One point about the detection pens: there was a show on recently about the
largest counterfeiting ring ever busted. They got around the use of the
detection pens by spraying the bogus bills with hair spray. Apparently that made
the detection pens come up with the "good bill" result.
Certainly the game is rigged. Don’t let that stop you; if you don’t bet, you
can’t win. -Lazarus Long
In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice,
there is. -Yogi Berra
There is no such thing as luck. There is only adequate or inadequate preparation
to cope with a statistical universe. -Robert Heinlein
···
________________________________
From: nudge51 <nudge51@cox.net>
To: vpFREE@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tue, September 21, 2010 5:49:11 PM
Subject: Re: [vpFREE] Beware of Counterfeit $100 Bills
From: "mikeymic" <mikeymic@yahoo.com>
Subject: [vpFREE] Beware of Counterfeit $100 Bills
2. (AND FAR MORE IMPORTANT TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU): What are the
implications for any of us receiving a counterfeit $100 bill either from a
casino cashier, slot attendant or ticket cash-out machine?
I posted on this unpleasant event quite some time ago, but for the benefit of
newer members, I will relate the details. We had a safe deposit box at a branch
of our bank that was in a grocery store near our house. It was only a block
away from our actual bank, but since it was available to me for more hours in a
given day and also on Sunday if I needed it, we chose the grocer branch over the
bank branch as the location for our box. Due to a clump of royal filled
sessions and overall LV blind cab driver extraordinary luck, I had made a number
of benjie stuffing runs to the box. One day at a stop at the store, wife says
she has to pay bills the next day, and while she shops, I go grab a fistful of
my favorite dead non president, and we walk to the teller to deposit them into
the checking account. We were quickly informed that one of them was a bogus
bill. Because of the position of these bills in my stash, I was reasonably sure
that it was part of a Fiesta Rancho handpay, but I certainly had no proof. I
believe that the laws are specific that any retail operation that discovers
phony money immediately turns it over to the department of the treasury, Secret
Service Branch, so that they can try to track the source and compare the bill to
the thousands that they have confiscated in the past. This is what my bank did.
Even after an educated decision is made by the authorities that the bill passer
is most likely innocent of any connection to the counterfeiting, they are not
entitled to any replacement compensation. It only took one of these losses for
me to pursue a method of protection against a costly and unpleasant repeat of
this little fiasco. We now use counterfeit money detector marker pens that you
see cashiers at many stores use when you present a bill. These are available at
any office supply store, like Office Depot or Office Max. We use the Dri Mark
Products brand, three in a package, for around $10. They are not infallible.
Nothing is, as counterfeiters have become quite sophisticated with the use of
computers and hi tech printers, but they are pretty damn good. Extended
exposure of the uncapped tip of the pen to air may indicate a false positive, so
cap the pen after use. Also, since they last quite some time, we wrap a small
piece of scotch tape around the split between the cap and barrel of the two new
remaining pens in the pack until they are needed. Any 100's that we get from a
cage, redemption machine, or handpay is marked before we leave that casino,
maybe an ST for Sam's Town, GC for Gold Coast, etc.. If we have any doubt, we
just ask for an exchange at the cage and let them deal with it. Oh, one other
warning, if you are feeble minded and leave one in your pocket and it journeys
through the washer and dryer, ( err aahh, not that someone as brilliant as
myself would ever do such a stupid thing ) you may detect a false positive. A
short browsing session at a government site should be enough to familiarize most
of us with the skill that we need to be sure of any bill. Here is the link:
http://www.moneyfactory.gov/
Just remember what Sgt. Phil Esterhaus always said, "Let's be careful out
there."
Nudge
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