Customers Claim That Wachovia Is Handing Out Counterfeit Bills

By July 23, 2008

Something shady may be afoot at a Central Florida Wachovia branch…two customers say that a teller gave them counterfeit bills, according to Local 6 news in Orlando. The bank is refusing to give them a refund, claiming that they have no way of knowing if those counterfeit bills are the same ones the teller gave out, but Local 6 says that they’ve learned that Wachovia previously gave a customer with a similar story a refund.

“It is really frustrating for us,” Garcia said. “The bank is not doing anything about it. (It’s) just not giving us any solutions at all.”

A Wachovia representative said it will not refund any money because it can’t verify the $1,000 in counterfeit notes were the same bills Garcia was handed by their teller.

But weeks later, Wachovia did refund $40 to another customer with a similar story, Local 6 has learned.

Garcia said Wachovia is ripping him off and has alerted the sheriff’s office, the Secret Service and the media.

“Ten (bills) in one transaction to come from one bank, that is definitely unusual,” U.S. Secret Service representative Jim Glendinning said.

“But is it possible?” Pipitone asked.

“Remotely, yes it is,” Glendinning said.

Bank of America caught the fakes when the couple tried to deposit the money into their account with that bank. The Secret Service agent speculated that if the fakes did come from Wachovia — it was likely that an employee was in on the scam.

Bank Gave Counterfeit Bills, Couple Says [Local 6](Thanks, Becky!)

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Comments

  1. kbarrett says:
    July 24, 2008 at 5:43 pm

    Part of the problem is that a counterfeit bill is like a hot potato … the person who is in possession when it is discovered is the one who gets to take the loss.

    If the teller didn’t notice the bill when he/she signed for the full amount in the till, the teller can be stuck with the loss.

    There is an incentive right there for the teller to NOT check outgoing bills, only incoming ones.

    I have the teller count the bills on the counter in front of me. On one occasion a twenty looked funny, and I demanded she count out the full amount … and pointed out the note that wasn’t real.

    She did get stuck with the loss by the manager.

  2. FightOnTrojans says:
    July 24, 2008 at 6:23 pm

    Ok, there’s some great advice here on how not to get stuck with funny money when withdrawing from the teller. But what do you do when get one out of an ATM? What recourse, if any, do you have? I’ve always wondered about this and what if the machine shorts you on the withdrawal (you want $100 and it only gives you $60).

  3. laddibugg says:
    July 24, 2008 at 7:27 pm

    @FightOnTrojans:

    The bank *should* be able to tell if the machine shorts you—there will be to much money in the machine.

  4. temporaryerror says:
    July 24, 2008 at 7:55 pm

    Another thing that counterfeiters do is bleach out $1 bills and reprint them as larger denom. bills.

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