Several times when spending a large bill (my tenant insists on paying me in cash-I feel like a drug dealer) the person at the cash register swipes a marker over the bill. I presume this proves that it is real money. What do they do if it is counterfeit? Press a button under the register and keep me talking until the police show up? Apologize and refuse to take the bill? Run screaming from the counter?
How accurate is that money marker?
They’re iodine markers that detect the presence of starch, which authentic US currency doesn’t contain. If the bill is good, the ink is clear or light brown. If there’s starch, it turns black and the bill is presumably no good.
At my work the policy is to give the bill back to the customer and tell them we can’t accept it because we can’t verify that it’s real.
I would recommend looking for other security measures on modern banknotes, like the color changing ink or the security thread that displays the bill value when held up to light.
Thanks, Smapti. Not that I don’t trust my tenant.
I’ve seen bills checked like that. I’ve never seen one come up as fake. I wonder how often it happens. Must be at least once in a while, or no one would bother checking.
If they call the police they’ll ask you questions about where it came from. Then you lose the bill. No refunds, no take backs. It’s just gone.
Unless they decipher you’re the one printing it I assume you’d be free to go. If you told your tenants name they will probably talk to them as well.
The burden of proof would be on them if they prosecuted you. That’s a tall ladder.
If questioned. Say nothing. “I know noth-kink”
You’ll be fine