Traders become savvy over fake banknotes

JAKARTA (JP): Circulation of a large number of fake banknotes in the markets here has forced traders to teach themselves to recognize the bogus notes.

Interviewed separately on Monday, some reported that they had been cheated with fake rupiah since last year.

But the experience, they said, has led them to become "expert" at recognizing phony notes.

Senjaya, who runs a restaurant in Cikini, Central Jakarta, recalled receiving a fake Rp 20,000 banknote from a customer.

Instead of reporting the case to the police which might have given him another problem, Senjaya simply tore the "money" and decided to forget about it, but vowed to learn from the unpleasant experience.

"Of course I suffered a financial loss, but I didn't dare to use the (fake) money again for fear of becoming involved in a criminal case.

So, I destroyed the fake money," he said.

According to Senjaya, his restaurant, which offers a wide range of local and Chinese food, has received more fake banknotes lately compared to last year.

The latest instance occurred last week when a female customer gave Senjaya a Rp 50,000 banknote that he recognized as fake.

"I returned the bogus money. I know that she had no idea about the money. She was just a victim," he said. He believes that none of his customers really intend to cheat him.

Besides his skill, self-taught after the last year's experience, Senjaya also purchased a detector to help him recognize fake banknotes.

The use of detectors also has become common for shop owners at West Jakarta's Mangga Dua shopping complexes, one of the city's busiest shopping areas.

Tansil, who owns a stationery shop, said the confiscation of billions of fake rupiahs by the Jakarta Police last week convinced him and other Mangga Dua traders to use the bogus money detector.

"I heard from some bank employees that sometimes the fake money can't even be detected by the machine.

But I still need it, because it is the first step in detecting fake money," Tansil said.

He firmly believes, however, that the most effective way to recognize phony notes is through experience and skill.

"I think those who often count cash money can be trained to naturally detect fake ones," he said.

What Tansil said is true, at least for a newspaper boy named Erman.

The 15 years old teenager said he is very worried that he will be paid with fake banknotes. Every single rupiah is important for a street vendor like him.

Therefore, he rubs every note he receives from customers.

"I first wet my fingers with saliva and then rub the cash. The color of fake bills will be faded," Tansil said.

He said he was among the lucky newspaper boys that have yet to receive phony banknotes from customers.

According to experienced staff at money changer kiosks and banks, the fake money usually has a waxier touch, is slightly smaller than the genuine ones, and the color can be easily faded.

The use of detector machines is helpful, although in several cases the tools could not detect the fake bills.

But small traders like Maman, who runs a newspaper stall at Kota railway station in West Jakarta, do not have the resources to buy such gadgets for their small businesses.

They must rely on their skill.

Meanwhile, selling detector machines has become good business for some.

A shop attendant at ITC Mangga Dua shopping center, Iis, said that her shop sold an average of five detectors per day with prices varying from Rp 75,000 to Rp 300,000.

"My boss always follows the news. When the story of fake money appeared several times last year, he decided to stop selling water dispensers and start selling money detectors," she said. (ind)