I went to WalMart on yesterday to make a purchase. I gave the cashier a $10.00 bill. The cashier looked at the money and asked me who "marked" the bill. I asked her what was she talking about. She told me that the $10.00 bill had markings on it. I told her that I didn't know what she was talking about and I assumed that the place of business where I got it from "marked" the money. She looked at it again and told me that she had to ask her supervisor about the money. I said ok. I had no idea where this was going. So, the cashier comes back to me after about 3 minutes and tells me that she cannot accept the money because the $10.00 bill is counterfeit. I was like "WHAT"?! I told her that she couldn't be serious. Seriously? Really? She said yes that she was serious. I asked her how did she know that the money was counterfeit. She told me that the dark markings on the money indicated that it was counterfeit. She said that someone had used a marker to determine "authenticity" and when they marked it, the marking turned a dark color. She said that if the money was "real", then the markings would be a light yellowish color. I was floored I was so embarrassed. So of course, I couldn't use the counterfeit bill, so had to use my debit card instead. I was just hoping that they didn't call the police on me to report that I was trying to deliberately pass off counterfeit money. I was steaming when I left WalMart. I had no idea that I was given a counterfeit bill. After inspecting the bill, I could tell that the paper was a different texture ( a little thicker paper) and the ink (a little darker)looked a little "suspect". I tried to think where I had received the bill from and narrowed it down to that it was from a local store down the road from my house. I will try taking the money back to the store but I know that they will not exchange it because it will be my word against the person who gave it to me. Do you think the person that gave it to me not knowing that they were giving me a counterfeit bill? or Do you think that they gave me the bill knowing that it was counterfeit? I hope that they exchange the counterfeit bill and give me another $10.00 bill. If not, then I guess I will be stuck with this counterfeit bill and out of $10.00. I"m so glad that it wasn't a $20.00 bill or a $100.00 bill. Now, I'm thinking that I need to invest in purchasing one of the markers so that I can mark my money from now on. This incident has me spooked. With the holidays and all (and scam artists going from business to business with their stupid foolishness), I urge everyone to be careful and look at what money you are being handed back for change. If the paper feels different and the green ink looks "suspect", then follow your first mind and not accept the money or have the cashier use the marker to make sure that the money is not counterfeit. Times are too hard for we as hard working people to be scammed with counterfeit money and other scams. Please be careful everyone. Happy Holidays !
Is it the new version of the bill or an old one? If it is the new version, check it for the other things that would normally be in bill like the security strip that you can only see when you hold it up to the light. Did the people at WalMart mark the bill themselves to double check or did they just assume that the marks on it were made by a counterfeit detection pen? Make certain it is counterfeit before you take it back to the store you think you got it from!
Yep, you need to turn it in. The authorities need to know that counterfeit money is being circulated in your area. Hard for them to investigate a crime if no one reports it.
Quote:What PW says. The cashier should have had her own detection pen to check the bill with rather than assuming the mark she saw was from one. If anyone has a bill they believe may be counterfeit then go here and read up on how to tell for yourself. Know Your Money http://www.secretservice.gov/know_your_money.shtml
The CSMs have the pens at their podium so they would have marked it to make sure. Those pen marks can turn darker with age but a fake bill will immediately turn a very dark color where the pen is used. If the cashier felt as though the bill was suspect, she would have had other wonderings about it other than an old pen mark. Something had to make her suspect it. Yes, you're supposed to turn it in to the authorities so that they can be alerted to a possible money ring going on. Alerting them could help keep this from happening to others.
this happened to DH once. the store let him keep it and he asked the other store that gave it to him about it and of course they knew nothing about it. when he called the police to make a report and let them know what store gave it to him, and they were more concerned about the store that allowed him to keep it. it turns out that they are supposed to confiscate all fony money.
