Archived Counterfeit bills?

[Sbux babe]

Not sure what best practice is for counterfeit bills. We have been getting about 5-6 counterfeit $100s a day!!! I've noticed they go to our newer cashiers and at the end of the night there they are! My question is: when a cashier calls the gstl over for a bill that is suspicious where do we go from there? Three of the bills I saw last night were very obviously fake. On the back they had lines from the printer running through them and they were bigger than a real bill. I spotted them as soon as I was pulling the money out of the drawer, but apparently our newer cashier just accept any form of payment!

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

the new practice are the pens on $100 bills. talk to your ap about the event.

 

[redndkhaki]

We tell the cashiers to let the guest know that we are unable to accept it because it's not a valid form of payment.

 

[Retail Girl]

the new practice are the pens on $100 bills. talk to your ap about the event.

This is only for extremely high risk stores. Most stores do not have the pens and are not to use them.

This also does not work on the method they use in my area: here they whitewash five dollar bills and try to make them into really bad fake $100 bills. If you hold them up to the light, you will see the wrong watermarks immediately.

At my store, the experienced cashiers tell them we will not accept the bill today. The inexperienced cashiers will generally take them once or twice. But any time I see them, I pull one out of the till and quietly pull the cashiers aside so they can all see what a fake $100 looks like. If the cashier is not comfortable refusing the bill, they can call over their friendly GSA/GSTL who will tell the guest we cannot take that payment.

In my area, they always come in groups of 3 to 5. On days that we are lucky, we'll catch the first one and can then watch for the other ones by keeping an eye on the new cashiers.

It's all about education and support.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

We have started using the pens, two weeks ago.

 

[Retail Girl]

Then they've determined you have a pretty big problem. But it's still on a store by store basis.

If my store got them, they'd be lost within 2 days, tops.

 

[redeye58]

We had a group come thru a couple yrs ago & our AP was on it as soon as I showed him one during a morning in CO.
They used $20s around here because the denom thread is on the same end as a $100 but it's closer to the end of the serial #.
We used the same strategy: Sorry, we can't accept this form of payment. They'd usually leave & try later with a newb but we usually combed the lanes & SF telling anyone who came for back-up to call us over.
Eventually, they busted a guy but were hoping to go further up the chain so I don't know what the end result was.

 

[Nauzhror]

I have actually never heard of any counterfeit money being spent at our store.

We however semi-frequently have people attempt to buy prepaid visas and mastercards with fake checks.

 

[consume]

Yeah, I've laughed a guest in the face before, it was obviously on printer paper.. I told him not to worry though, Walmart will probably take it

 

[luna831]

Tell ap and you the gstl should be there

 

[luna831]

h, I've laughed a guest in the face before, it was obviously on printer paper.. I told him not to worry though, Walmart will probably take it

The fbi would like to have a word with you that Is no laughing matter.

 

[Retail Girl]

I have actually never heard of any counterfeit money being spent at our store.

We however semi-frequently have people attempt to buy prepaid visas and mastercards with fake checks.

Yep...that or stolen credit cards. Puh-lease, we all know you are trying a billion different cards because you are looking for one that hasn't been canceled yet.

I was talking to a cashier who worked at Walmart as a cashier for a year and said something like, "but I'm sure you saw this sort of stuff when you worked for Walmart." To which she basically said, no, because they know Walmart doesn't put up with it like Target does. Good job, Target. Way to vibe it with the thieves!

 

[IhaveaDream]

I just pocket them for later use.

 

[LadyNRed]

At our store, we are told to do nothing, not even check to see if they are fake! Now we have new rules for coupons as well, they said to take them if they are FAKE!!!! Said just "vibe"

 

[SalesFloorGal]

At our store, within the past few weeks it has also become best practice to use the pens. Since I only go up for back up though, I haven't come across one fake bill yet! I had assumed most stores were using the pens.

 

[Nauzhror]

No markers at our store, never have been as far as I am aware.

 

[Barcode]

At our store, we are told to do nothing, not even check to see if they are fake! Now we have new rules for coupons as well, they said to take them if they are FAKE!!!! Said just "vibe"

Sounds like an exaggeration.

