Counterfeit $10? $5? $1?

Counterfeit $10's? $5's? $1's?

Really? Is this what we are coming to in this country?

I say this in the light of purchasing a product from a "National Chain" this afternoon, the clerk ran a dry mark counterfeit pen over the $5 and $10 bill over the notes I had presented to purchase my item.

I had to ask the clerk to which he said, " We were informed by corporate headquarters to check every bill $5, $10, $20....and we are no longer to accept $50 or $100 bills. "

He even added they were looking for them to "include the lowly $1 in the near future, " to which I replied, " You're kidding?" To which he replied " No."

This is after I bought a cup of coffee from a National fast Food Chain and paid for it with a $5, and it was checked with a Counterfeit pen. There was also a sign in the establishment that said, " We no longer accept $50's or $100's.

Who is making counterfeit $5's? Or $1's?

Are Xerox machines getting this good, and even if they were, couldn't you tell if the note was real from the paper alone? Or are the clerks getting that lazy?...Or stupid?.....Or both?

Am I seeing some sort of a conspiracy theory here?

Are we about to go cashless in our society? I know I use it less and less. And I know in Europe, some nations are in the process of eliminating cash altogether....

In China, about 80% of everything is paid using their cell phones through an app on "Wechat." 

I don't, I still like the option of having a little cash money.  You never know when you may need it...