I just read through the comments on this thread. They reminded me of a very old story:
Back in the late 70’s, AT&T would send a punch card with their bill which was to be returned with your check.
Some guy who also worked in IT would bring his card into the office and punch “/*” in the first two positions.
The “/*” in the first two character positions was the IBM JCL (Job Control Language) designation for EOJ (End Of Job).
The modified card would be placed in a batch with all the other return payments.
When the job read the “/*” it would terminate.