Your home printer might be truly awesome, but unless you’re trying to trick cashiers who have no concept of what real money looks like, you’re probably not going to fool anyone into thinking that the $20 bills produced in your home office are the real deal. [More]
counterfeit money
The Hot Potato Principle: Why This Grandma’s Bank Stuck Her With Counterfeit Cash
By 3.9.15
Counterfeit currency operates on the “hot potato” principle. Like the children’s game, the last person caught with the object loses. Once you accept counterfeit cash–even if it’s from a financial institution–it’s yours. This made for a very disappointing birthday gift for a 14-year-old from his grandmother. [More]
Cookie Monsters In California Steal Girl Scouts’ Tip Jar, Pay With Counterfeit Cash
By 3.4.14
We really, really hope that the national trend of crimes against Girl Scouts selling cookies is one of those things that we’re noticing only because we are looking for the stories. Otherwise, these crimes are especially appalling since they’re against children raising money for a fun and wholesome organization. Last week in California, we heard of two additional crimes against Scouts. [More]
Woman Busted For Fake $100 Bills Because “Moe Money” Isn’t In Charge Of Signing Currency
By 1.23.14
While for most consumers an attempt to pay with fake money probably amounts to joking “Ha ha, you don’t accept old Blockbuster cards as payment, do you? (wink!)” there are others out there who’ll go to great lengths to pull a fast one on retailers with counterfeit bills. That being said, having Moe Money’s signature on your $100 bills isn’t going to convince anyone that thing is anything but a fakety fake fake. [More]
Scammer Uses Counterfeit Cash To Buy Motorcycle, Calls Victim To Warn Against Using Bogus Bills
By 6.20.13
Most people who end up with a wad of counterfeit cash don’t find out until they take it to the bank or try to use it at a store that checks for funny money, but a woman in the St. Louis area says the man who bought her husband’s motorcycle using bogus bills later called to let them know they’d been had. [More]
UPDATE: Bank Says $1,400 In Counterfeit Bills Weren’t Counterfeit After All
By 1.30.13
Yesterday, we told you about the Massachusetts man who withdrew $1,800 from Sovereign Bank, then took it over to pay his mortgage at Citizens Bank, only to have $1,400 of it confiscated for allegedly being counterfeit cash. Except it wasn’t. [More]
Man Claims Bank Gave Him $1,400 In Counterfeit Bills Which Don’t Work When Paying A Mortgage
By 1.29.13 — Updated: 5.9.16
Believe us when we say using Monopoly money in the real world is a sure way to fail. And even if your money isn’t hued funny, if it’s fake, it won’t fly. One man is blaming a local bank for his counterfeit woes, claiming he was given $1,400 in fake $100 bills. He can’t pay his mortgage with that stuff, putting him in a tight spot.
If You’re Paying A Court Fee, It’s Probably A Bad Idea To Use Counterfeit Cash
By 1.17.13
When you’re already in trouble with the law — and also standing in a building that’s likely full of law enforcement officers — it’s generally considered a not-so-good time to try to pass counterfeit bills. [More]
Walmart Customer Says Store Stuck Her With Bogus $100 Bill
By 9.17.12
Here’s a nice companion piece to this morning’s story about the Walmart employee who allegedly tore up two legitimate $100 bills claiming they were counterfeit. This afternoon’s tale is from a Walmart customer in Michigan who says the store gave her a bogus $100 bill and refused to take it back. [More]
Customer Sues Walmart Because Cashiers Shouldn't Rip Up Two $100 Bills Without Making Sure They Are Real
By 9.17.12
Anyone who has paid for a purchase with a $100 bill is probably familiar with the various methods that stores have for validating the authenticity of the note. But one Texas woman says she was publicly humiliated at her local Walmart when a cashier ripped up two of her C-notes — and then detained her on allegations of trying to pass counterfeit bills — without properly checking to see if the money was the real deal. [More]
If The Bank Hands You A Counterfeit Bill, You're Probably Stuck With It
By 5.21.12
While financial institutions often go through various security checks to make sure that the $50 and $100 bills you hand to them are genuine, most consumers will accept these same bills from banks without giving a thought to whether or not they are bogus. Problem is, if you end up with counterfeit cash, you are most likely screwed. [More]
Man Arrested For Passing Not-Counterfeit $50 Bill
By 5.1.12
If you’ve ever been stuck having to buy something with a $50 or $100 bill in the last decade, you have probably had to stand there while a store clerk performs the marker test to see if the note is legitimate. Unfortunately, that test doesn’t work on older bills, and that’s how a Tennessee man ended up in jail over the weekend. [More]
ATM Repairman Accused Of Swapping Out Cash With Funny Money
By 5.27.11
An ATM repairman who is suspected of trafficking in counterfeit money stands accused of using ATMs as, well, ATMs for his criminal purposes. Authorities say the man swapped out $200,000 of genuine cash in exchange for his faux green. [More]
Man Who Says Chase Gave Him Counterfeit Bill Camps Out In Front Of Branch
By 3.22.11
Claiming Chase handed him a counterfeit $100 bill, a Utah man is camping outside of the allegedly offending branch in an effort to get the bank to acknowledge his issue. He’s sporting a huge cardboard sign that says “Chase Bank Passed me A Counterfeit $100 Bill!” with the words “Come and See!!” posted on the side. [More]
Florida Motorists Illegally Detained For Paying With Large Bills
By 3.8.11
Is it a crime to pay a $1 toll with a $100 bill? The people responsible for counting out change might wish that it were, but paying a toll with legal tender isn’t a crime. Toll collectors in Florida allegedly asks motorists for personal information and illegally detained them for paying with bills deemed too large. Even better? Toll takers flagged and detained drivers paying with bills as small as $20 based on racial profiling. [More]
HSBC Paid Me In Monopoly Money, Gave Me A Fun New Hobby To Track Down The Reason Why
By 6.15.10
Normally you’d hope a bank pays you in legal tender and not with a piece of green construction paper that the guy down the street pulled out of his laser printer after creating the document on Microsoft Paint. And yet when Tracy pulled out some cash to pay her rent at an HSBC branch, one of the Benjamins was counterfeit. [More]
