# Counterfeit Bills & Exchanging Money in General



## MissThing (Nov 12, 2015)

Okay, today I learned that I gave a counterfeit bill to someone recently in the area where I live. I am, needless to say, deeply ashamed. The person who told me said that she knew that I bought a lot of street food and the vendors on the street pass counterfeit money quite often. She said that I should pay street merchants with coins and exact amounts only. 

Has anyone had this happen? She also told me that the counterfeit bills feel soft like tissues. I don't know if I'm up for a confrontation with anyone who has handed me a tissue like peso bill, however. 

A few hours ago I bought something that the man in the store rang up for $18.10 but only gave me a peso change. Would it have been petty to have asked him for the 90 centavos he owed me? Is it normal to not give people exact change here or am I getting this treatment because I'm a foreigner?


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

MissThing said:


> A few hours ago I bought something that the man in the store rang up for $18.10 but only gave me a peso change. Would it have been petty to have asked him for the 90 centavos he owed me? Is it normal to not give people exact change here or am I getting this treatment because I'm a foreigner?


He should have given you the correct change. And, no, it would not have been petty to ask for it. As far as being treated this way because you're a foreigner, I can only say it's never happened to me in Mexico City.


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## joaquinx (Jul 3, 2010)

Even in some supermarkets, the checkers ignore the centavos and deal in whole pesos only. I have heard that they donate the overages to some charities. Who knows! I guess you could have received a 50 centavo coin and two 20 centavos coins, but I really doubt that the owner even have 20 centavo coins in the till. 90 centavos in almost 5¢, so you didn't lose much. Superama give change down to the 10 centavo coin. Not wanting this, I give those coins plus a bit more to the baggers.


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## michmex (Jul 15, 2012)

MissThing said:


> Okay, today I learned that I gave a counterfeit bill to someone recently in the area where I live. I am, needless to say, deeply ashamed. The person who told me said that she knew that I bought a lot of street food and the vendors on the street pass counterfeit money quite often. She said that I should pay street merchants with coins and exact amounts only.
> 
> Has anyone had this happen? She also told me that the counterfeit bills feel soft like tissues. I don't know if I'm up for a confrontation with anyone who has handed me a tissue like peso bill, however.
> 
> A few hours ago I bought something that the man in the store rang up for $18.10 but only gave me a peso change. Would it have been petty to have asked him for the 90 centavos he owed me? Is it normal to not give people exact change here or am I getting this treatment because I'm a foreigner?


Since you did not mention how much you gave the cashier it is difficult to know whether you received the correct change or not. I assume that you gave 20 Pesos to pay for your purchase. If so, you would have generally received 2 Pesos for change. Most stores tend to round up or down to the nearest Peso as a matter of convenience.

I also live in the Mexico City Metro area and seldom do I receive the actual correct Centavo change. Change (coins), especially Centavos, seems to be more rare than abundant here. This is especially true in the mercados. Some of the larger supermarkets often ASK whether you want to donate your Centavo change to whatever charity they be sponsoring at the time. I too, will generally give the Centavo change to the bagger who accumulates it and then quickly exchanges it with the cashier who then passes it on to the customer completing the cycle. 10 and 20 Centavo coins as well as 2 Peso coins and 20 peso notes are not particularly favored and tend to be passed on very quickly here.


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## Howler (Apr 22, 2013)

I'm interested in comments or insights on the counterfeited bills. Is this something to be looked for, especially in dealing with the street merchants?


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## MissThing (Nov 12, 2015)

Yeah the counterfeit thing, as it was explained to me today, is real. Everybody gets counterfeited here at one point or another...there's quite a bit of fake currency in circulation apparently....


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## Chelloveck (Sep 21, 2013)

As far as being shortchanged for centavos, that's pretty common. But some of the stores around my apartment in Mexico City will often give me a little _more_ change than I deserve, just to avoid the hassle of dealing with anything less than a whole peso. Sometimes they round up in your favor, sometimes they round down and you just lose a few centavos. Considering that one peso is worth barely more than a nickel, I don't quibble about it either way.

