...and I let him go!

[Imogene]

So... guy comes through my line today, attempts to buy a pack of Prismacolor markers (eh-spensive shit there). No problem. He hands me a $100, and just by looking at it, I can tell it's not real. I turn toward the door behind me... and I see Lincoln's face in the watermark.
R: "Ooo, yeah..."
C: "What?"
R: "This bill's fake."
C: *nervous, suddenly* "What?"
R: *turn the bill a bit so guy can see the watermark* "See that? That's Lincoln's mug staring at you, which means this used to be a dollar, it was bleached, and someone printed the 100$ on top of it. (Yes, I know, Lincoln's on the five, my mind wasn't working at the time)..." *call for MOD*
A few minutes pass, I'm getting a line, and FES S is backed up too.
S: *calls for MOD J*
G: "If you hand me that back, I'll step off to the side and wait..."
R: *blink* "K, S, I'll need a void." *hand back fake bill, and wait*
More time passes, and still no MOD (Neither one has responded yet)...
G: "I'm gonna go tell my wife..."
R: *shit!* "Sir....?" *as he books it out the door*
MOD J & B: "You called?"
R: "Damnit! You missed him by a minute! Why didn't you come faster?" *I fill them in on the counterfeit bill, and how guy said he was gonna tell his wife*
J: "He's not comin' back."
R: "No, I know."
B: *to S, later* "As soon as he asked for the bill back, we couldn't do anything to him. We can't just keep the bill. It's his."

Damnit! My first counterfeit, and I screwed it up!

[Aethian]

Awwww I sowwy.

My first fake was $500 traverlers checks....they don't make 500 dollar ones.

[crazylegs]

Don't beat yourself up about it, you did what you could without placing yourself in danger, and you prevented a $100 loss to your store.

Part A) The most important
Part B) Slightly so.

[edible_hat]

My first fake turned out to be real!

Co-worker said that she'd been told a $50 note she got in her pay was fake when she went to spend it. Then it turned out all the notes she had had the same "fake" flaw on them. As did about a third of notes in the cash drawer at the time.

The owner took some of the suspect notes to the bank, only to be told they were brand new ones and the design has changed slightly this year.

[jnd4rusty]

Our area was and may still be getting a rash of fake 50's and 100's. The fifties were actually five dollar bills that were washed and then printed with the fifty design. Then the hundreds started to fly around and they were so good that they even had the watermark and a fake strip, the only way to tell it was fake was to rip it by the strip and if you did not see the plastic it was fake. In fact the bank that my store banks at found 21 fake hundreds in their commercial deposits over one weekend. They caught the couple who were passing around the fifties. They were from Los Angelos and holed up in a hotel in Spearfish. Nothing has been said about the hundreds though. We were instructed at first to confinscate the fake bills, which we legally can do and call the police immediately. Then two of our stores were hit with the fakes and they decided that we were not going to take any fifties or hundreds for awhile.

Of course customers can't read all the signs that are posted to that fact and tried to give me those bills but most understood when I explained the situation. There were a few that were mad but I stood my ground and said we take credit cards and debit cards and they ended up using that route to pay for their meals.

We are a tourist area in a very low populated state so it does make it attractive for counterfeiters to try and pass the fake bills. They always get caught though!!

[Anakah]

My first fake was $500 traverlers checks....they don't make 500 dollar ones.

Actually they do make $500. I just can't remember which one doesn't. I can't remember if its Amex or Visa that doesn't do the five hundred. But I've definately done five hundred and they weren't fake. I'm sorry you got one. I've gotten slipped a few fake bills and it really sucks.

My take is, if your job doesn't properly prepare you in finding the fake ones, you shouldn't be held liable. I work with a lot of money and they don't really tell us how to find the fakes in detail, just the basics that people are usually able to forge.

Do you have a way to verify them at your work? We have to call anything in that adds up to or is five hundred dollars either on the phone or on the computer and get a confirmation number.

[CaroPhoenix]

Juwl - Just an FYI: Washington is on the $1 bill, Lincoln's on the $5 bill.

I bet the guy was used to people using the counterfeit pen (which would probably have said it was legit) and not raise it to the light & eyeball it. I have to eyeball all the larger bills that come into the gaming store 'cos we don't have the counterfeit pens.

BTW, good job in recognizing the fake! (for what it's worth)

[Imogene]

Juwl - Just an FYI: Washington is on the $1 bill, Lincoln's on the $5 bill.

I have to eyeball all the larger bills that come into the gaming store 'cos we don't have the counterfeit pens.

