I hope I was wrong, but....

[Victory Sabre]

I had a gas customer come in and wanted to pay with 20s. I got them, but they didn't feel right, and I couldn't see the water mark. I didn't take them. He wasn't happy but did pay with a 100, that did feel right and had all the security features.

Yeah I think I stopped a counterfeiter. I did call the police and talked to them. I hope I'm wrong, but the situation didn't feel right. I'm shaking a bit right now, because there's a chance we could have been out $40.

EDIT
I got a call back from the police asking me more about the situation, and I gave them all the info I know about. They said that there have been fake 20s going around town lately, and they're at where the van is registered. Again, I hope I'm wrong, but I think I'm right about the situation.

[CoffeeMonkey]

I had a fake twenty just a couple of weeks ago!

Guy hands me a bill, and it just doesn't look right. Too pale, and there were some images missing. I looked for the face and the strip, there they are, so I figure ok, I must be crazy. Til I opened my drawer and saw it right next to the other twenties, and it was SO obviously different.

I showed it to the guy, explained that I couldn't take it and showed another twenty that had all the stuff in place. He agreed that it looked off, paid for his stuff with a different bill, and said he was certainly taking it back to the store he'd just gotten it from.

My impression was that this guy was not a scammer, but really was given the bad bill, apparently by someone else who didn't catch it, either. Maybe I was wrong and it was just an older bill, but I'd far rather be safe than sorry.

[KiaKat]

Guess it's time for me to double-check my staff and make sure they know how to spot fakes.

Thanks for the heads-up.

[Victory Sabre]

I did talk to the person who replaced me, and I'll also talk to her mother who replaces her later toady about the situation, and the security features in paper money.

[RetailWorkhorse]

Crap. What's your state-location and how fast do you think it will make it to New Mexico?

[SengaKitty]

We actually have a "wall of shame" at our store with everything from one dollar to hundred dollar bills that were fakes. Some people I swear

[kibbles]

Any updates on what happened?

[Victory Sabre]

Crap. What's your state-location and how fast do you think it will make it to New Mexico?

Central Minnesota. We're a long ways from you.

Any updates on what happened?

None yet. I'll update if there are any.

[roothorick]

The Mint has been rolling out new versions of the bills recently (last 10 years or so), so there's two VERY different versions of the $20 bill (among others) rolling around out there, and they're both legit. So, CoffeeMonkey, that $20 was probably legit. There's images on GIS if you search for "new $20" and etc.

[ArcticChicken]

Someone passed a fake $20 at the place I used to work. I have no idea how the cashier accepted it, because I could tell it was fake the minute I touched it, it just felt wrong. FEM said to put it in with the deposit and hope the bank didn't notice, completely ignoring the fact that if we did that, knowing it was a fake, that at the very least she and the person who prepared the drop would be just as guilty as the person who made it. Idiot.

[Victory Sabre]

We'll here's the update: I screwed up. The bills were real, according to the police. I feel guilty now about the situation.

[KiaKat]

It's better to refuse a good bill than to take a counterfeit.

Don't feel guilty. Now you know for next time. And if the customer comes back, you can apologize and say you were mistaken.

[Victory Sabre]

It's better to refuse a good bill than to take a counterfeit.

Don't feel guilty. Now you know for next time. And if the customer comes back, you can apologize and say you were mistaken.

And I will.

[KiaKat]

And that's what matters. It sounds like they didn't throw a fit, originally, so hopefully they'll take it well and be gracious about the mistake.