Stores checking $1 bills to see if they're counterfiet?
By sylviekitty
@sylviekitty (2083)
United States
March 5, 2007 12:40pm CST
Yesterday I went to the Goodwill to buy myself some jeans. I was waiting in line to pay, when I noticed the cashier marking bills with her special marker, to see if they were legal tender. I don't have a problem with this- stores have to do whatever they can to prevent being ripped off, right? The customer ahead of me gave her a $10 bill, and a $1 bill. Now, she marked both. Maybe it was just a habit, to mark whatever bills were handed to her. Maybe it is store policy, to mark everything? Or (and this is probably wrong of me not to give the woman the benefit of the doubt), maybe it was the fact the customers were obviously foreign, which caused her to mark the $1?
Have you run across this practice, either as a customer or as a cashier? Marking low denomination bills? A dollar bill, even?
12 people like this
42 responses
@Willowlady (10658)
• United States
5 Mar 07
It is not surprising to me with all the crooked people out there these days. The times are hard and for some they do what they can to get what they think they need. Others it is just a hobby that costs all of us. I don't mind that they mark them, I would mind if I had one though since I think then I would be out money. I only get it from the bank and as change from stores to I should be safe. One never knows though. I have yet to see the dollar one, have witnessed it for the larger bills though.
5 people like this
@heavenschild (4777)
• Canada
5 Mar 07
Just to caution you, the banks do not check all of the bills, at least not here in Canada. It is very possible to recieve counterfeit money from the bank aswell. Just so you can be aware!
@danishcanadian (28955)
• Canada
5 Mar 07
I've never had that problem with low denomination bills. The lowest I've seen someone check was actually a $50. In Canada we have special lights to hold the bills under that checks to make sure they're legal.
As for the $1 thing, up here we have coins, and those things are pretty hard to counterfit.
5 people like this
@netboy1212 (29)
• Canada
5 Mar 07
I agree with danishcanadian, most cashiers who handle money(i.e. bills) regulary know what fake money feels like and can tell by touch instantly whether a bill is fake or legal.
1 person likes this
@mytwo_daughters (2663)
• United States
5 Mar 07
I have only seen it done once or twice. I don't go into the good will store, it is a little distance from me. Must be something new all the stores are doing.
@Alexandria37 (5717)
• Ireland
5 Mar 07
Most of the smaller shops here in Ireland do it if they don't know you. It is hardly ever done in the bigger stores. When I am going on holidays to the UK and I have to change my euroes to sterling, I won't accept £50 notes from the bank as a lot of shops in the UK will not accept them. I tried to buy a pair of shoes last year in the UK and the shop assistant would not accept a £50 note from me. I had to go elsewhere for the shoes.
5 people like this
@kate1356 (697)
• United States
5 Mar 07
I have never heard of shop employees marking low bills. The only time I have ever seen an employee mark a bill was when I used a fifty or hundred dollar bill.
I would like to think the store you were in has a poilcy of marking all bills. I could see them adopting this policy if they had problems with people passing off counterfeit bills in the past.
5 people like this
@cutepenguin (6431)
• Canada
5 Mar 07
I've never seen this - here, people mostly check 20s, 50s, and 100s. And you run them under a blacklight.
But I guess if the store had had a problem in the past - after all, it would be easier to pass $1 counterfeit bills - then they might just check everything.
4 people like this
@jjn1983 (1353)
• United States
5 Mar 07
I was a cashier for a year. Our manager wanted us to mark 20's or higher. We usually only marked 50's and 100's though...giving the customer the "benefit of the doubt" like you said. Now the counterfiets are getting "smarter" I guess you could say. Our store got a 100 dollar bill that was fake and the marker couldn't detect it, making the markers pointless.
4 people like this
@sunnypub (2128)
• United States
5 Mar 07
I have never seen them mark anything lower than a $20 but maybe the counterfitters noticed that too so they stared making the lower denomination bills. I would think that if you are going to check bills then you should check all the bills.
I bet that thrift stores are maybe more careful with the lower denomination bills because they get so many. It is not uncommon to go in and have a total bill of less than $10.
I would say that in this case it was either habit or store policy. I think it is a good idea regardless of who is paying and what bills they are paying with.
