What’s the safest way to “report” fake money from an ATM machine?
I ask because I’ve heard (from the papers) stories about innocent people jailed for having fake money spit out from the bank’s ATM machine and being caught by the teller when they tried to use the teller with the same money (a story was reported by the Toronto Star some weeks ago).
It strikes me that banks can give you fake money from an ATM and you’d simply be out of whatever money it gave you.
Has anyone brought fake money to the police? Is it better to contact the bank?
If it’s during open hours, I would immediately walk into the bank and speak with someone about it. If after hours or not at a bank, I’d call the police while still at the ATM. That way you get a report, you won’t get in trouble for it, and you can give the report to the bank and get reimbursed with real cash. If you wait awhile, the bank might claim those bills didn’t come out of their ATM.
I’m pretty sure you won’t come across this problem at an ATM in your lifetime, though.
It is unlikely that anyone will ever get counterfeit money out of an ATM. I used to work as a bank teller, and, officially, most banks prohibit their employees from telling others about their procedures. Ah, what the hell…
By the time any money is put in an ATM, it has been handled and counted multiple times, by at least two people (probably more). Bank tellers handle thousands of bills a day, and are experienced and have been trained to spot counterfeit bills. I spotted lots of counterfeit bills when I was a teller, and to my knowledge, none have slipped past me. The Federal Reserve does keep track of these things, and when they recieve a counterfeit bill from a teller’s turnover, the bank receives notification with the teller’s stamp so that the teller in question can be blamed/held accountable/dressed down/fired, etc.
ATM machines have optical devices that allow them to determine what denomination is being dispensed, and how many bills are being dispensed. Most “bad” counterfeits (and most counterfeits are pretty bad, in my experience) would not be able to pass this scanner, and would end up being “rejected,” and left for the bank to deal with. I have never seen this before–again, I believe most bills would be caught by a teller even before this stage.
So, what would happen in the unlikely event that you actually got counterfeit bills out of an ATM? If no employee of the bank actually saw you get those bills, it would probably be your word against theirs. Most likely, you’re out the money. If you go up to a teller and tell them that you have counterfeit money, they are supposed to confiscate it and turn it over to the US Secret Service. They will not reimburse you.
And finally, no one is going to jail for getting counterfeit money out of an ATM. The only way you’re going to jail is if you show up with counterfeit money so often that you make a nuisance of yourself and arouse the suspicion of some overworked bank teller who reports you to the Secret Service.
How much counterfeit money is going around, in the US that is? You make it sound like a frequent thing. Is it? I had assumed most conterfeiting is done in other nations to dupe compatriots which would be easier than duping US tellers, etc.
My first thought is to make sure to REACT to the counterfeit money. Every ATM I’ve seen has a little camera in it, presumably watching and recording me. Use that to your advantage by letting it record you taking, examing, and freaking out over the counterfeit bill. Show it the bill.
If anyone is in line behind you, show THEM the bill. Never hurts to have witnesses on your side.
This way, when you storm angrily into the bank, you have at least SOME evidence that you didn’t bring the bill from home.
If you can’t go into the bank right then (i.e., it’s 2 a.m.), try to get the bill’s serial number on the videotape. Jam it right up there where the camera can see it, and cops will later be able to watch the tape and see your empty hand reach out to the machine and come back with THAT bill.
And go in ANGRY! Don’t go hat-in-hand “please, sir, could you exchange this fake bill for a real one?” You want RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION! YOU are the victim! This bank is STEALING from you! THEY are passing counterfeit money!
Call the cops from right there at the manager’s desk, and REPORT this appalling violation of both law and public trust! Faced with the videotape and the public ruckus you are sure to make, they might just give you the money to hush you up.
If they don’t, stay right there and wait for the cops. You want to be in full view of the surveillance cameras the whole time, so the evidence will show that you have done NOTHING wrong. Tell your story to the police when they arrive, remembering the bank is the bad guy and you are PISSED about it!
