I had to stop by the grocery store this morning. Just a quick trip–I needed some cinnamon chips to bake blondies. So I grab my one item and get in the express lane. I’m not really paying attention to the guy in front of me, but I notice the cashier handing him his money back, so I look closer, and in his hand is a bill that looks like normal money, but it has *70* printed on it. Total double take situation, because I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

The guy tried to pass it off as a joke, but I’m fairly sure he was trying to con this poor cashier. For starters, when he dug in his pocket to get his “real” money, he couldn’t come up with enough to pay for his 20 ounce drink. He was eight cents short, and actually had the nerve to yell at *me* when I told him I didn’t have any cash (whether or not what I told him was true is irrelevant!).

The cashier seemed pretty young and naive, and didn’t call for her manager or the cops (which I sure would have). Based on my few years in retail (and I certainly never saw a “$70”), I’m guessing he hoped she was stupid enough to fall for it, and then he would get back $68 plus change of actual money, instead of his fake bill. He was really quite belligerent after that, so things obviously did not go according to plan.

I wonder how many other stores he tried to con today. If I see anything in the newspaper about it later, I’ll know who it was!