As to counterfeit bills, $20 and $50 peso notes are polymer, all higher denominations are standard banknote paper. If you receive a counterfeit note, you can turn it in to any major bank here, but you won't be compensated for it.


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## joaquinx (Jul 3, 2010)

Chelloveck said:


> As to counterfeit bills, $20 and $50 peso notes are polymer, all higher denominations are standard banknote paper. If you receive a counterfeit note, you can turn it in to any major bank here, but you won't be compensated for it.


I know that you can't get compensated in the US and, I believe, in any other country. If you could, you could set up your own press and print and redeem.


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## Chelloveck (Sep 21, 2013)

joaquinx said:


> I know that you can't get compensated in the US and, I believe, in any other country. If you could, you could set up your own press and print and redeem.


I once had a counterfeit quarter in the U.S. I couldn't believe anyone would bother to counterfeit a quarter, so I called the Secret Service office in Norfolk, VA, where I worked at the time. They came to my office, flipped the quarter on my desk a few times to see what it sounded like when it landed, confiscated it, and wrote me a "United States Secret Service receipt for contraband."

They told me they couldn't compensate me for the 25 cents, but that I could deduct it from my taxes if I filed the receipt with my 1040.

I told them I would just keep the receipt as a souvenir. I still have it.


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## coondawg (May 1, 2014)

May I ask who told you the bill was counterfeit ? And, what happened to it?


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

A taxi driver here took a US $100 bill that the banks wouldn't accept. My neighbor another taxi driver bought it from him cheap thinking I could change it. It didn't look right to me so I sent it to my sister in Seattle and her bank said counterfeit but didn't take it away. It's waiting for me


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## MissThing (Nov 12, 2015)

That's a question that would help me to understand the social dynamics of fake money and what people do with it that would have been interesting, but the details were respectfully avoided. I think sometimes people here squirm under the scrutiny their society as a whole is under. All the negative perceptions about it. I was just glad the two of us were able to get past the conversation quickly and move on!


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## Chelloveck (Sep 21, 2013)

MissThing said:


> That's a question that would help me to understand the social dynamics of fake money and what people do with it that would have been interesting, but the details were respectfully avoided. I think sometimes people here squirm under the scrutiny their society as a whole is under. All the negative perceptions about it. I was just glad the two of us were able to get past the conversation quickly and move on!


Unless you are the counterfeiter, there isn't much of a social stigma about passing counterfeit bills. I mean, how would you know?

There is a mandatory 12-year prison sentence in Mexico for knowingly passing counterfeit bills. But, again, who could be blamed?

It's Mexico. It all feels like play money to me.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

Chelloveck said:


> It's Mexico. It all feels like play money to me.


For some reason, I find this comment unnecessarily derogatory.


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## coondawg (May 1, 2014)

MissThing said:


> Okay, today I learned that I gave a counterfeit bill to someone recently in the area where I live. I am, needless to say, deeply ashamed. The person who told me said that she knew that I bought a lot of street food and the vendors on the street pass counterfeit money quite often. She said that I should pay street merchants with coins and exact amounts only.
> 
> Has anyone had this happen? She also told me that the counterfeit bills feel soft like tissues. I don't know if I'm up for a confrontation with anyone who has handed me a tissue like peso bill, however.
> 
> A few hours ago I bought something that the man in the store rang up for $18.10 but only gave me a peso change. Would it have been petty to have asked him for the 90 centavos he owed me? Is it normal to not give people exact change here or am I getting this treatment because I'm a foreigner?


I still do not understand how you knew it was counterfeit (how did she know) and what happened to the bill? How did she know it came from a street vendor? Did she guess? Is she an expert in counterfeit bills? Did she see it? ???


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## michmex (Jul 15, 2012)

coondawg said:


> I still do not understand how you knew it was counterfeit (how did she know) and what happened to the bill? How did she know it came from a street vendor? Did she guess? Is she an expert in counterfeit bills? Did she see it? ???