When I was treasurer for the church I attend, this actually happened several times; oddly enough, it was a fake one pound coin each time - the coins were cast from lead or pewter and painted gold.
I took them to the police, who gave me a receipt that I could include in the accounts.
No, there’s not really a whole lot of counterfeit money passing through banks. In my experience, most counterfeits come from bars, where it is harder to spot a fake in the dark. Most people would not knowingly bring a counterfeit in to a bank, where they know a teller is likely to spot it. A lot of unscrupulous people, once they get a counterfeit in trade, will try to pass it on to someone else, knowing they can always fall back on, “oh, I didn’t know it was a fake” if they get caught.
Calling the cops if you get a fake out of the ATM is not going to help you any. If the cop is doing his job right, he’ll confiscate the money on the spot.
It really comes down to how much the bank values you as a customer. You will probably never get a fake out of an ATM. But if you make a big enough stink about it, some branch managers might be willing to swap your fake for real cash if there really is a question as to whether or not you got it out of an ATM. Eating $40, say, might be a small price to pay to keep you happy.
If I’m not mistaken, your first contact should be the Secret Service. They are the primary agency responsible for dealing with counterfeiting.
I wouldn’t bother with the bank…they’ll just try to screw you over. And it’s not the jurisdiction of the local police, although telling them shouldn’t be a problem.
Sorry, but not correct. The secret service will take your money, and thank you for doing your civic duty, and normally so would the bank. The best advice would be to take it to the bank and act angry (one of the few occasions where I would advocate getting slightly hostile with the bank) If you were nice about it, then I think we would probably just take it from you and you’d be out the money, but if you raised a big enough fuss about it, you would almost definetly get your way.
One of the many things I’ve learned is that when a screw up happens and there is tiny chance that the bank may be at fault, i.e. ATM error, incorrect change given, overdraft fees, etc. the branch will try to balance it out in favor of the bank.
However, if the customer goes through the effort to call up the corporate headquartes and rant about it the decision is almost always reversed in favor of the customer, as a matter of fact the only time I’ve ever seen a customer call corporate and get denied is when either:
A) the customer was trying to steal something
or
B) The error was obviously not the banks fault. (mostly overdraft fees)
So, in summary what I would do is call or visit the bank immediatly after you get it and act very upset, then after the bank takes your money, call the corporate office.
But drhess and Rayman are right, the majority of fake money is outside of the US, and the only counterfeit twenties that I’ve come across were very easy for a teller to notice, and more than likely easily identifiable by anyone in a well-lit room.
Based on absolutely nothing but my own opinion I agree with RayMan. Stories of getting counterfeit money out of an ATM machine sound fishy to me.
Since banks are required to turn in all counterfeit money, for which they don’t get reimbursed, the tellers are doubtless on the alert and well skilled at spotting it. My guess would be that a teller who accepts counterfeit has some explaining to do and if it happens too often …
If the counterfeit is so good that the bank accepts it and then passes it on the chances are good that neither you nor anyone else would catch it either.
Also, standing at an ATM counting and inspecting your newly dispensed cash is an excellent way to get robbed. Trust me. You’ll be robbed a thousand times before you get a fake note from an ATM.
To clarify, I’m Canadian,. My friend got the fake bill out of an ATM (I was there when the money was removed). We went to a pool hall and he tried to use a $20 to pay and the guy there looked at the bill and alerted us that it was fake (apparently on the Canadian $20 there’s a shiny square with “20” inside, that square should reflect green/gold. The one we had was a solid colour. Also, the paper was a little bit different).
The thing is, I personally, never check my bills. I shouldn’t need to.
Thanks for the help folks! I believe the RCMP is the ones who take care of fake bills in Canada. If it happens to me I’m going straight to the police.
I just hate the fact that the bank could dispense “fake” money and nothing can really be done to them. Really sucks.
Hey, the banks make the rules. If you want some more fun, ask the bank how much of their $30 overdraft charge is made up of costs and why they charge so much. (Hint: “fee income.”)
