Kitsap residents, check your wallets. Counterfeit money has struck numerous business and locales around the county, sheriff's officials say. The faux bills have popped up in restaurants, espresso stands, retail stores, a dentist's office, a casino, a garage sale and even in a sale listed on Craiglist. The phony bills started appearing the past several years in certain denominations for brief periods of time; the latest batch showed up around mid-May. Deputies have found $5 bills that have been "washed," then reprinted to appear as larger bills, typically a $50 bill. Some counterfeiters even re-printed the money as $10, $20 and $100. Deputies say the pen test used to spot the fake bills isn't good enough anymore, since it only detects if the paper is authentic or not. Click on the extended link on how to spot the counterfeit bills.
Authorities say you can tell if a note is genuine or not if the bill does the following:
* Looks and feels like a U. S. bank note
* Has color-shifting ink (the color should shift from copper-to-green or green-to-black)
* Has a watermark that matches the portrait printed on the dollar
* And has a security thread with text that matches the denomination
If you think you may possess counterfeit money, contact police or your financial institution.
* Looks and feels like a U. S. bank note
* Has color-shifting ink (the color should shift from copper-to-green or green-to-black)
* Has a watermark that matches the portrait printed on the dollar
* And has a security thread with text that matches the denomination
If you think you may possess counterfeit money, contact police or your financial institution.
I'm not surprised to hear about counterfeit money still flying around. It takes forever to get the old dollar bills changed out. After not sure how many years I still get old 20 dollar bills. Same with 10 or the 5 but they aren't out as long as the 20.