It is not difficult to detect a counterfeit note as Mexican currency has built-in anti counterfeiting features. Here is a link to the Banco de Mexico site that has short videos explaining these features for each note. You can also ask the cashiers what they are looking for as most will check the authenticity of the $200 and $500 Peso notes (and higher).

Billetes y monedas, circulación, Banco de México


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## coondawg (May 1, 2014)

michmex said:


> It is not difficult to detect a counterfeit note as Mexican currency has built-in anti counterfeiting features. Here is a link to the Banco de Mexico site that has short videos explaining these features for each note. You can also ask the cashiers what they are looking for as most will check the authenticity of the $200 and $500 Peso notes (and higher).
> 
> Billetes y monedas, circulación, Banco de México


I seek a response from the OP.


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## MissThing (Nov 12, 2015)

For anyone wanting more details, I have none to provide except to say that that I passed it seems a counterfeit bill to a family member of someone here that I know. It's very touchy stuff. There were no hard feelings expressed towards me afterwards just advice to be conscious of them and to avoid paying for stuff with large bills with street vendors as opposed to larger stores and franchises. I was also told to have exact change on me as much as possible, coins being safest. It was also pointed out to me that counterfeit bills feel soft like tissue. I'm a little paranoid about where to spend money in my neighborhood now but will just move forward with a positive outlook.

As far as 50 centavos and smaller coins that were also discussed in terms of being almost worthless, I use them for busfare. I ride a lot of buses, so they come in handy, so the next time someone doesn't give me the total change they owe me, I may ask for it as hard as I will find it!


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## ExpatEmigre (Nov 22, 2015)

Am I the only one who is somewhat suspicious of the family member of the person OP knows?
I hate to be cynical, though.


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## Howler (Apr 22, 2013)

ExpatEmigre said:


> Am I the only one who is somewhat suspicious of the family member of the person OP knows?
> I hate to be cynical, though.


Well..... the same thing kind of occurred to me, too :suspicious:


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## coondawg (May 1, 2014)

ExpatEmigre said:


> Am I the only one who is somewhat suspicious of the family member of the person OP knows?
> I hate to be cynical, though.


I've had the feeling since the original post that something was amiss. I think we have lots of reason to suspect.


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## MissThing (Nov 12, 2015)

These are really nice people. Honest. Very warm. I'm lucky to know them. It was a learning experience. I only posted this to share and pick up tips on exchanging money in general.


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## ojosazules11 (Nov 3, 2013)

I think it depends if they expected the OP to give more money to replace the suspected counterfeit bill. If they just informed her and gave her the advice about exact change with street vendors, I would not be so cynical. If it was with the intent for her to pay them again to make up for the alleged counterfeit money, I'd be more suspicious.


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## MissThing (Nov 12, 2015)

Exactly, no one asked me for anything. They're a very reserved family who own a business where I shopped one day and apparently paid for something with counterfeit currency by accident. The only reason the subject came up was because I was asking for advice on whether I should buy something in another local store using my credit card or cash. They drive and own lovely homes. Everyone should be as lucky to have such good people around them as I do while they're here.


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## ExpatEmigre (Nov 22, 2015)

Fair enough. I sort of presumed that the 'you should be careful; you gave me a counterfeit note' was a setup for asking for a replacement. I'm glad to hear that's not the case.


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## dwwhiteside (Apr 17, 2013)

A few months ago, my wife and I were at a local mall and stopped at the food court. Among the change I received was a 50 peso note. When I offered that note as payment at another merchant in the same food court, they refused to accept it and told me it was counterfeit. Their indication that this was so was that the serial numbers were flaking off.

I took the note back to the vendor that gave it to me in change, explained that their neighboring vendor would not accept it because it appeared to be counterfeit, and they gave me a replacement. Of course, I inspected it and saw that the serial numbers were all present and fully formed. I did not notice that the bill felt like soft tissue but now regularly inspect bills I receive to make sure the serial numbers do not appear to be crumbling or flaking off.


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## MissThing (Nov 12, 2015)

Mine was a 50 peso bill too I believe...


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