Reports that a certain ATM in Hayy Al-Wazarat District in the capital was dispensing fake SR500 currency notes caused a scare among its users. The district is so named because it houses a number of ministries. E-mail and SMS circulated among expatriates cautioned against using the particular ATM in the district as cash withdrawals through ATMs increased during the Eid Al-Fitr holidays. Despite several attempts Tuesday Saudi Gazette failed to contact the said bank to get its version on the reports. Firdous Khan, an Indian expatriate, told Saudi Gazette that at least seven of the ATM users known to him had suffered losses due to fake SR500 notes. He said one of his friends went for shopping at a leading grocery store, adjacent to the ATM machine and the cashier detected the fake SR500 note. “During the Eid holidays one of my friends withdrew a cash of SR3,500 – all SR500 notes and went for shopping at a nearby grocery store. The cashier at the grocery store detected the fake currency note and reported to the police,” he said. He said it was very difficult to convince the police, as all the currency notes that he withdrew from a particular ATM were fake. Khan said customers can withdraw a maximum amount of SR5,000 on a daily basis and it would be safer for them (customers) to withdraw SR100 currency notes and avoid falling into unnecessary trouble. However, according to bank officials no ATM machine in Saudi Arabia could dispense fake currency notes to the customers, as all the machines are fully equipped to detect fake currency notes.
