Funny Money Not So Funny To Money Hungry Guy

A Los Angeles resident who cashed a $1,000 money order at a local post office got a bit of an unpleasant surprise — as it turned out, his payday included eight counterfeit Benjamins, which turned out to be $5 bills that had been bleached and altered. According to the police officers who were called in when David Lipin’s bill got rejected at a gas station, holding the bills up to the light would have revealed the visage of Abe Lincoln. Would the special relationship that the Postal Service and the Federal Government have resulted in Lipin getting his money back, the Los Angeles Times wondered? “Not really. The post office operates as a business. It takes in money from customers,” a deputy special agent of the Secret Service said. “Postal workers don’t really have special equipment or training to spot counterfeit bills. Unless they’re in on it, this isn’t their responsibility.” Hmm, I don’t know — I smell something funny about this story, given that I’ve had $20 bills inspected by cashiers at Duane Reade. Either I look super-suspicious, or this is some sort of stealth campaign for the new, non-greenback $100 bill coming to a bank near you soon!