This morning when I went into the banca (bank) to deposit some cash, the cassiera (teller) informed me that one of my banconote di 20 euro (20 Euro bills) was falsa (counterfeit). "Come falsa? What do you mean counterfeit?" I asked the cassiera. I was a little embarrassed when a few of the people in the banca turned around after she told me the news. She held up the banconota falsa along with a real one for me to compare, and pointed out that it was really obvious just by looking at them.
The cassiera told me because she has the banconota falsa in her possession, she had to write up a denuncia (police report) with all of my information. I started to feel as if I was the one who did something wrong when she asked me for my carta d'identità (ID card) and numero di telefono (telephone number). She also asked me to sign the banconota falsa, which made me feel a little guilty.
I asked the woman if they'd give me 20 euro back and she said that if you get a banconota falsa, you've lost that money. "Almeno non era una banconota di 500 euro! At least it wasn't a 500 Euro bill!" she said with a smile. Although I wasn't smiling because I didn't plan on getting a banconota falsa. She did say that there are even banconote false di 5 euro (5 euro counterfeit notes).
Before signing the denuncia, I told her, "È la prima volta che vedo una banconota falsa. This is the first time that I have seen a counterfeit bill." "Davvero? Succede molto spesso Really? It happens a lot," she told me.
I admit that I have never noticed any banconote false before in my life. I will try to be a little more aware when someone gives me cash. If I ever have any doubts about a banconota, I won't accept it. And certainly not if it's a larger banconota.
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