Newsflash: ATM's in China can't tell real money from fake

Security cameras at an ATM belonging to the Agricultural Bank of China in Zhengzhou, the Henan provincial capital, have captured a crime in action committed by a (not too intelligent) young man in a suit. Upon withdrawing some cash, the man did not take his money immediately, but instead swapped one of the RMB100 notes with a fake one from his pocket and, if we're understanding this correctly, fed it back into the machine and got a new note in exchange for it! The ATM, like many other ATM's across China could not tell real notes from fake notes. Bank employees, on finding the fake note, immediately made a police report, and the young man was nabbed on his next attempt to trick the ATM. The young man told police that he had heard from his friends that ATM's would take in fake notes and give new ones in return and so proceeded to try his luck. The police spokesperson said this guy was guilty of "severely disrupting the banking and financial system of our nation".

Still no word there on what we should do if we get fake notes from the machine — something that has happened to quite a few unfortunate people around us.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@shanghaiist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

Comments [rss]