Nine years. That’s how long it took her to save, banknote by banknote, the money she kept hidden inside a book in her home.
She did so with a clear plan: to pay outstanding bills and finally begin the renovation her home needed so badly. She never imagined that paper is also food for some insects. When she went to take out the banknotes, she found only unrecognizable scraps, riddled with holes, and moth droppings from moths that had settled there without anyone noticing.
The case, reported by the Brazilian program Balanço Geral, became a warning that spread across social media: cash stored for years without any protection can disappear without a thief touching a single banknote.