Counterfeit virginity lost

[bhskittykatt]

So as I was going through the cash drops this morning, I came across an old $20 that was sketchy, to say the least. Cropping seemed off, no security strip, and the marker turned darker than normal. I showed it to the teller at the bank, and she confirmed my fears. It was a fake.

Teller: "So, I'm going to have to keep this."
Me: "Yeah, I know. No problem."
Teller; "This is kind of exciting. It's my first counterfeit bill. I mean, I know banks get them, but this is the first time I've gotten one."
Me: "Er...congratulations?"
Teller: "Thanks. Just kind of exciting."
Me: "It's my first counterfeit, too, though I think I'm less excited."
Teller: "Yeah, for sure. It's probably more fun on this side of the counter."

So, the teller was a counterfeit bill virgin, and I got to pop her cherry, and she liked it.


As for the guest who passed the bill...they paid cash for three nights, and it was just the one bill, so I doubt they knew it was fake and probably just thought it was an old bill. And for the employee who accepted the sketchy bill, she will be getting a demonstration on how to use the two (two!) counterfeit detection pens that have been in the cash drawer, but which she obviously hasn't been using.

[KiaKat]

Just keep in mind that the pens won't work if it's a bleached-and-reprinted 5. Better to look for watermarks, cropping, ink, security strips, etc. The older bills don't have as many security features, but they still have some, and it's good to learn them.

I'm dreading tomorrow. There's a music festival in town, and given the number of people expected, we'll have to be absolutely vigilant with money.

[Javarod]

The pens merely detect whether or not its paper (it fails if its paper).

[bhskittykatt]

The pen was weird on this one. It sort of half-failed. It wasn't black, but kind of a dingy gray. Sort of halfway between a pass and a total failure. Besides all that, though, the cropping was funky, and no security strip. It shouldn't have been accepted by my CW. Before I even tried the marker, I could see it was sketchy.

[agirlfromnowhere]

I can actually understand this woman's excitement. At my last job, someone passed a fake $10 bill and a regular customer got it back in his change. He didn't realize until later that it was fake and my store manager told him to bring it back and we'd give him a real $10 bill. I was probably a little more excited than I should have been because it was the first fake bill i'd seen.

[Desk clerk knows all]

I don't take much cash, but when I do I don't really look at the twenties too closely, only $100s, guess I'll start being more careful.

[XCashier]

And for the employee who accepted the sketchy bill, she will be getting a demonstration on how to use the two (two!) counterfeit detection pens that have been in the cash drawer, but which she obviously hasn't been using.

Give her the website for the US Secret Service Counterfeit detection, too. As others have said, the pens don't do much; checking for watermarks, etc. is much more reliable.

[hinakiba777]

Intellectually I knew what this was about from reading the title, however I could not help but think this had something to do with "technical virgins". Just something weird like that happening in your hotel.

It's weird that the pen half reacted?

[Zoom]

Properly, the pen is completely unnecessary to determine whether a US bill is fake.

In fact, the pen gives false positives on bills from 1950 and earlier (the paper is different).

The only counterfeit I ever saw was a $20 which I promptly handed back. Of course, the customer didn't know it was fake, and claimed she got it from a church collection plate. (Huh?)

Oh, and there was the time, back when I got my paycheck cashed by the instore bank, when they gave me three $20s from 1950. I went to the local currency exchange to get a money order, and they wouldn't take my bills, claiming they were fake. They even used the pen!

I was forced to take the bills back to the bank and tell them the CE rejected them, and please give me more recent notes. Then the bank started claiming they were fake and wouldn't take them... What a mess that day was.

[Racket_Man]

I guess that

#1 I am old enough to remember what older bills look and feel like and how they are supposed to look
#2 I have worked enough jobs where paper money is used to know what older bills look and feel like.

AND I know enough to recognise old red and blue seal US bills and WANT THEM for my collection.

[sstabeler]

The only counterfeit I ever saw was a $20 which I promptly handed back. Of course, the customer didn't know it was fake, and claimed she got it from a church collection plate. (Huh?)

I'm going to assume this is a case of wanting to donate $30, there was at least $20 in the plate, so swapping the $20 for a $50. Not stealing from the plate, but would probably raise a couple eyebrows. Still doesn't affect if the note is fake or not, so i'm not sure why the customer brought it up.