Archived Fake Currency

[antivibe]

I always see cashiers checking large dollar bills for their authenticity , but what are we supposed to do if the money is fake?

I remember reading that we can't accuse a guest of shoplifting, so are we not allowed to accuse a guest for using fake money?

 

[ISIS639]

I always see a cashiers checking large dollar bills for their authenticity , but what are we supposed to do if the money is fake?

I remember reading that we can't accuse a guest of shoplifting, so are we not allowed to accuse a guest for using fake money?

You are correct. The cashiers should not be checking large bills, especially not obviously. They were more than likely not even trained to, its just something they decided they should do. Never accuse a guest of give you counterfeit money. If you have any suspicions, feel free to examine it later, or bring it up to the GSTL/GSA later, but never in front of the guest.

 

[Retail Girl]

Even our STL and ETLs check the money obviously in front of the guests...I don't know if they are doing that to show people they are checked or what. I tell cashiers I train that unless it's obvious (like monopoly money or a $75 bill), take it and let the cash office and cameras and such sort it out later.

 

[StaticSun]

sigh

Some districts (mostly the big metro/urban areas) are using counterfeit pens. If you are using them, only supposed to mark 20s, 50s, and 100s. We can't accept anything larger than a $100 bill anyways. If you use the pen, you should get a yellow/brown-ish mark on legit currency. If there is something wrong, the pen will show a BLACK mark. You're supposed to hand the money back to the guest, and say "Unfortunately, I cannot accept this form of payment. Do you have something else in which you would like to pay with?". Never directly accuse them, just ask for another form of payment. If they get rowdy, call your GSTL/GSA and ask for AP or an LOD to come up.

Best Practice says to never hold money up to a light or examine it in front of a guest. Use the pen, that's it.

 

[OyeShopgirl]

Very interesting and odd.

When I was first trained on front end at target, me and the rest of the group I was training with (mind you, this is a few years ago ) were instructed to "check large bills", but we were NEVER TOLD WHAT WE WERE SUPPOSED TO BE CHECKING FOR. Same with checking IDs-beyond the appropriate ages for certain products ( which many, including some TLs, are not always sure of themselves, btw ).

Would be nice if we had counterfeit pens, I suppose, but in my experience they inevitably all get lost or stolen (!), and there are some crafty counterfeiters who have devised ways to create fake bills that will yield the yellowish-orange mark that would signify a genuine bill.

 

[Retail Girl]

Yep...they bleach the original bill (say a $5) and reprint over it with the markings for $100. So, if you don't look at it in the light, you'll never notice the watermark and such is gone, but the pen will tell you it's good.

IDs, all you are doing is making sure the picture (mostly) matches up with the person presenting the ID. The register does the rest.

 

[CrazyTarget]

sigh
Best Practice says to never hold money up to a light or examine it in front of a guest. Use the pen, that's it.

AP told me that one TM in a different district store got punched in the face by guest when he did this, so do not do that. We used to use pens, but now they gave us machines where you put money and it tells you real or fake.

 

[mrknownothing]

When I started at Target, the training guide for cashing said something about counterfeit pens, but I've never seen one in my store in the 2+ years I've been there. Since we obviously don't have any way of knowing when we're accepting the bills (let alone a way that's considered "best practice"), we let 239 deal with it.

 

[GrumpyAP]

My wife is a banker. She's got me trained on all the things to check. I check all big bills. It's a personal habit. I was never told to do it. I was never told not to. I have never seen a counterfeit pen anywhere in the building. My store is so damn proactive on AP matters, that I don't think it's that big of a deal. Mneh.

 

[missionimpossible]

sigh
Best Practice says to never hold money up to a light or examine it in front of a guest. Use the pen, that's it.

AP told me that one TM in a different district store got punched in the face by guest when he did this, so do not do that. We used to use pens, but now they gave us machines where you put money and it tells you real or fake.

meh i'll take a shot to the face to get some idiot an assault charge.

 

[konk]

A money shot?

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

Here is a link on pens:
http://www.thebreakroom.org/showthread.php/443

 

[go ahead]

I think to myself when I walk passed some cashier holding the money up to the light "what are you looking for exactly?" And if it were fake what are you going to do?

 

[StaticSun]

I think to myself when I walk passed some cashier holding the money up to the light "what are you looking for exactly?" And if it were fake what are you going to do?

The face on the bottom right, security line running just off center to the right. Ask for another form of payment if it's not up to spec.

 

[redeye58]

$20s & $100s have the denom thread on the left of the bill face ($20s are frequently bleached & reprinted as $100s as a result). $10s &$50s are on the right of the face. If you have a bleached/reprinted bill, the counterfeit pen doesn't catch it as the paper is the same (cotton rag). The FEEL, however, is what gives it away because any time the bill is immersed in any type of chemical solution the paper texture is affected.
As was stated before, cashiers shouldn't be holding a bill up to verify. If pens are provided, use them according to your store's guidelines. If your store starts seeing an increase in counterfeit bills, AP usually contacts the feds.

 

[OrangeJuice]

Definitely something you would want to partner with your store's AP/TPS, on exactly what they want you to do.

 

[mxrbook]

We train our cashiers to hold the bill up to check for security line and picture. If the cashier believes it is fake, then they are to take the bill and immediately call a GSA/GSTL so that AP can check the cameras to see the person passing the fake. We never refuse to take the bill or let on that we know it's fake.

 

[StaticSun]

We train our cashiers to hold the bill up to check for security line and picture. If the cashier believes it is fake, then they are to take the bill and immediately call a GSA/GSTL so that AP can check the cameras to see the person passing the fake. We never refuse to take the bill or let on that we know it's fake.

Womp womp. Potential violation of policy and bad guest service.

 

[go ahead]

OMG! I was being sarcastic, of course I know what a cashier is "looking" for, I wasn't born yesterday. My point being holding the money "up to the light" looks ultra tacky and degrading to the cashier and store. This is Target, not the sleazy liquor store at the corner.

 

[mrknownothing]

Womp womp. Potential violation of policy and bad guest service.

"Policy" tends to vary by district, by store, and even by LOD. Just saying.

 

[mxrbook]

We train our cashiers to hold the bill up to check for security line and picture. If the cashier believes it is fake, then they are to take the bill and immediately call a GSA/GSTL so that AP can check the cameras to see the person passing the fake. We never refuse to take the bill or let on that we know it's fake.

Womp womp. Potential violation of policy and bad guest service.

Womp womp yourself. The guests just laugh or ask what we're looking for out of curiosity. And we've never refused a bill nor have we challenged a guest. How is looking at the bill worse than marking it with an ineffective pen?

 

[Retail Girl]

SS, my guess is they wait until the guest has left to notify the GSTL/GSA about the bill and the guest. It's not like they say, "oh, hold on, I need to let my GSTL know this bill is in here. Why? Oh, no reason...."

 

[mxrbook]

Yes, RG. The cashier hits the help button, doesn't turn on the lane light. We only come by to take a look at the bill post purchase and then notify AP so that they can look at the suspect bill and the guest on camera so that they can notify the locals who to look for in a counterfeit ring. We get a few a week but it's our AP's estimation that if we did no checking, we'd be inundated with fake bills.

 

[redeye58]

All AP really needs for this ^ is the lane & time because they can pull it up on POS to locate the trans with a $100 bill tendered then match up the video.

 

[pzychopopgroove]

A money shot?

I see what you did there.