Oman Tourist caught with fake Dollar Bill at South Pattaya Bank

[webfact]

Oman Tourist caught with fake Dollar Bill at South Pattaya Bank



PATTAYA: -- A 39 year old tourist from the Sultanate of Oman was lucky to avoid prosecution on Monday Night after he presented a fake 100 US Dollar Bill at a South Pattaya Bank which he attempted to exchange for Thai Baht.

Police were called to the South Pattaya branch of the Bank of Ayudhya after the tourist, named as Mr. Khalid Mohamed Saif Al Ghammari, presented 4 One Hundred Dollar Bills at the bank and upon close inspection, one of them was found to be fake.

Police escorted the tourist to his Hotel room where further Dollar Bills were found but were all genuine bank notes.

Full story: http://www.pattayaone.net/pattaya-news/109410/oman-tourist-caught-fake-dollar-bill-south-pattaya-bank/


-- Pattaya One 2013-11-19

[Patje]

Are we going to have an article in the paper every time they discover a fake banknote ?

Interesting reading !!!!

[prighas]

Everyone seems to have believed his story - yet he's featured on a daily newspaper. Gone is his reputation in his country.

[Chang_paarp]

Is the Omani the one wearing the fake Porsche shirt? Or is that a cop?

[Tycoon]

The real $100 bills were kept by the Police for further analysis.

[canopus1969]

With the number of fake $100 bills around it's more a case of spot the real one

[SOTIRIOS]

..so will they try to trace it.....or since they can't nab a foreigner....there is no way they will pursue Thai guilty parties.....???

[silent]

Are we going to have an article in the paper every time they discover a fake banknote ?

Interesting reading !!!!

Why not? Whats the difference between this and the front page news about an alleged stat rapist, except we hear the rebuttal evidence before he's hung by the nuts until dead, for being wanted inThaiiand by the FBI for investigation.

Much more amusing yet not a mention of asia..........yet? http://video.us.msn.com/watch/video/toronto-police-announce-huge-child-porn-operation-bust/2qiaz96vu

[OMGImInPattaya]

Anyone is in danger of inadvertently passing a fake banknote as there are many good ones in circulation. How many of us carefully check all the bamk notes, both foreign and local, that we receive daily or could even tell a decent fake from a real note. What really sucks is that in general, at least in the USA, unless there is suspicion of serious criminal intent, the bank or business will legally confiscate the offending note without any compensation to the note holder.

Edited November 19, 2013 by OMGImInPattaya

[Colabamumbai]

Happened to me while living in Mexico, I received a fake 50 Peso note and did not know until I went to pass it.

They told me it was fake. I had been living and working there for years.

I passed it on at a later date. 50 Pesos about $5.00 at the time.

[Frank James]

The last series of 100 USD notes looked cheap and fake to me. I purchased four at a local Chiang Mai exchange booth. They were so new they almost stuck together, and the serial numbers were consecutive. I was worried enough about these that the next day I took them to a different exchange booth and asked them if they thought they were fake. The booth lady said they were genuine. I used them in the US and they were gladly accepted.

The new series looks like it will be much harder to counterfeit, and is a much better looking design. With the steady cheapening of the dollar, I am surprised there are not $500 and $1000 notes in mass circulation.

What will happen to the pallets of old ill-gotten notes possessed by the drug cartels? They might have a lot of trouble passing those on. Visions of the pile of cash Walter "Heisenberg" White had at the end of Breaking Bad, or Johnny Depp's stash o' cash in Blow.

[dauu]

THE NEW 100 $ BILLS

[Loles]

Is the Omani the one wearing the fake Porsche shirt? Or is that a cop?

I guess must to be the cop. These 2 handsome guys from back probably the Kasikorn workers.

[OMGImInPattaya]

The last series of 100 USD notes looked cheap and fake to me. I purchased four at a local Chiang Mai exchange booth. They were so new they almost stuck together, and the serial numbers were consecutive. I was worried enough about these that the next day I took them to a different exchange booth and asked them if they thought they were fake. The booth lady said they were genuine. I used them in the US and they were gladly accepted.

The new series looks like it will be much harder to counterfeit, and is a much better looking design. With the steady cheapening of the dollar, I am surprised there are not $500 and $1000 notes in mass circulation.

What will happen to the pallets of old ill-gotten notes possessed by the drug cartels? They might have a lot of trouble passing those on. Visions of the pile of cash Walter "Heisenberg" White had at the end of Breaking Bad, or Johnny Depp's stash o' cash in Blow.

At least in the USA, any federal reserve note (US currency) ever printed/issued remains legal tender forever. I have read about some countries wherein when new currency notes are issued, there is a limited window for holders of the old currency to exchange them for equivalent new ones. Usually this happens in third world banana republic type countries and the USA has not quite reached that stage yet.

