Steven Halley recalls a talkative gentleman in his late 30s at the cashier's window who bought a single ticket to see the play "The Magic Man" at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center in April.
But, it wasn't until the Carpenter Center's assistant ticket manager went to deposit the theater-goer's $100 traveler's check that Halley thought twice about him.
This was when he realized why the man used the $100 check to make a small $20 purchase - he received $80 cash back, on a purchase made with counterfeit money.
After contacting the University Police, Halley called his colleagues at The Pyramid, who soon realized they had received a $20 counterfeit traveler's check before they had a chance to make their routine bank deposit.
The Pyramid and Carpenter Center have not been the only victims of counterfeiting schemes on campus. In April, May and June the Forty Niner Shops Inc. received a couple of fake $20s and three fake $5 bills, said Fred Neely, director of the University Bookstore. Bookstore corporate office employees, who handle the accounting for both the Bookstore and the Shops, recognized that the bills were not real.
Also in April or May, Parking and Transportation Services reported that a combination of bills totaling about $50 in counterfeit had been deposited in campus change machines, said Thomas Bass, Senior Director of Parking and Transportation Services.
The machines, which are by the McIntosh Humanities Building facing 7th Street and in Lot A near the Administration Building, are primarily used to convert bills to change for use at nearby parking meters. The counterfeit bills were recognized during routine removal of money from the machines by employees.
Enrollment Services, too, has received about $100 in counterfeit money this year, said Scott Brown, University Police investigator.
The University Police is concerned that counterfeit currency is increasingly being passed in smaller bill amounts. "As printers and computers get better, counterfeiting goes up. It used to be $100s and $20s - now we're down to $5s," said Investigator Scott Brown.
The cases were turned over to the U.S. Secret Service, the proper jurisdiction for counterfeiting cases, Lieutenant Judith King said.
A new $20 bill was unveiled last month by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington, said Debbie Rockwell, its public affairs specialist. The new design, intended to protect the integrity of U.S. currency, has previously been used for new $100 and $50 bills.
The BEP hopes to continue to redesign a new bill of decreasing denomination each year with a more fraud-resistant design - including a special imprint, commonly known as a "ghost," which cannot be duplicated on a copy machine, Rockwell said.
Though they have not received specific training guidelines from the university about how to identify counterfeit money, campus departments and vendors now keep more of a watchful eye on the money they receive. The University Police has also circulated a memorandum with a copy of a counterfeit $20 bill, said Jeff Giacomi, ticket manager for The Pyramid.
When the university approved the purchase of two new change machines, PTS sent one of its technicians directly to the supplier to ensure that the bogus bills received earlier would be rejected, said Bass. The new machines, which are extra-sensitive in detecting counterfeit bills, withstood the scrutiny and the university bought them for a total of about $700. PTS has not had further incidents since their installation this summer.
The Pyramid receives travelers checks normally for the bigger events it holds - about five times a year, Giacomi said, who recalls the counterfeit $20 traveler's check being used for the purchase of a Sting Rays game ticket.
"The counterfeit traveler's check we received was clean and smooth, as a regular sheet of paper is; rather than having somewhat of a "fibery" feel that traveler's checks normally have," Giacomi said.
"We've instituted a policy whereby anyone who issues a traveler's check, whether it's an in-state or out-of-state check, must provide identification with a name and address," Giacomi said. "When employees are first hired they receive some training about counterfeiting." When the counterfeit traveler's check was received, only a signature identification was required.
The Carpenter Center uses pens that detect counterfeit money, which cost $4 to $10. "We have pens for the bills, but for a traveler's check, it is hard to determine. Pens mark the bills and it shows yellow if the bill is real, and if it is a copy, it turns black," Halley said. "We use it mainly for the larger bills, like $50 and up."
Bookstore cashiers are told the basics of what to look for in a bill and are also given the special pens that can indicate if bills are counterfeit, Neely said. "Counterfeiting is now easier with the proliferation of color copiers and laser printers," said Neely. "Luckily, most of our customers and students are fairly honest - there are just a few bad apples."