4 people like this
@crazynurse (7482)
• United States
5 Mar 07
Wow, that must get time consuming! I have only seen cashiers mark bills that are $20 and over in the stores that I frequent. I don't really have a problem with it either, it just seems like a lot of work for the cashiers. To go to the trouble of counterfietting a one dollar bill seems crazy to me, but then again, I'm not a crook!
3 people like this
@ScrappinHappyMom (914)
• United States
5 Mar 07
I would say you got a hold of an over zealous clerk. When I worked at a race track you had to mark any bill $20 and up. I never in 5 years ever got a fake bill. But I suppose it happens.
3 people like this
@heavenschild (4777)
• Canada
5 Mar 07
I work in a grocery store in Canada and we have a light. We are more concerned with the $20, $50, and $100. With $5 and $10 we simply make sure that the words at the edge are raised. We do not mark any bill unless we are concerned about it. There are four different ways to check it before using the pen.
2 people like this
@sylviekitty (2083)
• United States
6 Mar 07
Hmm.. I never noticed Tim Hortons doing that.. I would assume they do it here in the US as well? Of course I usually pay with a card, not cash.
@heavenschild (4777)
• Canada
11 Mar 07
In Canada they do not accept cards at Tim Hortons, you have to use cash.
@heavenschild (4777)
• Canada
5 Mar 07
To add to this, the only place I know of who checks all the bills under the light is Tim Hortons.
The way we do it at my work it is very quick and does not take alot of time.
Every time I go to Tim Horton's it does seem to take a long time and it is because they put every bill under the light even $5 which is our smallest bill. I do understand the reason behind it but there are faster ways of doing it and definately the pen is the slowest way to check bills!
2 people like this
@huggiebear22 (2007)
• Canada
5 Mar 07
I have seen it done when i cross the border in to washinton they check all the bills does not matter where you live one guy was so mad they were checking all of the singles he gave them for his shirt and here in Canda only seen it done with the $20, $50 and $100's. Now i mostly use my bank or credit card to avoid this.
4 people like this
@ilovemoney (103)
• Canada
6 Mar 07
I think what she was doing was absolutley rite and she had full right to do it. I know it pisses of customers sometimes but managers at places like that can fire you even if you get one fake dollar bill. The lady there was prolly just new though. I used to work at a gas station and we used to get fake bills all the time. Specailly 20 dollar bills. After a while u learn how to chek em without anythin though. Rite now I can tell a bills fake by just felling it most of the times. Just required some practice. The lady workin there prolly just got the job or sometin.
2 people like this
@cloud_kicker_32 (4635)
• United States
5 Mar 07
yes..I have seen this everywhere i have gone now..people are counterfitting money now..all moneys and i have friends that work in stores and they are told tomark everything with this certain marker to make sure its real./.most stores only do $20's and higher..and others do all..its just the way it is now i guess..
@doingit4fun (917)
• United States
5 Mar 07
I have not seen them checking my $1-20 bills. So it is better to use the credit cards for even small purchases I guess. May be the shops will force NO CASH policy in the future?
2 people like this
@stateroad (730)
• United States
6 Mar 07
A dollar bill ? I have never seen that one. I was
surprised when then did it on my $20.00 bill. I felt
bad like that thought I was trying to rip them off.
I guess people are warned now to be more careful so they
get the money that is coming to them.
1 person likes this
@retardedrugrat (4791)
• Canada
5 Mar 07
I used to work in a store back when I was in the UK, where it was policy to check all bills no matter what. We had the marker and we also had the UV light too.
We did this because quite frankly, you never known when you're going to run across counterfeit bills. Luckily I never came across any, because I would have felt terrible handing the bill back to the customer saying "I'm sorry but I can't accept this."
1 person likes this
@wendy82 (437)
• United States
6 Mar 07
Yeah because it is strange looking then they need to check it. But mainly it is because of store policy. Because if they put counterfeit money in their draws and then take it to the bank. And they check it then it means that the company has to do a counterfeit paper and then the company can go back and realizes what draw it came out and who worked on that and they can get in trouble. For example, I used to work @ burger king but they didnt tell us to mark the ones. They made us check the 5,10,20,50,100. But it is popular now days that people are making the counterfeit money and they are trying to be sleek about it.
