Funny money not funny

The headline read "$5 bills bleached, reprinted, used as $100s.'' It told a tale of counterfeit bills that could happen to any sales person, or any of us involved in a cash transaction. (You remember cash, those dirty green pieces of paper we used to use all the time before pieces of bright plastic took over.)

But the cheat involved in this story waved a gigantic red flag that should have stopped him cold, even in an upscale store like Bloomingdale's. He bought a $1,030 Fendi bag and a $375 pair of sunglasses (after all, it is Bloomies) with cash. Who carries around that kind of money these days? It turns out, he really didn't. He merely passed 15 phony bills.

The moral: When it comes to money, common sense must apply. When that much cash is flashed around, your gut response must be, "Who's he kidding?'' And for good reason: Losing that much money is no joke.