You never WERE suppose to determine on the spot if the bill is fake to reject the guest. You simply mark it with the pen, and if you THINK its fake, you take it anyway then notify AP after transaction.

 

[SalesFloorGal]

At our store, we are told to do nothing, not even check to see if they are fake! Now we have new rules for coupons as well, they said to take them if they are FAKE!!!! Said just "vibe"

Sounds like an exaggeration.

You never WERE suppose to determine on the spot if the bill is fake to reject the guest. You simply mark it with the pen, and if you THINK its fake, you take it anyway then notify AP after transaction.

Our store we are not supposed to take them. If we mark the bill and it appears fake, we are asked to tell the guest that unfortunately we can not accept their method of payment and is there another way they can pay.

 

[Produce Queen]

Pretty sure that the law is to confiscate counterfeit bills and contact law enforcement. Specifically the Secret Service. You are never supposed to give them back. Of course it wouldn't surprise me if that is against Target policy.

 

[Retail Girl]

Well, we aren't allowed/trained to be investigators and say for sure what is or is not a fake. So we are under no authority to take someone else's property. And I know people have been accused of trying to pass fake money, and it wasn't fake. When that happened with a Target TM, Target got sued and lost.

 

[Nauzhror]

Pretty sure that the law is to confiscate counterfeit bills and contact law enforcement. Specifically the Secret Service. You are never supposed to give them back. Of course it wouldn't surprise me if that is against Target policy.

That sounds more like something a bank would do than something a Target cashier has any authority to do. For example we tell them their money is fake, confiscate it, and do not use it as payment towards their purchase, and we wind up being wrong and it's real; now Target's got a huge lawsuit on their hands.

 

[Retail Girl]

The law is that banks, financial institutions, law enforcement, etc, are required to confiscate counterfeit money. I believe stores (in general) may do so, though it's best if they call the police and try to keep the person there. But most stores aren't going to do that because most people aren't trained in that sort of thing, and if the clerk is wrong and especially if the store takes the money, expect a lawsuit.

Target is insured against this sort of thing.

http://m.wyff4.com/Target-Will-Fight-3-Million-Award-In-Counterfeit-Bill-Dispute/6191970

Now granted, this was a bit more extreme than simply telling someone their bill is fake and being wrong (the email is what did them in) but Target isn't going to take any chances again.

 

[Barcode]

The law is that banks, financial institutions, law enforcement, etc, are required to confiscate counterfeit money. I believe stores (in general) may do so, though it's best if they call the police and try to keep the person there. But most stores aren't going to do that because most people aren't trained in that sort of thing, and if the clerk is wrong and especially if the store takes the money, expect a lawsuit.

Target is insured against this sort of thing.

http://m.wyff4.com/Target-Will-Fight-3-Million-Award-In-Counterfeit-Bill-Dispute/6191970

Now granted, this was a bit more extreme than simply telling someone their bill is fake and being wrong (the email is what did them in) but Target isn't going to take any chances again.

This is why it's best practice to accept the bills and call AP over after. Apparently some stores just do their own policy though. No TM should be declining bills from a guest unless it's like Monopoly money. If you reject their bills and you are wrong, could get into deep trouble.

 

[PinkZinnia]

We will tell the guest that we can't take the bill if its one bill. More than one bill gstl has to call AP. AP won't accept them and they have the option of calling the police.

 

[bullseyekindaguy]

We had counterfeit money coming in daily. Turns it out; it was a group of people hitting stores in Southern Michigan/Northern OHio/Indiana.

We instructed all cashiers to check bills for watermarks and security bands. No pens, as it will read Good on bleached lower denomination bills.

If money was suspect, cashier called GSA for verification. If still suspect, LOD would be called and request another payment.

AP had me coach cashiers that didn't verify bills. In the month the scammers hit us, we lost over $5,000 in counterfeit money.

They eventually caught them in a store north ofDetroit. They tried to purchase a bunch of electronics with all counterfeit bills.