Those new $100 notes look pretty cool... Will be stateside next month and looking to pick me up $5000 or so of them.

[thailandbeachisland]

Ridiculous ?

So if we are given a fake $100 and try to change it without knowing we will be jailed ? So lucky that I have never been caught by intentionally changing so many fakes that I had been given in my life...

The guy is stupid enough to wait that the police arrives? Evidence that he is not a gangster...

[tropo]

I must say the staff in these money changers are very observant. I couldn't get a $50 Australian note changed because someone had drawn spectacles and a mustache with a pen on the figurehead. I took it to another money changer hidden in a stack of 20 other notes and they found it and handed it back. They carefully checked each side of each note. In the end I gave it to a friend to take back to Oz.

Edited November 19, 2013 by tropo

[OMGImInPattaya]

I must say the staff in these money changers are very observant. I couldn't get a $50 Australian note changed because someone had drawn spectacles and a mustache with a pen on the figurehead. I took it to another money changer hidden in a stack of 20 other notes and they found it and handed it back. They carefully checked each side of each note. In the end I gave it to a friend to take back to Oz.

Exactly...because with fake bank notes, it's like a game of musical chairs, with the last person caught holding the note when the music stops loosing the bill and is out of pocket the amount.

[thrilled]

It's been reported there have been banks in the US that have passed counterfeit bills.They didn't know they we're fake.That's why they have new ones.The old ones were getting to easy to counterfeit.

[Bagwan]

Interesting that the 100$ bill says 'In God we trust'. So the US won't be needing all those armaments then?

Thankfully the UK doesn't subscribe to such nonsense or the Muslims would be out on the streets.

[PeterSmiles]

The last series of 100 USD notes looked cheap and fake to me. I purchased four at a local Chiang Mai exchange booth. They were so new they almost stuck together, and the serial numbers were consecutive. I was worried enough about these that the next day I took them to a different exchange booth and asked them if they thought they were fake. The booth lady said they were genuine. I used them in the US and they were gladly accepted.

The new series looks like it will be much harder to counterfeit, and is a much better looking design. With the steady cheapening of the dollar, I am surprised there are not $500 and $1000 notes in mass circulation.

What will happen to the pallets of old ill-gotten notes possessed by the drug cartels? They might have a lot of trouble passing those on. Visions of the pile of cash Walter "Heisenberg" White had at the end of Breaking Bad, or Johnny Depp's stash o' cash in Blow.

I thought every new dollar bill currently printed was a fake.

[gjoo888]

It's been reported there have been banks in the US that have passed counterfeit bills.They didn't know they we're fake.That's why they have new ones.The old ones were getting to easy to counterfeit.

It happened to me once, I cashed a check at a Bank of America and took the money directly to my bank to deposit the money. The teller told me that one of the $100 notes was fake and by law they have to call the Secret Service, and asked if I would stick around to file a report, which I did.

The Secret Service had the local police handle the case, and when the police showed up they threw me up against a wall and handcuffed me right in the lobby of the bank. My bank manager went bonkers and screamed at the police to take off the handcuffs.

I lost the $100 and went to the bank that gave me the fake note, and of course they denied everything.

[OMGImInPattaya]

It's been reported there have been banks in the US that have passed counterfeit bills.They didn't know they we're fake.That's why they have new ones.The old ones were getting to easy to counterfeit.

It happened to me once, I cashed a check at a Bank of America and took the money directly to my bank to deposit the money. The teller told me that one of the $100 notes was fake and by law they have to call the Secret Service, and asked if I would stick around to file a report, which I did.

The Secret Service had the local police handle the case, and when the police showed up they threw me up against a wall and handcuffed me right in the lobby of the bank. My bank manager went bonkers and screamed at the police to take off the handcuffs.

I lost the $100 and went to the bank that gave me the fake note, and of course they denied everything.

Wow...that would have freaked me out...would have sued those pig bastards!

But anyone is vulnerable to this when obtaining cash...especially larger bills and amounts for travel. I'm always mildly amused on my infrequent return trips to America wherein I often use large denomination notes ( 50 and 100s) to pay for meals and shopping and the clerks almost don't know what to do with them. they look at them like they've never seen large denomination notes before. Of course, I always have to throw in my joke of just having printed them. In Asia, it still mostly a cash society, even for large purchases so no one looks twice when one hands over 20 or 30 1000 baht notes to pay for something ($700-1000).

[cup-O-coffee]

More police incompetence. Bank also. You cannot (except in Thailand) charge someone with a crime, when the crime cannot be proven, and additionally the evidence does not support the suspicion or the accusation. Apparently the bank and the police see otherwise (no surprise there as it is a foreigner who crossed the microscopically thin line).

Moreover, if a person is trying to exchange a phony bill, he or she usually will not walk in to a bank and try this.

