fake bills

[eschal]

Mizzmarr, I'm not sure I understand what you mean. I bent a few bills in a shadow but they all look the same except a bit darker but they didn't turn black?

 

[Napoleon]

You also need to rub your thumb up and down over the cross-stitch in the collars or hair of the different men on the bills. It sounds sexual, but really you are feeling for texture. I watched locals do it for about a year+ before I asked why one guy had just done that and what he was looking for. Now I do it as well. However, good counterfeit bills pass this test as well.

 

[dutara]

A few years ago in a panaderia they told me the 1-peso coin I gave them was fake. He dropped it on the counter to prove it -- sounded like the counter was hollow. I was able to pass the coin on without further incident. I had the impression maybe the guy pulled that on foreigners to relieve the boredom of his job.

 

[Uncle Dermot]

You should have asked if you could change the $20 with them so that you could pay with a real one.

A few years ago in a panaderia they told me the 1-peso coin I gave them was fake. He dropped it on the counter to prove it -- sounded like the counter was hollow. I was able to pass the coin on without further incident. I had the impression maybe the guy pulled that on foreigners to relieve the boredom of his job.

I also compared my fake 20-peso-bill with another one and I couldn't tell the difference: same texture, same colours, same everything, but apparently it was a fake one...last year I saw an Italian TV programme where they were going around one city collecting 1- and 2-euro-coins from different sources to check whether they were real or fake and they found out that out of 100 a bit less than 10% were fake...scary!

 

[MizzMarr]

Mizzmarr, I'm not sure I understand what you mean. I bent a few bills in a shadow but they all look the same except a bit darker but they didn't turn black?

It's pretty subtle... I don't think I could capture it in a picture. They don't exactly *turn black* but the ink shade shifts to dark, if that explains it any better. If you have a fake bill, do it to both of them and look at the differece, you should be able to see it. My parther and I used to keep all our fake bills on a corkboard to remind us to be careful--we even got a fake 2 once! ridiculous.

 

[Uncle Dermot]

we even got a fake 2 once! ridiculous.

My friend was told that they never counterfeit 2-peso-notes, but I am pretty sure they do as it is the most used denomination!

 

[MizzMarr]

My friend was told that they never counterfeit 2-peso-notes, but I am pretty sure they do as it is the most used denomination!

I can testify! It was pretty bad looking, too. I think we got handed off a wad of bad bills in a dark taxi one night. We chased the bastard down the street when we realized, but of course it was too late.

 

[jenh]

Just be aware that if a waiter or server takes your cash, then brings it back and tells you it is fake, they could have exchanged your good bill for a fake one and be trying to pull one over on you. This happened to a friend of mine, who was sure the bill he handed over was real as he had held it up to the light before handing it over.

Another friend gave me this tip - if paying with a larger denomination bill in a cab, shine your phone on it so the watermark is visible as you are handing it to the driver. That way, they can't switch it out and tell you that you just handed them a fake.

Another good way to tell (apart from the watermark and feel) is that the little silver strips on real ones have printing on them, the fake ones don't have any marks within the silver strips.

 

[Napoleon]

My friend was told that they never counterfeit 2-peso-notes, but I am pretty sure they do as it is the most used denomination!

I think the reason behind this is that counterfeit bills cost more than $2 to make.

I've heard before that a counterfeit $100 costs $10 for someone to buy. Where did I hear this? I have absolutely no &*$%# recollection. But it would explain why nearly all counterfeits are $20 and up. And usually I don't worry about the $20s either.

Just be aware that if a waiter or server takes your cash, then brings it back and tells you it is fake, they could have exchanged your good bill for a fake one and be trying to pull one over on you. This happened to a friend of mine, who was sure the bill he handed over was real as he had held it up to the light before handing it over.

Another friend gave me this tip - if paying with a larger denomination bill in a cab, shine your phone on it so the watermark is visible as you are handing it to the driver. That way, they can't switch it out and tell you that you just handed them a fake.

Take a picture of the serial number with your phone/ or digital camera. That will answer any switcheroo problems.

Most radio taxis will place your bill to the side so that you can see it as they are counting out their change. Also, I always ask if they can change a big bill BEFORE I even hand it to them. If they say no, then there's no chance of a switcheroo. And if they say yes, then they've already checked first. Then you have to study the $50 you get in return.

 

[starlucia]

My friend was told that they never counterfeit 2-peso-notes, but I am pretty sure they do as it is the most used denomination!

The only time I ever received a counterfeit note, it was a 2 from a cab driver (ironically, also the only time I've ever asked for change in a cab, but I assumed it was safe since I was dealing with such small bills.) It was quite terrible, like it had been printed off of someone's computer, but he handed it to me behind a real 2 note and I didn't bother looking until I was out of the cab. I couldn't believe that anyone had actually gone to the trouble of counterfeiting 2s, but there ya go.