Published: October 20, 2007 11:33 pm            

Funny money no laughing matter

The $100 bill Marlene Laws got in exchange for cashing a check at her local bank felt sort of like it had been run through the washing machine one too many times, she said. But it didn’t concern her enough to take a second look.

“I felt of it and it felt like money paper, so I left,” Laws said.

That was Thursday. Laws said she owed her boyfriend some money, so she put the cash in an envelope for him. He was out of town working. When he returned Saturday, he took the bill to his own bank. The teller there marked the bill with a counterfeit detector pen to check it’s legitimacy.

“He said he was standing there watching and it turned blacker than hell,” Laws said. “He immediately called me and asked where I got it, and I told him the only place I get $100 bills if from my bank.”

Because of the holiday weekend, Laws said it was Tuesday before she could talk to anyone about the bill at her own bank. After talking to the bank manager and president, she was told their hands were tied because of the length of time that had expired.

“I left the drive-thru,” she said. “If I had immediately noticed it was phony, they would have replaced it. That’s all the time you’ve got to discover that your money is fake.”

Tim Houck, president of Community Trust Bank in Richmond, said that is true of any business. Houck himself got stuck with a fake $20 he received as change over the weekend, he said.

“I’m out $20,” he said. “Because once you leave, they don’t know that somebody is not coming back in just trying to get them to change out their money,” Houck said. “Especially us here at the bank, we feel like our employees are well trained to recognize those kinds of things. We are very confident that we do not give out counterfeit money.”

Citizens Guaranty Bank’s Main Street Branch Manager, Hilda Wyatt, agreed. When asked what she thought the chances were that her bank would release counterfeit bills back into the public she said, “None.”

For about the last four years, Wyatt said the bank has been utilizing a money counting machine that detects counterfeit bills.

“All of our tellers verify their money and run it through the machine, whether it is coming out of vault or taken from a customer,” Wyattt said. “Luckily, we have been at no loss on counterfeit money.”

But the bank definitely has seen it’s fair share. The machine has helped “tremendously” in catching the funny money, Wyatt said.

“There have been different businesses that brought in (counterfeit bills) for deposit,” Wyatt said. “We do capture them and they are sent off to the secret service. And the merchant is at loss on that.”

Estimating how often the bank sees fake bills is difficult, Wyatt said, because it goes in spurts. But with the upcoming Christmas shopping season approaching, she said bank employees already have met to discuss watching out for an increase in fake cash.

It is rare for police to see counterfeit money traced back to banks, but Berea Police Capt. Ken Clark said it does happen from time to time.

“A lot of counterfeit money is being passed in flea markets and yard sales,” Clark said. “Most people are not afraid to try those because most people don’t have one of those pens. But it happens everywhere. It slides through. You can get it from banks, you can get it from fast food places, you can get it anywhere.”

Richmond Police are seeing about the average number of bills they see each year, said RPD Sgt. Willard Reardon. But that number has dropped since the U.S. Department of Treasury has adapted multiple security features on newer bills.

“It used to be not very difficult (to manufacture fake bills),” Reardon said. “You could literally go to the office supply store. Now with the different safety features the Treasury has put into bills it has made it much more difficult to produce.”

But as currency features have developed, so has technology, said Madison County Sheriff Nelson O’Donnell.

“The color copiers have become so advanced that, it takes some time and effort, but the quality is go good that just to look at it without looking for indicators you can’t tell one from the other,” O’Donnell said.

Protecting yourself

Laws, a 53-year-old Madison Countian, draws only $1,000 each month in disability.

“That was a big whop to my income,” she said. “But there’s no use getting mad about it. The satisfaction I’m getting is telling everybody I run into that I got a phony $100 bill from the bank. That it can happen. And you’re stuck with it once you get it. The only option you have is to ask the teller to borrow their pen and they will gladly let you use it to mark your bills. Or take your money out in small bills. It is much better to eat a $5 bill than a $100. A $100 leaves a horrible taste in your mouth.”

Being aware of what to look for can keep you from falling victim to the fake money, said KSP Trooper Chris Lanham.

“They should be aware of the paper that’s used by the government printing offices,” Lanham said. “It does have a certain particular feel to it. Also there are security threads in all new money. If you hold it up to a fluorescent light you will be able to see the security threads.

“A lot of times people question money that is worn very badly,” he said. “If you have any questions, you can usually take it to the local bank and if the bill is in such bad shape it will be exchanged for them and taken and destroyed.”

But most importantly, just pay attention.

“I got two $20 (bills) and a couple of ones and it was underneath,” Houck said. “I didn’t look at it. When I got back home, I immediately knew when I saw it that it was counterfeit. It wasn’t a very good one.”

Houck also recommended investing in a counterfeit detection pen. They can be purchased for $4.98 at Office Max, according to the company’s Web site.

“If I had had one, that would have worked,” Houck said.

Kelly Foreman can be reached at kforeman@richmondregister.com or 624-6694.

        

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