Apple Valley police warn of counterfeit currency
Police are advising local vendors to be on the watch for counterfeit currency after fake $100 bills were used at Apple Valley businesses last weekend.
The fake bills were made from genuine $5 bills that had been washed and reprinted, according to police.
“This particular method of counterfeiting is particularly effective because it uses genuine currency paper which feels normal and passes any counterfeit detecting pen tests,” Apple Valley retail crime officer Michael Tietz wrote in a “Crime Alert” listserv email to local businesses on Tuesday.
Despite the use of genuine currency paper, the fake $100 bills can be detected through their inferior printing quality, by scrutinizing the watermark on the bill and examining the magnetic strip, according to Tietz.
To determine whether currency is genuine or not, police recommend that businesses become familiar with the security features of U.S. currency. Information about these features can be found on the U.S. Secret Service website at www.secretservice.gov/know_your_money.shtml.
No suspects have been identified in the counterfeit-bill incidents in Apple Valley last weekend.
—Andrew Miller
