In Argentina, in touristic places there are signs saying that u$100 are not received, just for the same reason: The inability of most people to detect counterfeiter notes.
BTW, 500eu here is a month salary for a lot of people (myself included!).

This machine has already filled a patent in Argentina:
http://www.clubdelarazon.org/content/view/77/2/
http://www.clubdelarazon.org/content/view/143/2/
(the applicant has to pay a fee for "final review", but he didn't. I think he won't do it.

This may be a worldwide coordinated effort, since in La Plata (Buenos Aires province, Argentina), 14 cows escaped from a truck. 1 died by a train and 2 was hunted down for eating. 11 was captured back.
See it here: http://www.clarin.com/diario/2007/11/14/um/m-01540462.htm
(in Spanish)

It sounds odd, but peaks of pizza orders near Pentagon were detected by journalist THE NIGHT BEFORE the Irak invasion to Kuwait.

http://www.pbs.org/now/news/319-transcript.html

"anyone who wants to vote must have a photo ID"

¿How do you vote without a photo ID? In Argentina you have to have your ID to vote and you get an stamp on the ID to avoid double (or triple) voting.