Counterfeit Money

[sharecropper]

I have been back in Pattaya for only one day and heard two Thais saying that Farang are circulating counterfeit 1,000 Baht notes. I am sure the evidence they base their allegations on is clear and uambiguous, as it usually is in these cases.

The naive or ignorant racism of Pattaya Thais amuses and appalls me in equal measure.

What next - we seized the airport?

[wileycoyote]

Inform the police

[PhilHarries]

But of course these Thais are endowed with total recall and clearly remember who gives them each and every banknote. And where do the farangs get their forged 1000 Baht notes? Most likely Thai banks or exchange booths.

Rule No 1 : Blame the farangs.

Rule No 2 : If in doubt refer to rule #1.

There is, of course, the chance that farangs are distributing forged notes and I remember a character picked up a few years back for passing duds so it does happen.

[tattoodrob]

was on thai news yesterday that they caught some thais redhanded in bangkok making fake notes on a big printing press......maybe the farangs made them do it!!!!

i guess theres more than one gang doing it as theres 100s,50s etc being copied too.

[maccastime]

I have been back in Pattaya for only one day and heard two Thais saying that Farang are circulating counterfeit 1,000 Baht notes. I am sure the evidence they base their allegations on is clear and uambiguous, as it usually is in these cases.

The naive or ignorant racism of Pattaya Thais amuses and appalls me in equal measure.

What next - we seized the airport?

nearly everthing is a copy in thailand isnt it?? from dvds to clothing,so why stop there??

Or maybe us tourists printed up the loot b/4 entering Thailand??

[phaethon]

nearly everthing is a copy in thailand isnt it?? from dvds to clothing,so why stop there??

Good point... Is it a crime to pay for a fake Rolex with fake money? Two wrongs do make a right, don't they?

I suppose small traders are more likely to receive 1000 baht notes from tourists rather than average Thais, so if the majority of fakes are amongst the 1000 bahts, or at least a fake 1k note will make a bigger impact on profits or are more closely scrutinised and therefore detected, then it might appear that tourists are the main source of fakes.

[cali4995]

It was a bunch of thais. the story was in the nation the other day. apparently they printed 10,000 fake

1k notes supposedly for a used car businessman in korat(the printing done by a professional shop in

BKK). so, at least one group has been caught but the story seems to have lost popularity when it

was determined evil farangs were not involved. i kind of suspect many of the fake notes would find

their was into hands of tourists because they are less likely to be able to recognize them?

[sharecropper]

There was also a recent story about a women in the deep south of Thailand getting a fake 500 Baht note from a bank ATM, depsite banks saying that could never happen.

The Bank of Thailand have also been downplaying the risks of getting a dud note, as they see Isaan ghost-style hysteria take hold among the general population.

However, to add to it, I just saw Pattaya Today have a counterfeit banknote story as their headline, saying a Japanese guy was caught passing a fake note in a bar in South Pattaya. He had innocently bought them at the Cambodian border, where many of the fakes apparently originate, and they are often part of money laundering/drugs operations. He wasn't charged but had to surrender his 40,000 baht fake stash. The report recommends only changing currency at reputable currency exchanges.

[cali4995]

i just read that story in the JAN 1-15th edition today. it's popular to blame it on the cambodians

but with the quality of the fakes, i suspect most are being knocked-out of professional print

shops (aahh locally). they also said we can expect to see them in patters with all the sucker

tourists not knowing if it's real money or not. the article also said they had ALREADY confiscated

20,000 fake large denomination notes.(the bank of thailand and police) no small issue iti is.

[Briggsy]

In 7-11, they swipe some kind of pen across the watermark. What are they doing?

[syd barrett]

In 7-11, they swipe some kind of pen across the watermark. What are they doing?

If they are dud, the pen makes a mark.

Don't ever believe that notes in Thai ATM's are 100% O.K. Even UK Banks admit that there is a slight possibility of dud notes from ATM's in the UK.

I think it is best to make over-the-counter withdrawals in 500 Baht denominations until further notice. I did this a few days ago, the only inconvenience being the fact that I had to produce my passport and a very dirty look from the cashier.

[Jingthing]

I get all my 1000s from the ATM machines of SCB. I don't even look at them. If I accidentally passed a fake, what would the merchant do? Just refuse it or call the police? Assuming just refuse it, will the banks believe you if you bring them back a fake?

