True Story: Fake Money

Sarah Brown
Aug 24, 2017 · 2 min read

This summer I worked as a camp counselor. I slaved away every day watching 24 seven-year-olds, baking in the sun while they swam and dealing with just the kind of thing that parents are paying to avoid with their own kids. All that for a pay rate that works out to about $3 an hour.

The paycheck was not much of a motivator to keep showing up for work. But there was supposed to be a little more reward in the form of tips. Finally, the last day of camp arrived. I picked up my measly paycheck and collected my tips in assorted tens, fives, and a couple of checks.

The next day I went to the bank to deposit the money. A bank visit that was supposed to take five minutes stretched into fifteen. There, I discovered I had been stiffed. I handed over the wad of cash to the bank teller who counted it. Then she recounted it. Time ticked on a she recounted for a third time. The teller looked up at me and informed me that one of the bills is counterfeit. I was shocked.

If this should ever happen to you, here’s what you can expect. The counterfeit money must be taken by the bank and passed on to the Department of Homeland Security. In other words, you’re out those $10 or whatever the amount you expected to get from that counterfeit bill. The bank teller checked the bill, checked some things on a form, and gave me one to fill out, too. I also had to initial the counterfeit bill that she had marked off.

The entire time this was happening I could only think of two things. One, I just got stiffed. Two, this’ll be a great story to tell. Even though I lost ten bucks, I came out with a great story, which may just be worth the price. Sometime you can win even when you lose.

YUNiversity Interns

Amazing Students Around the World Creating Amazing Content. Our interns’ bios can be found at http://www.TheYUNiversity.net/faculty

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Sarah Brown

Written by

Writing intern for YUNiversity, average person

YUNiversity Interns

Amazing Students Around the World Creating Amazing Content. Our interns’ bios can be found at http://www.TheYUNiversity.net/faculty

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