It's getting difficult to break a Bt1,000 (S$41) banknote these days. Small-scale vendors are refusing to take them, spooked by the number of fake Bt1,000 banknotes found lately.

'No change'

Part of the problem is that the fakes look so real.

"As soon as I produced a Bt1,000 note, the fruit seller told me she didn't have enough money to give me change," an office worker complained.

To avoid turning away a regular customer, the vendor asked nearby stall owners whether they had any smaller notes to exchange for the Bt1,000.

A resounding "No" was the answer.

The office worker said she decided to drop by an Se-Ed bookstore to break the note.

"I had to go book shopping to get useable denominations," she fumed, after paying Bt200 at the bookstore.

Another office worker, "Tai", says she's had to get streetwise.

"I know that most small-scale vendors are worried about counterfeit notes, so I make sure that I have small denominations for payment," she says.

A diner reports that a restaurant recently asked him to pay by credit card after he handed over two Bt1,000 notes.

"It's okay. I understand that the restaurant owner doesn't want to take the risk," he said.

Can ATMs be fooled?

Some people are even worried about the possibility of receiving fake notes from ATMs.

"That possibility is nil," Thai Bankers' Association secretary general Thawatchai Yongkittikul insists. "Banks have effective systems to detect counterfeit notes. Our automatic machines can distinguish the fake from the authentic too."

Members of the general public are being asked to look out for the forgeries.

How to spot one

According to a Bangkok Bank source, notes with serial numbers starting 9A650 and 2D150 should be examined carefully. - THE NATION/ ASIA NEWS NETWORK