Edited December 30, 2008 by Jingthing

[syd barrett]

I get all my 1000s from the ATM machines of SCB. I don't even look at them. If I accidentally passed a fake, what would the merchant do? Just refuse it or call the police? Assuming just refuse it, will the banks believe you if you bring them back a fake?

The answer is (same as you) I don't know.

However I would be nervous of returning fakes back to the bank for fear of wrongful arrest and punitive searches of my apartment block and confiscation of all my electronic possessions. (This does happen).

[sharecropper]

I get all my 1000s from the ATM machines of SCB. I don't even look at them. If I accidentally passed a fake, what would the merchant do? Just refuse it or call the police? Assuming just refuse it, will the banks believe you if you bring them back a fake?

The answer to your questions I think lie in best case and worst case scenarios.

The merchant would return it to you, and ask for a real one, at best, but maybe, worst case, with the current level of hysteria/alert, call the police. Who, worst case, if they were bent, might try to make a problem out of it for you, or, best case, confiscate it and ask you for a statement about where you got it from.

I suspect there is more chance of a snowflake falling in Pattaya than there would be of a Thai bank ever accepting it had passed you a dud note. Best case - they politely but unceremoniously kick you out the bank, worst case a defamation charge, bankruptcy and a long jail sentence in the Bangkok Hilton.

Up to you!

Edited December 30, 2008 by sharecropper

[Jingthing]

I guess I wouldn't be complaining then ...

Has anyone had this happen to them in Thailand or know someone it has happened to (being passed a bad note from a bank)? Probably very rare, hopefully.

[PhilHarries]

I think the problem with the banks comes from the fact that any cash problem at a bank is not the bank's problem but that of an individual employee of the bank. Therefore if an employee of the bank spots a dodgy note or three it is in his, and his co-workers, best interest if the problem (the dud cash) goes away. The best route for that of course is the good old ATM as there is no proof of the source for the unfortunate recipient.

Ergo, at this time inconvenient or not I'd stick as far as possible to across the counter withdrawals in 500's and to hel_l with the dirty looks. Alternatively take the 1000's across the counter but list the serial numbers and have someone at the bank sign that they gave you those notes. Yeah, right I can just see that happening - NOT!

Unless the banks can offer an assurance that dud notes will not be passed out either via the ATM or over the counter it is prudent to take precautions. The risk may be low but the potential for grief, as pointed out above, is great so it all depends on how lucky you feel.

[tropo]

I think the problem with the banks comes from the fact that any cash problem at a bank is not the bank's problem but that of an individual employee of the bank. Therefore if an employee of the bank spots a dodgy note or three it is in his, and his co-workers, best interest if the problem (the dud cash) goes away. The best route for that of course is the good old ATM as there is no proof of the source for the unfortunate recipient.

Ergo, at this time inconvenient or not I'd stick as far as possible to across the counter withdrawals in 500's and to hel_l with the dirty looks. Alternatively take the 1000's across the counter but list the serial numbers and have someone at the bank sign that they gave you those notes. Yeah, right I can just see that happening - NOT!

Unless the banks can offer an assurance that dud notes will not be passed out either via the ATM or over the counter it is prudent to take precautions. The risk may be low but the potential for grief, as pointed out above, is great so it all depends on how lucky you feel.

If I was passed a fake note from an ATM and became aware of it, I wouldn't bother going to the bank. There's far too much potential trouble in doing that...for what? $28?

I'd just spend it at a market somewhere. It would probably do the rounds for quite a while before being discovered and thereby doing what money is supposed to do. It's like playing musical chairs in that only the last person loses out.

I would be better to just destroy it than go to the police if conscience got in the way of spending it.

[eljeque]

I think the problem with the banks comes from the fact that any cash problem at a bank is not the bank's problem but that of an individual employee of the bank. Therefore if an employee of the bank spots a dodgy note or three it is in his, and his co-workers, best interest if the problem (the dud cash) goes away. The best route for that of course is the good old ATM as there is no proof of the source for the unfortunate recipient.

Ergo, at this time inconvenient or not I'd stick as far as possible to across the counter withdrawals in 500's and to hel_l with the dirty looks. Alternatively take the 1000's across the counter but list the serial numbers and have someone at the bank sign that they gave you those notes. Yeah, right I can just see that happening - NOT!

Unless the banks can offer an assurance that dud notes will not be passed out either via the ATM or over the counter it is prudent to take precautions. The risk may be low but the potential for grief, as pointed out above, is great so it all depends on how lucky you feel.

