image from tsikot forum
This struck me and it was painful to discover that I carry a fake P200 bill in my wallet and it's a big loss for me that night when the tollgate operator in coastal road confiscated it and now I don't have any basis on how to detect if the money bill is fake or not. I paid my jeepney fare that night and used my P200 to pay 2 seats of the ride and then the driver paid the tollgate fee using my P200 bill just to get some coins and bill change for my money. Then the driver told me that my money is fake.
I was nearly sleeping that night at 1am in the morning I suddenly turned horrified and shouted "huh?! fake!" and then the driver told me that the tollgate operator confiscated it. I'm glad that I have extra money with me that night and I'm almost running short and glad that I got some hundred of bills kept in my pocket.
I wondered and tracked down where I get that fake P200 bill, then I remembered that I paid a P1000 bill to this steak restaurant in Metrowalk before we watch the Fete dela Musique 2009 that evening. I remember that the waiter gave me some change of 100 and 200 bills plus coins, because its the only P200 bill that is present that's why I remember it.
It's kinda sucks that this steak restaurant has no equipment on how to detect fake money, I know every cashier in the metro now uses this portable UV ray money bill detector thing, and looks like that this restaurant has no knowledge of how important to take care of people's money and avoid fake money coming in to their cash register.
I still have the receipt of that steak restaurant and I'm planning to call them soon and report this incident, this should be avoided and protect their customers in receiving or giving bill changes of fake money, this is one serious case and I don''t want to experience it again, I just heard that there are P1000 bill fake money are circulating now. I learned a lot from this incident and I'm now very cautious and hope that this blog post can alert everyone that the fake moneys are very active in the market.
I don't know how to detect the money if it is fake,but if you look closely to it and you might tell the difference, I searched on google.com and found some interesting tips on how to detect our pesos bill or coins if its fake, and there are lots of blog posts sharing their experience about the fake money, you can read all of it here in the fake 200 pesos bill google search
here's what we should do if to avoid this
1. check the money bill if you receive it as a change, look at the money from back and front and observe if there are some signs of fake prints or ink glitches
2. if you receive a fake bill, report it to the restaurant or cashier and told them that it is fake, demand a replacement and tell them that you will not honor it
3. if you paid something and used a fake bill, the cashier person should have a UV ray detector, ask them to show you if it is fake, and make them sure they placed a pen label with the word "FAKE" in that fake money so that you know that it is really a fake money.
4. if it is indeed fake, accept the truth and I know it is not our fault, its kinda bad of luck, but we should be thankful that it is only a slight small amount of hundred of pesos. Pay your bill with the right amout and authentic money.
5. if you possess a fake money, rip it and throw it away, or you can write a label fake and keep it at your home, so that you can have your own reference and show it to your family or friends that they should be aware of the signs embeded on the fake money.
6. if you have other tips, feel free to post here in my comments board.
