STEVENS POINT, WI (WSAU-WAOW) – Over just the past two weeks, law enforcement throughout Portage County, including Plover and Stevens Point have collected thousands of dollars in counterfeit money.
“A lot of these that are passing right now have the stamp copy on them somewhere. Also the serial numbers are all the same,” said Sheriff Mike Lukas at the Portage County Sheriff’s Department.
The copy stamp and serial numbers just two of the ways to spot counterfeit bills. Others include if the bill is easily ripped and has “for motion picture use only” on the bill.
“They’re thinking if they put something on there that it’s ‘for motion picture only’ or ‘copy’ that it isn’t a forgery or counterfeit but that’s not factual,” Lukas said.
Wausau Police have also seen counterfeiting in the area, this month alone, two cases reported.
“Darkness hates the light, so what we encourage people to do is hold the bill up to the light and for bills in denominations of five, 10, 50, 100, what you’ll be able to see are little water marks,” said Captain Ben Graham of the Wausau Police Department.
Fake money is spread many times without people knowing.
“Sometimes it’s complete innocence. For example, you might have gone to a garage sale and you provided a bill and were given some in return come to find out that somebody before you had used a counterfeit bill,” Graham said.
Law enforcement are using the opportunity to issue a warning to business owners to be vigilant.
“This money is out there, it’s being passed, if you’re not checking your money make sure your clerks and your people in your businesses are double checking that right now,” Lukas said.
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