Is the money in your wallet real?
By Georgia Campion-Lougoon
Fast food giants in the southern suburbs are the target of fraudsters who have been increasingly handing over smaller denominations of fake notes.
Jessica Nixon, a manager at Hungry Jack’s Myaree, says while $50 and $100 bills were once the most common counterfeit notes handed over the counter, there has been a hike in customers attempting to pay with $20 notes and less.
“I haven’t personally seen any fake notes other than $50’s and $100’s, but I do know that we have refused to accept payment because the note was fake.”
“People pretend that they didn’t know the note was fake, they say that they got it from the shop down the road or the ATM,” Ms. Nixon said. “Sometimes they take it back and drive straight off. And some are genuinely shocked.”
Ms. Nixon says Hungry Jack’s has suffered profit loss as a result of these fraudulent notes.
“I reckon in the last six months we’ve had maybe a few hundred dollars in fake notes come through.”
“We call the police, we try and confiscate the money and hand it over to them. And we have CCTV which we give to the police. They try and identify the customer with the fake money,”
If you’re unsure whether or not the notes in your wallet are real, the RBA suggests to check more than one feature of the note.
The note should be difficult to tear and should spring back when scrunched up, and the value of the note should be embossed on the clear window of the note and should not rub off.
The Australian Federal Police recommend handing in any counterfeit notes to your local police or to the AFP, along with details on how you received the money.