Malaysians Warned of FAKE RM100 Notes That’s Being Used, Especially in Penang

Counterfeit notes are nothing new in Malaysia as there are still unscrupulous people who will try to pass off fake money when buying things. A recent case in Georgetown, Penang, has everyone on high alert after a man dressed in a black T-shirt and black cap used a fake RM100 bill when buying a cup of beverage.

According to Oriental Daily, the incident happened on Monday night (October 28) at around 8pm when the man ordered an RM15 mango-flavoured drink. At that time, the shop staff said that he was distracting her by asking about other drinks in the store and she was busy with other customers and did not realise until it was too late. 

She took his fake RM100 bill without thinking much about it and gave him RM85 in return. It didn’t occur to her that she had been cheated until staff from a pharmacy and another drink store approached her store and asked her whether the man had bought anything from her.

The staff quickly opened the cash register and found the counterfeit note, but as the culprit had already left by then, she could only chalk it up to bad luck. She added that she will be making a police report on Friday (November 1) as she was going out of the country for a business trip and warns others to be careful of this man.

The pharmacist told the daily that the man had wanted to buy some skincare products that cost RM13.80. He had given the staff a piece of RM100 and another RM5 while paying and he felt that this was rather odd. He said that if he had only given her RM100, he probably might not have noticed.

After checking the note, he discovered that it did not have the security thread on it and felt very smooth, unlike a real note. He informed the scammer that the note was probably fake and the man looked shocked, saying that he wasn’t aware, as it was part of the salary given to him by his boss.

The man then hurried out of the store, saying that he would check with his boss but the pharmacist realised that it wasn’t an honest mistake after he saw the man purchasing a drink from the nearby store. He went over to check it out and another staff from a cafe nearby said that the man had tried to use the fake RM100 bill there as well.

The cafe staff said that she was extra careful as this was the second time she had encountered counterfeit notes and she felt that the fake RM100 was too smooth. The man had ordered a drink and a doughnut that cost less than RM15 and tried to pay. It is believed that the man would try to buy items that cost less than RM15 so that he can cheat the shops into giving him real money. Shop owners and staff are warned to be careful, especially in the Penang area as the man is still at large.

Stay alert and be careful so that you won’t fall prey to these fake money scams!