BTW, good job in recognizing the fake! (for what it's worth)

I realized Lincoln = $5 about ten minutes after the guy disappeared.
We don't have counterfeiting pens either.
And thanks. At least I was aware enough to realize it wasn't right. Of course, just by looking at it before I checked the watermark, it looked off... like, it was printed too small for the bill...

[Aethian]

Actually they do make $500. I just can't remember which one doesn't. I can't remember if its Amex or Visa that doesn't do the five hundred. But I've definately done five hundred and they weren't fake. I'm sorry you got one. I've gotten slipped a few fake bills and it really sucks.

My take is, if your job doesn't properly prepare you in finding the fake ones, you shouldn't be held liable. I work with a lot of money and they don't really tell us how to find the fakes in detail, just the basics that people are usually able to forge.

Do you have a way to verify them at your work? We have to call anything in that adds up to or is five hundred dollars either on the phone or on the computer and get a confirmation number.

Oh this was about...wow...9 years ago now. I feel old for some reason and I'm only 25... (26 on the 18th woo!)

At the time there was no way to verify the authenticity of the bills but now the cashiers in that store can go up to the service desk who has a book of the acceptable amounts on various types as well as what to look out for. I don't work there anymore but I do know that one manager this past year was fired and was brought to court because he kept accepting some from the same people and they were all fake.

[king4aday]

Counterfit pens really dont do anything anymore. The only surefire way to check to see if a bill is real is to hold it up to the light and look at the watermarks. We also have a machine where I work that we can put the bill into it, and it brightins up the watermark strip with black light.

If you are interested in how to spot real bills take a look at this:

http://www.moneyfactory.gov/newmoney...FTOKEN=8034504

[Imogene]

I was told today that FES S told the store during the morning show time the other day about me catching the fake.
Which lead to the SM asking me, in passing, "So, you're our counterfeit detector?"

[EmilyRose1982]

I used to work at a bank as a teller and saw several counterfeits. I sent a bunch to the fed with all the paperwork myself, hehe.

But yeah, the color changing pens are not the best way to check anymore.

I had one business owner come in with a $100. She said it "felt funny" to the touch, but the pen had changed color.

I checked it and within seconds knew it was fake.

Here's some other tips that I learned while at the bank:

1. Try the pen, if it doesn't change = FAKE. I had a couple people get that mixed up and wound up taking fakes they thought were real.

2. Even if the pen changes color, check for the watermark. Hold it up to the light and look for one of the old men staring back at you. Look closely, make sure it's a real watermark, and the correct one for what the bill is.

I received a fake at the bank once, that upon glimpsing for the watermark, you saw it, but upon closer examination, I realized the "watermark" was actually a hand-drawn picture of Ben Franklin between the two pieces of paper that formed the bill. It was an AWFUL drawing too, lol.

3. The new colored bills have lots of tiny gold numbers equal to the bill's denomination on the back. Look for them.

4. If you're still not sure, you can look even more closely--check the edges of the bill for pen marks--frauds will measure the sheets, trace lines and cut the bills out. I found a bill once that was cut poorly, was a bit crooked and I could see the pen marks.

Also, one other thing I found (same bill with the hand-drawn watermark) is some bills will have two pieces of paper glued together to give it the thicker feel of a real bill. Roll your thumb over the edges of the bill and feel for any separation points. I was able to pull that fake bill apart a centimeter or two.

Some fakes are printed off a color printer--look for pixelation of the president's picture and/or bills that are yellow where they should be white.

5. Last thing, GO WITH YOUR GUT.

If you're not sure, ask a coworker. It's better to piss off a SC that pays for a pack of gum with a $100 than make your till short $95 after the bank finds the fake for you.

[Bella_Vixen]

The other day I was on break, when my coworker buzzed for me to come up front. I glanced at the security camera, and there she was, studying a bill.

Oh, hell.

CW "I think I just got a fake $20!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" <---almost hysterical
Me: "Let me take a look at it."
CW: "It doesn't have the watermark or the strip or ANYTHING!!!!" Keeping in mind that the customer was, at this point, long gone.


She handed it over. I took one look at it and burst out laughing.



It was from 1988.



She apparently had NEVER seen a $20 bill from before 1996.


I told my boss about it a few days later, and she laughed and rolled her eyes.

[EmilyRose1982]

LOL!!!

How old was this girl, 12???

What an idiot.

[Bella_Vixen]

She's 18, believe it or not.

::sigh::