When the paper can't be trusted?
Counterfeit-money problem hits small towns, causing headaches
By Lucinda Harper THE WALL STREET JOURNAL <MAILTO:NEWS@INTERACTIVE.WSJ.COM>
ROCKY MOUNT, N.C., July 24 — On a busy Monday in May, a white van pulled up in the Madison Seafood drive-thru here to pick up an order of fried fish. The driver paid with a $100 bill and was on his way.
THAT SAME DAY, a group of friends sat in the Madison Seafood dining room and paid for their food using a $100 bill, too. Both bills were fake, and Madison Seafood owner Seung Ro had to eat the loss. “We have gotten bad money before, but I couldn’t believe I had gotten two in one day from two groups of people,” says Mr. Ro. “You wonder how much is out there.” A lot of other people are wondering that, too. The problem of counterfeit money, long a concern in cities such as Miami, Los Angeles and New York, is spreading to small-town America and giving store owners, bank tellers and police officers grief. In Liberal, Kan., a wave of shopkeepers recently reported to police receiving counterfeit bills. Here in Rocky Mount, police detectives are (cont)
msnbc.com |
