| Guarding against counterfeit currency | |
|---|---|
| Jul 19, 2007 09:56 |   |
 | I'd like to avoid dealing with this. My roommate warned me last night that there is a large amount of counterfeit currency floating around china. Is there a good way to avoid it? I was thinking of only taking money from ATMs while I was there. |
| Jul 19, 2007 16:48 | #1 |
| You will notice that all of the merchants examine the cash you give them very closely. One merchant refused to take a 100 RMB note that came to me from an ATM, but he handed it back for another one. If it was a counterfeit bill, I successfully passed it later. Every time you break a 100 RMB note for a small item, you risk taking a counterfeit 50 RMB note in change. Logically, taxi drivers and street vendors are the most likely places to pick up phoney money, but it surely could happen anywhere. Of course, you'd hope it would not happen at the Bank of China. Perhaps some one knows of a currency testing pen that works on RMB like the ones many merchants use to test for counterfeit US money. |
| Jul 19, 2007 19:22 | #2 |
| Notes from an ATM should always be OK as they use machines to test them. You will normally only get 100 RMB notes from an ATM unless you are paid wages in cash. As Griz says, you are likely to get 50's in change. If the shop used a machine to check your 100RMB ask to put the 50 through before you accept it. The usual method to visually check for a fake is to look at the number in the bottom left. If you change the angle you look at, it changes between a green and a grey green. When I had a fake I could also spot many other differences. You will see locals crackle the paper as it has a different sound. Mine also had oversize serial numbers, a heavier watermark and some overstrong colour contrasts....but it's a bit late once you have accepted it! Another thing: before you hand over a 100 note in a place that takes it out of site, such as a restaurant, write down part of the serial number so that they cannot return with another one they accepted earlier! Or pay at the counter. |
| Jul 20, 2007 11:28 | #3 |
| You'll often see locals rub notes against the white washed walls in 'hole in the wall' diners. good bills leave a mark I was told but I have my doubts. I've been fortunate but you do hear of it and you need to check carefully. |
| Jul 21, 2007 20:21 | #4 |
| Once i was trying to buy some snack and found 2 of my $1 COIN (coin!! Yes Coin!!) rejected by the vendor, they told me it FAKE!!! Was told that if the coin surface is very smooth, and if it rusty, than it fake. Anyway i use it to take a bus :p There are time when they try to cheat you, eg. you go buy something, hand them a $100 note, they accept it and return you immediately saying it fake and ask you for another note, the next note you pass to him, he will again return you and claim it fake again, the truth fact is, the note you gave him is real, they just switch it so fast to a fake note and return it to you without you notice it, so beware!!! |
| Jul 21, 2007 21:32 | #5 |
| I was shown another way to determine fake notes. Rub chairman Mao's shoulder! A genuine one is slighly rough or bumpy...though well worn ones are almost smooth too. Another scam I heard was that while your wallet is in a locker for your safety (!) and you are away, the genuine ones are replaced with fakes. |
| Jul 23, 2007 12:27 | #6 |
| I've been a victim of having a fake note a few times (apparently), i must admit... they're quick at switching them. But i've always managed to spend them elsewhere anyway... so does that make me a criminal cos i knowingly spent counterfiet money... hmmm new vote comin' up. |
| Jul 23, 2007 20:46 | #7 |
| Yes, even 1 yuan coin was reported to be counterfeit money recently. Common people seldom can tell the differences between the real one and the fake. |
Post a Reply to: Guarding against counterfeit currency
Copyright © 1998-2024 All rights reserved.