We’ve become accustomed to seeing store clerks scan our cash with special pens or portable counterfeit money detectors, but just how regularly do they nab a fake bill? Not often, fortunately.
Perhaps the reason for that in Susquehanna Valley businesses is due to vigilance and a familiarity with customers.
“I just caught one the other day,” said Terry Aurand, assistant manager at Turkey Hill Minit Market, Routes 11 and 15, in Selinsgrove.
The first thing that typically grabs his attention is “a texture thing,” Aurand said. Regular paper is smoother than the cotton/linen fiber used in authentic bills. In his most recent case, the paper did indeed feel smoother, and a closer look revealed that the 2 in the 20 was off-center, and a faint line appeared where the bill didn’t lay completely flat when being copied.
It was the second counterfeit bill Turkey Hill in Selinsgrove had seen in the past two months.
“It’s not super often, but it does occur every few months or so,” Aurand said.
At Cole’s Hardware, in Lewisburg, store operations manager Trish Miller could recall only one incidence of counterfeit money in the two years she’s been there.
Cole’s employees use a new Counterfeit Detection Pen that shines a light on a bill’s plastic security strip. If the strip doesn’t show up, the bill cannot be accepted.
“If you’re taking a counterfeit bill, you’re giving that person a product for a piece of paper,” said Stefan Eisenhower, customer service at Cole’s. “If you hand it back to them, they either choose to leave or use other payment. But you still have the product.”
“You can’t accept it,” Aurand said. “There’s nothing we can do. I can’t accept non-legal tender.”
In his 20 years in retail, every counterfeit bill Aurand has personally seen has been a $20. Some tip-offs to check for authenticity are crispness and how the bill is being used.
“It’s more suspicious if (the customer) is looking for change,” said Jeff Singer, paint manager at Cole’s Hardware.
“If it’s a crisp bill, you’re going to suspect it more,” Eisenhower said. “Old bills, you don’t expect it as much.”
“You do the best you can,” Miller said. “Use your best judgment.”
Aurand once saw a fake bill that was made as a movie prop.
“Another employee accidentally accepted it,” he said. The bill actually had the phrases “Not Legal Tender” and “For movie use only” on it. “Besides that, it looked like a regular $10 bill.”
The store turned the bill in to the bank and had to absorb the loss.
Checking currency
Today’s currency can be verified in various ways, even by the average person.
“The most common ways to identify a counterfeit bill is by looking for the watermark, which can be seen from both sides on the right of the bill, and the security thread, which should be visible when held up to a light,” said Mandi Ruhl, vice president of retail banking/security officer at Mifflinburg Bank & Trust. “You can also compare the feel of the bill you suspect to be counterfeit against a real bill. I would not rely on counterfeit pens because they are not always accurate and can give false results.”
For both individuals and businesses, Ruhl recommends the Secret Service “Know Your Money” Guide, which can be found on the Secret Service’s website (www.secretservice.gov). The bank uses the site’s materials to train their own staff.
Counterfeit response
A person using counterfeit money will probably lose the value of the “cash.”
“Financial institutions are obligated to take the counterfeit currency out of circulation so the customer would not receive credit for those funds,” Ruhl said. “We would then submit it to the Secret Service for counterfeit verification. If it comes back marked counterfeit, financial institutions generally will not reimburse the customer.”
Like other Valley businesses, Mifflinburg Bank doesn’t see a high amount of counterfeit money. And surprisingly, they, too, are alerted by texture more so than technology.
“On average, our annual reporting to the Secret Service is between 8 and 12 counterfeit bills,” Ruhl said. “The bank utilizes counterfeit detection technology to identify fake bills, but more often than not, it is our teller who is detecting the counterfeit, often times just by the feel of the bill.
“The $20 bill is the most common. However we often see $10 bills and $100 bills.”
How to handle
What should people do if they suspect they’ve been given a counterfeit bill?
“They should not return it to the person they received it from, but instead take it to their local police department or a Secret Service office,” Ruhl said. “It is best for them to write their initials and date in the white border area of the bill but they should limit handling of the bill by placing it in an envelope or plastic bag until released to the proper authorities.”
In 20 years, Aurand has personally received counterfeit money five or six times.
Standing near Cole’s check-out counter, Miller called a greeting to a regular customer and mused on the low occurrences of counterfeit money.
“I’d say here we’ve been pretty fortunate. In two years here in Lewisburg, we’ve only had one incident,” she said. “We’re pretty lucky. Here, too, in a small store you get to know people on a regular basis. You establish a relationship with customers.”
