Job Discussion Forums

[Flo]

Someone asked me a question about banks in Peru. Specifically, he wanted to know how one gets robbed by a bank. I will post the reply here so everyone can read it.

I have 3 specific examples of people getting robbed by banking institutions in Peru.

1. A fellow teacher-friend of mine opened a bank account to keep his money in. We were paid in cash every month and he took the cash to the bank to put it in his account. Since there are so many fake bills in Peru, we counted and inspected all the money carefully before leaving the payroll office. On one occasion, my friend took his carefully counted and inspected money to the back and the teller recounted the money UNDER THE COUNTER, after which she told him he had less money than he intended to deposit. He had seen her put some paper under the counter top, which he assumed was the missing money. She of course denied all of it, got up, and probably took the stolen money with her. When she came back with the supervisor, her cubicle was searched but the missing money never turned up (as she had probably already put it in her purse or shared it with her supervisor).

2. A month later, the same friend went back to the bank to deposit his carefully counted and inspected money. The teller switched one of the 100 soles bills with another bill, and then told my friend it was counterfeit and that he would have to confiscate it. I do have to put part of the blame my friend since he could have acted a little more aware and diligent. In any event, the following weekend my friend saw the same bank teller at the beach. This guy was with his friends boasting about how evil foreigners are and how they deserve to be taken advantage of and treated badly. It leaves little doubt in my mind that this guy probably changes fake bills with real ones all the time. The bank tellers aren�t paid too well and perhaps he sees it necessary to help his income.

3. A different friend of mine went to the ATM machine to take out 400 soles (about $115 USD). She got four 100 sol bills. One of them was obviously fake. The paper was very heavy and the ink was a different color. She was unable to spend it. The employees at the bank had to have put it in the machine knowing it was bad (it was that obvious).

This happens on the street in Peru too, not only at the bank. Vendors give false or torn money to the foreigners thinking they will not know it is unspendable (as many of them don�t). Torn bills, or bills with tape on them, are not accepted in most places. In Chiclayo, no one accepts one sol coins from 2000 (and sometimes 2001) since there were so many fake coins from these years. Very strange.

If you have any more questions, please ask!
Flo

[rezzie]

So Flo, do you think a better option would just be to avoid banks if possible? I'm going to be teaching at U. Nacional de Trujillo soon.

Also, do you know of any good references where one can study an authentic bill so as to better detect fakes? i.e. are there pictures online?

[portochuck]

I dont know about Peru...But I live in Brazil...I do know that some of the banks pay their tellers very little.....But let me say this about your friend.....I would change banks.....Then I would find an American Bank to do biz with....

this is my two cents...and Im sticking to it.

[naturegirl321]

Hey, I have a bank account with Banco Nacional de Peru and have been banking there for a year and never had problems. I just maybe it depends on the bank.

[Ben Round de Bloc]

Do people use marker pens with special "ink" to detect bogus bills where you are? Those pens are quite commonly used in banks, money-exchange places, and big stores in the city where I live. I'm not sure how the pens work, or if they work on currency from all countries.

I might add that I've seen them in ads on the Internet, and they're relatively inexpensive to buy.

[Flo]

I think BNP was the bank my friend had his account at. I don't remember for sure. Opening the account was like pulling teeth and, because of this, opening an account at a different bank wasn't really an option.

Respond to Rezzie's question, I would say that not having a bank account is a better option. I kept my money locked in a closet in the bedroom. I doubt the locks would have kept anyone out. The house, however, had a maid, a doberman, fully barred windows, and 3 locked doors to enter. I should also add that while living in Peru, I sent thousands of dollars back to the US using the Peruvian postal system. I never had any problems with the money. This shows the lack of confidence I had in the bank.

Identifying false money can be easy or simple, depending on the quality of the money. One sol coins are most easily identified as fake by their unusally color, or sometimes the design on the coin is slightly off center. Also, the letters in "UN SOL" sometimes come out distorted. Two and five sole coins are magnetic. If they don't stick to a magnet, they are fake. Taxi drivers carry a magnet in their cars.

Bills are a different matter all together. Sometimes the ink will be a different color, or maybe the paper will be too light, too heavy, or too rough, etc. Most of the bills have little sparkly dots on one side. You will see merchants peeling the dots off. If the dots come off easily and leave a colorless mark underneath, the bill is good. If the paper rips when the dot is removed, the bill is rejected.
I think I have said this before, but don't accept any ripped bills or bills that have tape on them.

[portochuck]

Ive seen fake money in Brazil, and the quality sucks....sometime the money looks like the copied it from a printer....with regular paper....and its strange because some people take it....but when they goto the bank...the bank doesnt. So the people take it to the stores and spend it...Yes some store will take it....strange...(Not all stores...you have to find the ones that dont look at the money...gas stations are bad at this..)