In the News: Have you received counterfeit cash?

[Pesso]

Hey Newsies,

Today we’re talking fake cash, with an article from NBC reporting on a rise in counterfeit bills across LA and elsewhere. I’d love to hear your experiences on receiving fake money in your business.

NBC LA: Riverside business owners warned of counterfeit cash criminals

The article explains that small businesses are increasingly becoming victims of criminals using convincing counterfeit money, which is drastically hurting and costing the owners. The fake bills they use are increasingly harder to tell from real ones, and can be bought or made. It’s not just isolated to LA. A quick search turns up news articles from Cleveland, Miami, Oklahoma, and more, about rises in fake money being used, all within the last week. The article goes on to recommend businesses protect themselves by checking bills more thoroughly.

In my shop, we had our fair share of fake bills coming in. We got anything from counterfeit $10 bills, up to $100 bills. Some of them we caught before taking, and others were so good that only the bank was able to spot them. We lost a decent amount of money over the years, and it was always really disappointing and aggravating. 

We tried a few different ways to prevent counterfeit bills, but it was always a battle between convenience and safety. We used a UV reader to visually check the hidden strips, a motorized bill scanner that would automatically analyze them, and settled on just the traditional pen. During one spell of a big increase in counterfeits, we would check every single bill. 

In the end, we just made the decision to no longer accept $50s or $100s, to limit our risk. If a customer came with one of those bills we would explain that we received a lot of fake bills, and that we accepted credit cards if they didn’t have anything else. Some customers got really mad and would storm off, but for us, it was worth the loss to prevent a big loss in money or products.

What’s your perspective:

• When have you gotten counterfeit bills? 

• What do you do to prevent getting stuck with fake money?

Can’t wait to hear your thoughts!
Pesso

This article is for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. For guidance or advice specific to your business, you should consult with a qualified legal professional.

[Pesso]

Sounds like a good way to handle it all around, @Donnie-M ! Thanks for sharing-

[Bronze_Palms]

Wow, I can't believe that!

When I brought on staff and moved into a brick and mortar, we decided to go cashless. This was for a couple reasons - 

1. No one has to count the register/till
2. The rise in crime made us vulnerable
3. We don't always have change

[Pesso]

Definitely seems like a solution to all of those, @Bronze_Palms !

Has it been working for you, and feeling good about it?

How has customer reaction & response been to being cashless?

[Bronze_Palms]

Customer feedback has been positive. We have the Square hardware that allows for Apple Pay so if they don't have card, we can't charge the card on file, and they only have their phone, they can still pay.

Client input their cc when they book appointments anyways!

[Pesso]

Thanks, @Bronze_Palms  -- Love to hear that Square is helping enable you to run your business and take payments the way you want! So glad it's working for you!

[VanKalkerFarms]

with decades of handling cash there has been way too many that got by and caught by the bank.   I'm also sure that a lot I took in went out as cash was used for almost all purchases for the first 40 years in business.  a lot of them you can tell almost the moment you touch it as it just feels wrong.  The ones that are really hard are when they wash or bleach a 10 and then print it as a hundred.  A couple new cashiers have even taken in movie money or copy money.  but when you're slinging 600+ transaction on a busy saturday you aren't taking time to check super detailed.  Just another cost of doing business, in the grand scheme of 60 years I doubt it even adds up to 5k.