was about to tell you "i'll do it", but i really got a bit scared by this CIA-thing. I don't want us both to find out that "waterboarding" isn't a fun sport.....

You mean to tell me waterboarding isn't a sport?

lol

[Jacques Terreur]

You mean to tell me waterboarding isn't a sport?

lol

maybe it qualifies as "extreme sport"??

[ReaperS_ParadoX]

That is ineteresting, but you would think that the CIA would find out and try and contact the person using these codes to tell them to knock it off

[AsteroidX]

Im not sure they are allowed to considering other mails as they use of controllers. It would have come from the top down.

[freetoroam]

So you can use that code in England? well!! I am not happy about that, our stamp prices keep going up, is that to cover the cost of all these "secret" no stamp needed system??

[Hasina]

Are these codes only in Europe?

Edited February 23, 2013 by Hasina

[maxhobbs]

Looks to be European, why on earth would the CIA care, even if it was in the US??

[Big Bad Voodoo]

As I remember one girl sent postcard from Tunisia to Croatia. Atleast thats how urban legend say.

[Redefining Success]

Hi UMers!

I want to share something with you. Its one urban legend which happens to be true.

We then tried from several destinations and almost everytime worked.

For an urban legend to be true, it, in my eyes, has to work or happen 100% of the time

You got lucky?

Postman didnt care?

Edited February 26, 2013 by Redefining Success

[Timothy]

I'll send one from aus! Who wants one? Secure way to give me your address?

[freetoroam]

As I remember one girl sent postcard from Tunisia to Croatia. Atleast thats how urban legend say.

yes, but that was by donkey.

[Keel M.]

You haven't tried this yourself, have you L? I found your exact wording on another forum. So you don't really know if it works or not.

I found this explanation, though, which might shed some light.

First time I heard about it was in Slovakia in 2000. If you send a postcard with the code S2S writen in stead of putting a

stamp your postcard could arrive to destination for free. I was said a non-written agreement existed between post men all

around the world, those letters standing for "Student to Student", and postmen (that were supposed to be more helpful

with students than they were with old widows, bank clercks or bar tenders) would helps students routing cards for free.

Later I heard about another code with similar purpose 2FABE or 2FA-BE, I even received postcards with that code on it,

coming from a different country with a bigger delay than usual.

Probably it exists the same possibilities that a stamp-less postcard arrives with a code than a postcard without a code.

Anyway I always put stamps because it is not expensive, it is more sure and more honest.

[Big Bad Voodoo]

You haven't tried this yourself, have you L? I found your exact wording on another forum. So you don't really know if it works or not.

I found this explanation, though, which might shed some light.

I dont know what are you talking about. sorry. If you read what I have been wrote you would understand. I will not repeat it. Its small post. Dont be lazy person.(post 1)

[E. L. Wisty]

Can anybody explain to me the logic of the CIA having a special code that they can write on postcards to save them using a stamp? Can't they afford stamps? I'm sure they do send letters containing secret information, but since it's secret, why would they go out of their way to make the letter conspicuous?

And how would some random dude on a forum like this know what a secret CIA postal code looked like anyway?

Tell you what, though. If a postcard doesn't have a stamp but there's some weird little code written in the box where the stamp should be, what's the average underpaid, overworked postal worker going to do? Interrupt their work and annoy the supervisor, or just think "Nah, it must OK - there's some kinda code..."

Try sending postcards with COB-937 in the stamp box. Or if it's a letter, write FREEPOST COB-937. That's not a CIA code - strangely enough, I don't know any of those. It's just some random thing I made up. Presumably the OP did the same and is trying to turn it into a mystery so he can say he started a meme.

[Purplos]

Can anybody explain to me the logic of the CIA having a special code that they can write on postcards to save them using a stamp? Can't they afford stamps? I'm sure they do send letters containing secret information, but since it's secret, why would they go out of their way to make the letter conspicuous?

This is exactly what I was going to write. No 'super secret' information is going to be sent through the mail, first of all -- I'm sure it's all electronic these days -- and especially not with some code that will attract more attention than normal.

[JesseCuster]

If a CIA agent was in so much trouble that he didn't have the time or money to buy a stamp, why would he be sending out a letter via snail mail anyway?

And even if they had need to take into account such an odd scenario, how would every postman the world over know of such codes so they don't just consider the mail undeliverable for lack of a valid stamp? When every new postman is hired in Rekjavik or Buenos Aires or Lagos, etc. are they informed of such secret codes to

Can you imagine the CIA trying to cut a deal with the Russian, Iranian, Syrian, etc postal services and every other postal service around the world to make that every postman doing the rounds on his bicycle and every minimum wage dude working in manual sorting offices is aware of such codes to ensure such a zany scheme works at all?

No, it don't make no sense at all when I think about it.