Taxi driver buys 220,000 yuan in counterfeit notes but ends up getting taken for ride
After passenger shows him fake 100 yuan banknote that looks real, cabbie hands over small fortune only to realise later he’s been duped
PUBLISHED : Sunday, 20 December, 2015, 3:13pm
UPDATED : Sunday, 20 December, 2015, 3:13pm
Laura Zhou
[email protected]
The counterfeits that fooled the taxi driver. Photo: SCMP Pictures
A taxi driver in northern China thought he could get rich by buying a wad of counterfeit banknotes but all he got was a quick trip to the police station, mainland media has reported.
The cabbie, identified only by his surname Ji, was driving around Tangshan in Hebei province in September when a “businessman” got into his taxi, Shandong TV reported.
They struck up a friendship, and the man later showed Ji a fake 100 yuan (US$15.4 or HK$120) banknote.
Ji was impressed with the quality of the fake, and later told the police he couldn’t distinguish it from genuine money.
He took a small number of the fakes and bought some fruit along with a few other items. None of the vendors were suspicious, so thinking he had hit an easy score, Ji contacted his “friend” to buy more.
They met in Dezhou, and the taxi driver handed over 50,000 yuan for 220,000 yuan in fake notes. The businessman left abruptly and when Ji went to count his “cash”, he found the counterfeits were actually paper money which in China is burned as offerings for the dead.
Outraged at the deception, Ji contacted the police, who promptly arrested him. He faces up to three in jail, according to the report.
