Can banks really dispense counterfeit money? What should we do if we receive counterfeit money from a bank?
Logically speaking, banks are places that deal with "money" and are legally designated for depositing and withdrawing cash. The probability of receiving counterfeit money is extremely low. However, in real life, many people have reported finding counterfeit bills after withdrawing money from banks. So, what is going on here?
Let's start with a case:
A lawyer withdrew 500 yuan from a bank ATM, but when he tried to make a purchase, he was informed that one of the bills was counterfeit. He approached the bank, which not only denied the claim but also confiscated the counterfeit bill.
How could he tolerate this? As a lawyer, he had to use legal means to protect his rights, so he filed a lawsuit against the bank.
After the court's deliberation, the bank was found not liable, and the loss was borne by the lawyer, who also had to bear the litigation costs.
The reason is quite simple: the lawyer believed that after withdrawing money from the bank, it had not passed through anyone else's hands, had been in his wallet all along, and had not left his sight when he made the payment, so the counterfeit money must have come from the bank.
The evidence provided by the bank played a crucial role in the judgment of this case, which was the "serial number" of the banknote.Speaking of serial numbers, many people might not be familiar with them. Simply put, they are the series of numbers located at the bottom left corner on the front of each banknote. While many people may not pay much attention to them, these numbers are extremely important, akin to the identification number on a Chinese yuan bill, serving as a unique identifier for each note.
In recent years, in response to regulatory requirements, all banking equipment that handles currency must have the capability to store "serial numbers." This includes devices such as currency counters and ATMs. The implication is that any money entering or leaving the bank, when processed by the aforementioned equipment, will automatically record and save the serial number of each banknote, along with key information such as the amount, time, and serial number.
Therefore, when the lawyer withdrew money from the ATM, the bank's storage device had already recorded and stored the serial numbers and other key information of the five hundred-yuan bills he withdrew. Consequently, when the lawyer approached the bank, they only needed to verify whether the system's stored serial number information matched the information of the counterfeit bill to easily determine if the banknote originated from the bank.
The reality was that after the bank checked the five banknotes, they did not find any information matching the counterfeit bill presented by the lawyer. Naturally, this crucial evidence was later provided to the court. Based on these key pieces of evidence, the court ruled in favor of the bank and against the lawyer.
Can't the bank tamper with the system records privately?
On this point, I believe it is necessary to enlighten everyone that many of the bank's devices are quite specialized, with their procurement, maintenance, upgrades, and disposal processes operated by professional companies with relevant business qualifications. Any operation is subject to strict requirements, not to mention the storage of such critical information as "serial numbers," which is not allowed to be modified by anyone. From a regulatory perspective, it is also strictly prohibited.
Thus, through the above analysis, it is not difficult to see that banks, as professional financial institutions, are very rigorous in their operations, whether from the perspective of regulatory bodies or the bank's own rules and regulations. Therefore, the probability of counterfeit money appearing is minimal, and everyone can rest assured.Where did this lawyer's counterfeit money come from, then?
I suspect that it's highly likely they were given the counterfeit money when making a purchase, and such incidents are not uncommon in real life. The skillful sleight of hand by some merchants makes it difficult for many people to notice, and those who have been deceived often end up blaming the bank, believing that they withdrew counterfeit money from the bank. Ultimately, a "big pot" of responsibility is firmly placed on the bank's shoulders.
So, to avoid the embarrassing situation of encountering counterfeit money in our daily lives, it's better to use non-cash payment methods whenever possible.
Is it possible for banks to issue counterfeit money? Have you ever experienced withdrawing counterfeit money?
We welcome your comments and discussions on this topic.
