Day: March 9, 2004

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aqtest.html

My score was 15

Payoff from $1 million bill is forgery charge

Heres a quick tip: If you are going to try and pass off fake money, you might want to first think about using a denomination that is actually made by the U.S. Treasury Department. Ranked by officers of the Covington Police Department (CPD) as of one of biggest boneheaded moves ever, a Porterdale woman allegedly tried to pay for more than $1,600 in merchandise at the Covington Wal-Mart Friday with a $1 million bill. While using counterfeit money is a serious crime that carries stiff penalties, CPD officers interviewed couldnt help but laugh and shake their heads in amazement.

According to the report, when the clerk was handed the bogus bill, she called over store manager Marshall Hunt who immediately recognized the bill as a fake. Apparently unfazed by the setback, Pike then allegedly tried to pay for the items with two Wal-Mart gift cards that had a combined total worth of $2.32. Still $1,598 short, Pike reportedly then asked Hunt if he could cash the bill, which the manager quickly refused to do.

Counterfeiting is a generations-old practice that has become harder to detect in recent years with advances in computer design and printing technology.
In this case, however, the fake bill was easy to detect, mainly because a $1 million bill has never been produced. According to the Treasury Departments Web site, the infamous $1 million dollar was created in 1982 when a Canadian firm began to sell the note for $1 as a collectors item. In fact, the fake bill created such a stir that the Secret Service actually investigated the case as a possible threat to national security.

A threat to national security???? Give me a friggin' break! The biggest threat to US security are all the dumbasses south of the canadian border…

Original link here: http://www.citizenonline.net/citizen/archive/article3A17C437A15D4A0FB28ECDFCECD59647.asp