SW Florida – Be Alert for Counterfeit Cash…

The following information was recently passed along by the Lee Country Sheriff’s department: An elaborate scheme to pass counterfeit cash is affecting the way local companies do business in the Fort Myers area. It's also getting the attention of federal investigators. The bogus bills are getting past security measures and helping criminals pocket the real thing.

Three-thousand to $4,000 in fake money is spent in Southwest Florida every five days, according to the Secret Service. And if you think you know how to avoid being duped; they say the chances are that you're wrong.

Counterfeit bills (now turning up all over Southwest Florida) have watermarks, security strips and can even fool counterfeit-detecting markers.

The Secret Service says counterfeiters are bleaching five-dollar bills and reprinting them as 50s and 100s. That means the paper is authentic and it may be the same kind of counterfeit money that recently forced all local McDonald's restaurants to stop accepting hundreds.

Secret Service agent Jeff Kelly says there are ways to spot bleached bills.
"The watermark is of Lincoln instead of Grant," said Kelly, pointing out that the watermark on a counterfeit fifty shows the wrong president. He says the security strip is another indicator. In a bleached bill it will say "USA five," instead of "USA fifty." He says you can also check the ink of the number in the lower right hand corner. "It reflects back and forth much like a hologram does on a credit card," said Kelly. If you get a fake bill, agents recommend you don't confront the person who gave it to you. Ask for a different form of tender.

The bottom line is you need to take a few extra seconds to look over any bills you receive -- and that doesn't only apply to just fifties and hundreds.
According to the Secret Service, the most common counterfeit bill is the twenty!