Counterfeit bills from bank ATM's!

[John.St]

How do the fake bills look like? Is it easy to see that they are fake?

http://landingpadba.com/ba-basics-counterfeit-money/ - how to spot.

 

[citygirl]

Happened to me as well - 2x here (the only time I've gotten fake bills) were from ATMs. I've also gotten ripped (unusable) bills from ATMs a few times. The latter I exchanged immediately at the bank without problems. The fakes, I got stuck with as I didn't discover them until later.

 

[Hache]

One more thing: make sure the denomination on the upper left corner is printed with OVI (Optically Variable) ink. The fakes I saw didn't have it as it isn't sold to anyone.

Hold the bill in front of you horizontally. The denomination should be green. Then start turning it to a vertical position, very slowly. The denomination should turn to blue right away.

About the ATMs, it doesn't surprise me the banks won't take responsibility just like that. How do you prove you got the fake from their ATM? Same if you got less than the amount you entered. The best thing to do (if possible) is to withdraw the money from a bank teller window and count the money right in front of the cashier, verifying both amount and legitimacy. Once you walk away, it's your problem if something's wrong. If withdrawing cash during banking hours is not a possibility, then you must take your chances. Does that suck.

I'm truly sorry if my country is such a joke our own banks can't spot fake bills because the real thing's sh*t anyway. I guess that could be the key because it never happened in the past, and before blaming anything on Brazil I'd have some serious thought on why we aren't capable of printing our money on our own anymore. I'm even sorrier if it's just the same when it comes to honesty. Telling the difference between a true complainer and a fake one can be even harder. Another problem worth some thought, and not a new one. I'm sorry you as foreigners have to put up with it and see your honesty in doubt.

 

[Johnno]

This is something I really need to take note of - I'm taking money out of atms every week and I don't think I've had a problem yet - but I guess I need to get into the habit of checking every note and making sure I'm not being ''had'' - this stuff happens in Australia too but with our fairly unique plastic money I have a feeling that you have to be pretty good to do a reasonable job of faking the Aussie cash...

 

[ptolemy]

Telling the difference between a true complainer and a fake one can be even harder. Another problem worth some thought, and not a new one.

Sounds like a good thread. I dare you to start it.

 

[Hache]

Sounds like a good thread. I dare you to start it.

Why do you think it would make a good thread?

 

[John.St]

About the ATMs, it doesn't surprise me the banks won't take responsibility just like that. ... Same if you got less than the amount you entered.

That's an easy one.

The ATM has a list of transactions and the bank knows exactly how much money was in it to begin with and when they refill.
Amount in ATM at the beginning, subtract transactions, if there is a difference = an error.

 

[John.St]

I'm truly sorry if my country is such a joke our own banks can't spot fake bills because the real thing's sh*t anyway.

The Argentino bills are not that bad, although not exactly cutting edge. Depends on what you compare to.

Compare an AR$ 100 to a 100 Euro and yes, the Euro bill is very safe.

Compare an AR$ 100 to a US$ 100 - I was rolling on the floor, laughing, the first time I saw a US$ 100 bill - it's a joke. Not surprising that at least 3 percent of them are counterfeit according to the FBI.

Edit: take a look at Euro Security Feature details http://www.ibiblio.org/theeuro/Info...tp://www.ibiblio.org/theeuro/bnk.security.htm /edit

 

[Raymond]

The best way to check the validity of $100 and $50 bills is to hold them up to the light and see that the watermark is the same sketch as the face on the note, and that the magnetic strip is "woven" throughout the bill and not just printed on. Then take it down from the light and make sure that the denomination of the note is printed on the woven metal strip. That's always worked for me.

The other item to check is MAKE SURE the serial numbers match on both the left and right side of the bill. On the left side it should be printed vertically or horizontally printed (in the case of the $100 bills printed for Argentina in Brazil's mint recently) and the right side accross the top. In some cases people have taped the halves of two different bills together and in this case of course, the serial numbers wont match. Be careful!

If your in a cab , even if you´re drunk, try to make a habit of checking the serial before you hand it (your money) over, some cabbies like to swap them and hand them back citing they are fake!