The Banks have a liuttle stamp which you can ask them to use to stamp every one of the 1,000 notes. They do it with $100 bills for you if you ask thm to, and I see no reason why they would not do i9t with the 1,000 baht notes as well. If they refuse, then ask for 500 baht notes

[PhilHarries]

The Banks have a liuttle stamp which you can ask them to use to stamp every one of the 1,000 notes. They do it with $100 bills for you if you ask thm to, and I see no reason why they would not do i9t with the 1,000 baht notes as well. If they refuse, then ask for 500 baht notes

Oh well there's the answer then. I'd not heard of this and if they'll oblige all is sorted and if not just, as you say, get the cash in 500's.

[sharecropper]

The Banks have a liuttle stamp which you can ask them to use to stamp every one of the 1,000 notes. They do it with $100 bills for you if you ask thm to, and I see no reason why they would not do i9t with the 1,000 baht notes as well. If they refuse, then ask for 500 baht notes

Thanks. Very useful info. I have to take 100,000 baht cash out asap in the New Year and will try this with them. I had previously just thought I would ask them to count the notes very slowly and check them all in front of me, but the stamp is a much better solution.

[tropo]

The Banks have a liuttle stamp which you can ask them to use to stamp every one of the 1,000 notes. They do it with $100 bills for you if you ask thm to, and I see no reason why they would not do i9t with the 1,000 baht notes as well. If they refuse, then ask for 500 baht notes

I doubt very much they will stamp 1000 baht notes. It would be considered defacing currency and they've probably got laws against this. Have you ever noticed that Thai currency is very clean compared to other SE Asian currencies?

Defacing a US $100 bill is another story entirely. It's a foreign currency with no one policing defacing laws for that currency. Money changers in the Philippines always put their stamps on them but sooner or later you end up with a bill covered in stamps.

Edited December 31, 2008 by tropo

[thaimate]

a friend got 3 from an atm today ,so be warned.

[kennkate]

a friend got 3 from an atm today ,so be warned.

And He Took them stright back into the bank ?

[soundman]

BOT official figures are 5 - 7 counterfeit notes per 1,000,000 in circulation.

Security features.

Current series.

Quote from BOT.

From a personal observation, you put a fake and a real note next to each other and it is very easy to spot the difference.

So getting say twenty notes from an ATM, look at them all in a fan arrangement and the fake note will be easily visable.

Cheers.

[sharecropper]

BOT official figures are 5 - 7 counterfeit notes per 1,000,000 in circulation.

Security features.

Current series.

Quote from BOT.

From a personal observation, you put a fake and a real note next to each other and it is very easy to spot the difference.

So getting say twenty notes from an ATM, look at them all in a fan arrangement and the fake note will be easily visable.

Cheers.

Thanks Soundman. I like a man of confidence in his counterfeit note-spotting ability, so will be round to your house with 100 1,000 Baht notes on the 5th January, for your professional opinion!

[phaethon]

The Banks have a liuttle stamp which you can ask them to use to stamp every one of the 1,000 notes. They do it with $100 bills for you if you ask thm to, and I see no reason why they would not do i9t with the 1,000 baht notes as well. If they refuse, then ask for 500 baht notes

Even safer, ask for you 100,000 Baht in twenties (take a suitcase

[imaneggspurt]

I get all my 1000s from the ATM machines of SCB. I don't even look at them. If I accidentally passed a fake, what would the merchant do? Just refuse it or call the police? Assuming just refuse it, will the banks believe you if you bring them back a fake?

good point, my friend just back from vietnam was arrested on a garage forecourt for trying to pass a fake note, of course he had no idea about it and was obviously given it but he had a very unpleasant experience,.

[imaneggspurt]

Irish shopkeeper to policeman, " ive had a woman in her passing dud money " .policeman to shopkeeper " counterfeit ? " shopkeeper " yes, she had 2 " !

[nudnik]

a friend got 3 from an atm today ,so be warned.

I don't believe it. All notes spit out by ATM's are NEW. They don't put recycled money in the ATM's.

[Alwaysright]

I get all my 1000s from the ATM machines of SCB. I don't even look at them. If I accidentally passed a fake, what would the merchant do? Just refuse it or call the police? Assuming just refuse it, will the banks believe you if you bring them back a fake?

The answer is (same as you) I don't know.

However I would be nervous of returning fakes back to the bank for fear of wrongful arrest and punitive searches of my apartment block and confiscation of all my electronic possessions. (This does happen).

In the US they releave you of the note and give you a receipt.