Spotted such a bad fake XD

[Little Retail Rabbit]

Recently really dodgy £20 notes have been going around our local area. I'm not actually super good at spotting a counterfeit note, but I always hold a note up to the light to see the Queen's head. I used to check all notes with the counterfeit pen but they've all run dry and the manager hasn't bothered ordering new ones -_-

We were alerted to the fact when some chavs were trying to buy .99pence items with a £20, and the manager noticed its texture was weird. She ran her fingers along the bank of England and it wasn't raised either. She refused to accept it, and told us to keep our eyes open for notes, especially if was being used to buy something small (common con really, take a £20 or £50 note,get change for something that is less than £5).

Very shortly after this, I served a lady who I recognised but generally had no reason to suspect. She was buying something really cheap, something like £2. She handed over a £20. I automatically held it up as I do...

It was the image of a £20 note, but it had that sort of ever-so-slightly-blurry quality of a picture you get from a decent home printer. The paper felt SO wrong, and straight away you could tell it was a fake. It was just so blurry. The bank of England was not raised either. But here's the best part.

I held it up to the light, and it wasn't even the Queen's face! XD

It was some random Victorian/Edwardian girl with her hair tumbling down the back of her neck! Not even the same era, let alone the same person! XD

I refused it. The woman claimed she must have gotten bumped while at a local car-boot sale. I highly doubt it. Seriously, this note was SO fake, even I spotted it, and I admit I'm not good at spotting fakes XD

[xaenon]

I refused it. The woman claimed she must have gotten bumped while at a local car-boot sale. I highly doubt it. Seriously, this note was SO fake, even I spotted it, and I admit I'm not good at spotting fakes XD

I think your customer was probably telling the truth about not knowing it was fake.

If I'm understanding 'car boot sale' to be like a 'flea market', then there's a damned good chance that's where she picked up the bill. Flea markets are one of the easiest places to pass fake bills, because for the most part, both the customers and the vendors are just common schmoes who don't really look that carefully at the money, and generally don't have those 'test' markers. And few people will ever remember who they got the bill from. Even if you are (by your own admission) not all that great at spotting a fake, you DO work retail, and you DO look at the money, which is more than I can say for the general public. Heck, where I live, few people even glance at their change when you hand it to them - they just stuff it in their pocket and move on.

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

I think your customer was probably telling the truth about not knowing it was fake.

Quite likely.

If I'm understanding 'car boot sale' to be like a 'flea market', then there's a damned good chance that's where she picked up the bill.

If my understanding of it is accurate, think either a single vendor selling out of his car (Car Boot = Car's Trunk) or a gathering of people selling out of their cars at a public area.

And yes, the average person doesn't have the knowledge of what security features are on their currency. As you say they tend to just grab and go.

[Dreamstalker]

One of the first things my grandfather taught me when I started handling my own money was how to spot fakes (he headed up the secret service counterfeit squad for many years). The traditional methods aren't used much anymore, but it was great practice and actually came in handy when there was a small counterfeiting ring here (some of my coworkers were amazed that an 18-year-old was aware of the old techniques).

[Syriilord]

Quite likely.



If my understanding of it is accurate, think either a single vendor selling out of his car (Car Boot = Car's Trunk) or a gathering of people selling out of their cars at a public area.

And yes, the average person doesn't have the knowledge of what security features are on their currency. As you say they tend to just grab and go.

It's generally the latter of the two. Sellers will park the vehicle in a large common area and set up one or two small tables at the back of it. They'll use the boot (trunk) to store surplus goods and have a selection on the table(s) so people can simply browse.

[underemployeed]

I also agree on she was probably on the level. Whenever, I get a $50 or $100 I always check it even it if is from the bank because the second you leave EVEN IF you really did get it from the teller your gonna get burned. Most don't mind, some get pissy that I want to make sure they haven't screwed up.
When I'm dealing with a stranger and it is my personal money, I'm ALWAYS suspicious. But most people as mentioned HAVE NO IDEA what security features are in a bill, let alone the fact that the "old" bills are still valid and prone to counterfeiting.

[Dreamstalker]

After an incident at the game store where The Jerk wanted me to deposit a fake, I check big bills from the bank too.

[Little Retail Rabbit]

Personally, I think £ notes are easier to spot than $ notes (dollars always look like toy money to me, I'd never learn how to check a counterfeit $). But on £ notes, there is a section where, when held to the light, the image of the queen's face become's visible. I noticed this note was really dodgy before I even held it up to the light anyway, so I am really surprised she didn't twig. I've seen some very convincing fakes before and this was not. And then when you add in the fact that when held up, the image is not even of the queen, its so blatantly obvious, you'd have to be pretty dim not to notice to be honest....

Having said that...she was a bit...thick sounding ^^;;

[Kogarashi]

And frankly, there are just some people who don't pay enough attention and can't tell the difference between real money and monopoly money. It's sad, but true.

As for the American bills, that's one reason I like the newer versions of them. They've got more security features to make it easier to spot a fake. There's the plastic strips in them, iridsecent inki, watermarks...good stuff. Older bills are trickier to spot when they've been faked.

[Andara Bledin]

If I'm understanding 'car boot sale' to be like a 'flea market', then there's a damned good chance that's where she picked up the bill.

Possibly, but what would she have been buying at a boot sale that would have resulted in her getting a £20 note back as change? That's not a small bill, after all.

There's the plastic strips in them, iridsecent inki, watermarks...good stuff. Older bills are trickier to spot when they've been faked.

The plastic strips have been in them for ages. They were introduced for the 1990+ batches of currencies.

I remember being told how to spot them way back for the only regular job I ever held that also involved taking money, and they must have been pretty much brand new at that point.

^-.-^