LAKE MILLS, Wis. (WFRV) – Following a recent uptick in incidents involving counterfeit money, a police department in south central Wisconsin is advising residents to keep an eye out.
The Lake Mills Police Department posted on its Facebook page about recent incidents of counterfeit money being used in retail transactions. Authorities wanted to warn both business owners and citizens.
The following tips were provided by law enforcement to watch out for counterfeit money:
- Always use a counterfeit pen.
- A counterfeit pen may not detect all counterfeit bills but will react to starches found in most types of paper used when counterfeiting.
- Look at the size of the bills. Counterfeit bills will also look and feel different from real currency.
- Often when being passed, the person passing the counterfeit bill will try to buy something for a low dollar amount to get as much real currency as they can back in change.
- Police say in a recent transaction, a $4 purchase was made with a fake $100 bill.
- Those passing the bills will also try to do it with younger sales associates or employees, who may be inexperienced with counterfeit money.
- A watermark with the image of the person whose portrait is on the bill can be found on all $10, $20, $50 and $100 bills series 1996 and later, and on $5 bills series 1999 and later. The watermark is embedded in the paper to the right of the portrait, and it can be seen from both sides of the bill.
Authorities advise people to stay vigilant and be informed. No additional information was provided.
Local 5 will update this story if more details are released.