Did the police check the Thai baht notes at the bank for being counterfeit? The lack of probable cause, the the extreme and lunatic "circumstantial" reasoning they use only points to racism in my view; unless the reporter is yet again leaving out critical details which might make this story a bit more substantive, and lend credit as to how and why a man from Oman is trying to somehow "make a big score" at a national bank with one single 100 dollar note.

Now it makes me feel like every time I get a 100 dollar note, I should walk in to a bank and ask them to tell me if it is fake or not, so they do not naturally assume that I am a foreign criminal, attempting to exchange counterfeit notes at their bank - rather than instead being a hapless victim of someone who should not have to be responsible for knowing a counterfeit one from a real one, and being dragged through a rude and biased gauntlet of idiots and their skewed, biased thinking.

[OMGImInPattaya]

More police incompetence. Bank also. You cannot (except in Thailand) charge someone with a crime, when the crime cannot be proven, and additionally the evidence does not support the suspicion or the accusation. Apparently the bank and the police see otherwise (no surprise there as it is a foreigner who crossed the microscopically thin line).

Moreover, if a person is trying to exchange a phony bill, he or she usually will not walk in to a bank and try this.

Did the police check the Thai baht notes at the bank for being counterfeit? The lack of probable cause, the the extreme and lunatic "circumstantial" reasoning they use only points to racism in my view; unless the reporter is yet again leaving out critical details which might make this story a bit more substantive, and lend credit as to how and why a man from Oman is trying to somehow "make a big score" at a national bank with one single 100 dollar note.

Now it makes me feel like every time I get a 100 dollar note, I should walk in to a bank and ask them to tell me if it is fake or not, so they do not naturally assume that I am a foreign criminal, attempting to exchange counterfeit notes at their bank - rather than instead being a hapless victim of someone who should not have to be responsible for knowing a counterfeit one from a real one, and being dragged through a rude and biased gauntlet of idiots and their skewed, biased thinking.

I think you need to cut down on the coffee.

[besth]

..so will they try to trace it.....or since they can't nab a foreigner....there is no way they will pursue Thai guilty parties.....???

What Thai guilty parties??? The Oman guy said he had been given the fake bill in a bank in Dubai without his knowledge, most likely true.

The staff at the exchange counter did their job. The tourist was screwed and lost 100$ but nobody's fault, other than the Dubai bank.

[OMGImInPattaya]

..so will they try to trace it.....or since they can't nab a foreigner....there is no way they will pursue Thai guilty parties.....???

What Thai guilty parties??? The Oman guy said he had been given the fake bill in a bank in Dubai without his knowledge, most likely true.

The staff at the exchange counter did their job. The tourist was screwed and lost 100$ but nobody's fault, other than the Dubai bank.

It sucks...it's very possible he unknowingly received a counterfeit note but as stated on the USA Treasury Dept. website:

"Every person or business that receives a counterfeit note experiences a real economic loss. If you accept a counterfeit note, it cannot be exchanged for a genuine note, and it is illegal to knowingly pass a counterfeit note."

I don't know the protocol in foreign countries in these cases (e.g., who makes the determination a note is fake, at least in cases where the accused denies its a fake and its a "good" copy that may in fact be a genuine note). in America, the bank or business who suspects a note is counterfeit may confiscate the note, secure it, and contact the police or secret service. These authorities will determine the notes validity and if it's genuine it will be returned to the original note holder or if a fake keep it for destruction. The bank or business has no authority to detain the suspect but are advised to delay their departure if possible and to note their physical description and any vehicle they may be using.

Obviously, the economic incentive is to pass it off on someone else...preferably not a bank or money exchange business.

Edited November 21, 2013 by OMGImInPattaya

[punisher]

How about if the money was not faked and police and bank share the 400$?What can u do as a tourist if bank and police work together?

[OMGImInPattaya]

How about if the money was not faked and police and bank share the 400$?What can u do as a tourist if bank and police work together?

I would think if it is a foreign currency one was exchanging to baht and the cashier questions the validity of the note (and assuming, arguendo, that it was a decent forgery and not an obvious fake) the cashier and the Thai authorities would have no jurisdiction to either confiscate the note(s) or the person trying to exchange it. Of course, they could certainly refuse to exchange it.

However, all nations have a strong interest in not allowing counterfeit currencies of any type to enter their banking systems so maybe there is some mechanism whereby suspected currency presented for exchange or goods purchase can be held (with receipt given) until a determination is made by a competent Thai or diplomatic authority as to its genuineness.

So if in fact the notes were genuine but for whatever reason they could not be exchanged, they would not have to be handed over to any Thai authorities. Interesting question though. Of course, if the situation were reversed (exchanging baht to foreign currency) it would be exactly the opposite, and maybe then there would be money to share.

Edited November 22, 2013 by OMGImInPattaya