Counterfeit Twenty dollar bills circulating in Miami, FL

[JRFxtreme]

Last night my friend and I went to Checkers to get some food. We ordered, pulled up and my friend handed the cashier a twenty from his wallet. The cashier looked at it for a moment, then said "Hey, this twenty is fake." We were both like "What the hell?" She said shes been working at Checkers for four years and a lot of fake twenties show up around this time of year. The way she could tell was you rub the collar of Jackson and if it isn't rigid, it's counterfeit.

Her manager came to the window and told us it was against the law for them to give it back and she wouldn't allow us to touch the bill. She said she had to rip it up and throw it in the trash or something along those lines, so I asked if she could rip it up in front of us and she did.

My friend had bought gas with a fifty earlier and received the twenty as change, so everyone in the area should check their twenties or you could end up screwed.

 

[Not a Number]

They are not supposed to destroy the note, it is possibly evidence of a crime. And suppose it was real?

From the US Treasury:

If You Receive a Counterfeit

* Do not return it to the passer.

* Delay the passer if possible.

* Observe the passer's description, as well as that of any companions, and the license plate numbers of any vehicles used.

* Contact your local police department or United States Secret Service field office. These numbers can be found on the inside front page of your local telephone directory.

* Write your initials and the date in the white border areas of the suspect note.

* Limit the handling of the note. Carefully place it in a protective covering, such as an envelope.

* Surrender the note or coin only to a properly identified police officer or a U.S. Secret Service special agent.

How to detect counterfeit money. Her method of detecting a counterfeit is not listed.

 

[DrWurm]

Yeah, sound like the manager just didnt want to be hassled with following the law.

Haha, I like this one: http://www.ustreas.gov/usss/money_raised_notes.shtml

 

[xvart]

This happened to me at a bowling alley in Dallas, Texas several years ago. It was one of those Cosmic Bowling nights, with the black lights and this bill they gave me was obviously glowing bright white while all the others were a muted color. It was so obviously a fake, it looked like someone photocopied a bill and tried (and succeeded, apparently) to pass it along.

Who fakes a $20?! What a waste of resources.

xvart.

 

[rattler]

they dont fake "a" twenty.......they fake lots of them...........

 

[JRFxtreme]

The manager did say something along the lines of "We're supposed to write down your license plate and contact the police", but I don't think I saw anyone come out and write down my friend's plate number. The whole thing kind of sucks. Now I'm wondering If I should contact the police to notify them of the incident, otherwise they might not even know about it due to the Checkers staff not following procedure.

 

[DrWurm]

i think 20s are the most commonly faked. 50s and 100s draw too much attention

 

[rattler]

50's and 100's are checked by most places.....20's come in so often that most dont take to close of a look at them unless something is obviously wrong.....though some places that have gotten them on a regular basis do check them all......

 

[theyellowdart]

I've noticed whenever I buy something at BestBuy and pay with a 20, the cashier marks on it with some kind of marker. Anyone know what that is or what the exact purpose is? I know it probably has something to do with making sure it isn't counterfeit...

 

[rattler]

thats exactly what it does.....forget if its testing the paper or the ink.......

 

[Finch]

I dunno, but the paper texture of money is supposed to be unique and not easily imitated.

 

[rattler]

easily no......but good enough to fool a gas station clerk making minimum wage and that doesnt care about their job 90% of the time? sure...........

 

[DrWurm]

http://money.howstuffworks.com/question212.htm

 

[Ant]

cool, I never noticed that they did that. A few years ago some seniors (in highschool) tried to conterfit like 300 20's. They got cuaght becuase the took out their wallets bursting with paper, I don't think some highschoolers carry 150 20's in their wallet each.

 

[xvart]

they dont fake "a" twenty.......they fake lots of them...........

lol.

50's and 100's are checked by most places.....20's come in so often that most dont take to close of a look at them unless something is obviously wrong.....though some places that have gotten them on a regular basis do check them all......

i think 20s are the most commonly faked. 50s and 100s draw too much attention

Yes, now that you point out common sense to me, I feel a little foolish. I guess I've seen too many high budget movies.

cool, I never noticed that they did that. A few years ago some seniors (in highschool) tried to conterfit like 300 20's. They got cuaght becuase the took out their wallets bursting with paper, I don't think some highschoolers carry 150 20's in their wallet each.

Hilarious. The ambition of youth!

xvart.

 

[DrWurm]

I knew a kid in middle school who tried to pay for his lunch using counterfeit one dollar bills. Apparently it didn't fool the cash register ladies...

 

[seedjar]

cool, I never noticed that they did that. A few years ago some seniors (in highschool) tried to conterfit like 300 20's. They got cuaght becuase the took out their wallets bursting with paper, I don't think some highschoolers carry 150 20's in their wallet each.

This made me laugh.

I knew a kid in middle school who tried to pay for his lunch using counterfeit one dollar bills. Apparently it didn't fool the cash register ladies...

And then this made me sad.

She said shes been working at Checkers for four years and a lot of fake twenties show up around this time of year. The way she could tell was you rub the collar of Jackson and if it isn't rigid, it's counterfeit.

I thought that sounded like a really cool way of telling if it's a fake, but then I looked at my own money and noticed it's not like that. You should go back to that place and complain - that's really lousy business. You should get your money back or a big meal on the house or something. (I wonder how many other people's $20s got torn up.) One of those pens is super cheap and is a way more reliable way of checking bills. It makes a real bill look wet, but writes black on most counterfeits. I see them used at a lot of businesses around here. Apparently people have been passing fake $20s at my college, as well, as there was an all-campus email about it from the cashier's office recently.
~Joe

 

[JMurphy97]

Good thing I make my own money so I don't have to worry about something like this.

 

[Not a Number]

I thought that sounded like a really cool way of telling if it's a fake, but then I looked at my own money and noticed it's not like that. You should go back to that place and complain - that's really lousy business. You should get your money back or a big meal on the house or something. (I wonder how many other people's $20s got torn up.) One of those pens is super cheap and is a way more reliable way of checking bills. It makes a real bill look wet, but writes black on most counterfeits. I see them used at a lot of businesses around here. Apparently people have been passing fake $20s at my college, as well, as there was an all-campus email about it from the cashier's office recently.
~Joe

Or report them for destroying money, I think the US Treasury frowns upon that. Or perhaps they are taking parts of the torn bills to make paste-ups as in the link that Dr.Wurm posted. And also you can take damaged or torn notes to the bank and have them replaced. I've been told they pro-rate by the amount of the torn bill that is turned in. Thus if you have have a dollar bill you get 50 cents. That way you cant tear a bill in half and get two dollars out of it by going to different banks.

 

[Ozzy]

I would have demanded that they call the police right then. There is no way I would just let somebody take my money like that. That's bull. If I were you I'd go to the police myself and file a complaint.

American money is not made of paper. It's made on a cotton fabric that is similar to denim.