Actor says she unknowingly used counterfeit currency & stranger’s kindness helped avert a frightening misunderstanding
Actor Madiha Imam has recalled a frightening incident during a trip to Turkey, revealing that she nearly landed in legal trouble after unknowingly using counterfeit currency to pay for a fruit platter.
Speaking on actor Faysal Quraishi’s podcast, Imam described the experience as one of the scariest moments of her first visit to the country. She said it taught her to be more cautious about where travellers exchange foreign currency.
Imam explained that she had exchanged money shortly after arriving in Turkey but later discovered she had been given counterfeit banknotes.
“I exchanged money on my first trip to Turkey, and I guess I did it from the wrong place. I ordered a fruit platter and paid. A while later, the vendor started saying something to me in his language, which I could not understand. He then brought a security guard and ripped the note in front of my face,” she recalled.
Initially confused by the vendor’s reaction, Imam said she had no idea the banknote was fake. “He said, ‘You know that you can get arrested for using fake money,’ to which I was super surprised,” she said, adding that she had unknowingly become the victim of a scam.
The actor admitted she feared the misunderstanding could quickly escalate. “I thought, ‘Am I really going to get in trouble over a fruit platter?'” she said.
Fortunately, a local Turkish driver who had been assisting her during the trip stepped in to help.
“There was a very nice Turkish man who was driving us around, and he offered to pay for me,” Imam said, expressing gratitude for the stranger’s kindness, which resolved the situation before it became more serious.
Reflecting on the incident, Imam urged travellers to exchange money only through authorised services to avoid similar experiences.
Her story has since gone viral on social media, with many users sympathising with her ordeal and praising the Turkish man’s generosity.
Imam is known for her roles in television dramas including Muqaddar and Ishq Jalebi. She most recently appeared alongside Quraishi in Behroopia.
