Compiled by Alan and other fellow Jangloers.
First a thank you to all those who responded regarding the issue of counterfeit money. I was surprised that so many asked to have this information shared. It seems like many have lost money because of this problem. Below are some of the most relevant responses I received - in their very own words. I hope it helps someone in the future to avoid being on the receiving end of a counterfeit coin or note:
1. (I could not resist putting this in as the first point.) "Welcome to the real world."
2. "Though I, yet, have not experienced getting counterfeit money, the problem is here. What you can get & what I'm strongly thinking of buying, is a "pen" type of money checker. Just about all stores use that "pen" to check if the money is real or fake. And the advantage is that it's very easy to carry around with you. They can be purchased in most stationery supply stores."
3. "I've had counterfeit 10 NIS shekel coins and 5 NIS shekel coins. The sides of these coins are different - more smooth than the real coins. The counterfeit 5 NIS is more rounded rather than hexagon shaped. Now I check more carefully - but tough to do when one is rushed."
4. "My mother was given a 100 shekel counterfeit note."
5. "There are a few signs--there is a triangle in the upper right hand corner. Hold it to the light and it becomes a magen David. Another sign is that the lettering is raised. There is also a gold strip in the fiber. You can prurchase a pen in stationery stores that is a tester. It is invisible on real money(any country) and turns black on a fake or any other piece of paper."
6. "A stationary supply store can sell you a marker that you write on a suspect bill with. If the marker doesn't make any mark, it's a good bill. In addition, hold a bill up to the light and in the white corner (every bill has an area without all the colorful drawings - it has a three-colored triangle) you should see a watermarked image of the face of the person on the bill. It's only visible when the bill is held up to the light. Also, the three colored triangle will become a star of david. These are the techniques that tellers use to ID fake bills."
7. "I have had this experience and it took the bank manager to straighten it out. If a teller tells you a bill is counterfeit, check with the bank manager. Also, more than once, many people thought a coin was counterfeit and wouldn't accept them, and the bank said they weren't."
8. "...and were told the money was fake, so we went back to the bank and they gave us a real bill and kept the counterfit one, they also photocopied my teudat zehut and wrote that I turned in counterfeit money and put it in their files... be aware the bank will not give the fake money back and will copy your teudat zehut. They do this to keep counterfeiters from turning in money repetitively to get real cash for fake."
Well - I've certainly learnt a lot! Hope you have too and that the above advice comes in handy one day! Kol Tuv.
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