Passing the (illegal) bucks
I received a call this morning from a woman in Ceres who read my Thursday column. It lead with an item about some bad money being passed at a recent estate sale.
The caller told me she, too, had a recent sale. She said two caucasian men, each standing about 5 feet, 8 inches and between 28 and 35 years of age, came to her sale. One of them found a well-worn radio and tried to pay for it with a $100 bill. The woman had another $100 bill, and compared them. She told him his didn't look right, and wouldn't accept it. The men left immediately.
So if you're having a yard, garage or estate sale in the near future, beware of neat, clean, short guys passing bogus Ben Franklins. And because they might come in disguise next time -- as dirty, tall guys -- protect yourself by going to an office supply store and purchasing a marker that will detect whether a U.S. bill of any denomination is real. Make a mark on the bill. If the ink turns black, it's a fake.
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Don't
break any bill larger than a 10 spot. People who have a larger bill are usually willing to go and have the bill broken down. I worked retail and service jobs for many years and when a transaction does not seem right; it usually is not.
"I care not of what others think I do, but I care very much about what I think of what I do. That is character!" Teddy Roosevelt
The problem with the marker is "washed" bills show up
as being real, when the denomination could have been changed.
And no, not washed in the washing machine.
Gracious sakes alive!
Hold the bill to the light
and look at the watermarks (.On the $10 bill (Hamilton) the picture of Hamilton will appear as a watermark on the right front side of the bill. Also, just to the right of the picture of Hamilton (any President) there will be a watermark (turn the bill sideways and read the line that says it is a US Treasury bill and the denomination amount (TEN).... Check out: http://creditfederal.com/counterfeit-money.html Check out the various bill/denominations so you will not break a fifty that actually turns out to be a laundered "ONE".... And don't forget to turn these people in. (Get license plate numbers, a good description of the person, and if you have a good photo memory, once the person leaves, jot down the bills serial number (I know for most of us that would be a stretch).... If the person had an object in their hand, set it aside, potential of fingerprints (just a thought).... As the economy gets tighter, we may be seeing more of this.
Above all, don't put your safety at risk. These people are not nice people!
So...if one detects a fake bill
don't grab'em by the ankles and squeel for the fam to turn the dog loose? Oh yeah. That's illegal. And I don't advocate violence but if a person shows up and trys passing off a fake bill in exchange for my stuff--I might get offended. Grrrrrrrr!
Just goofin' around! I appreciate the details there and the encouragement to not put personal safety at risk. That is the first thing we were taught in the retail world re: shoplifters, fake bills, robbers. I always make sure I have some strong relatives around at my yard sales--to protect any would be crooks from my bad temper and my large dog.
MtnMom... you're