Which one of these 20s is real? The one at top. Read on to learn how to tell the difference. (Click photo to enlarge)
A flurry of fake $20 bills are adding up to an expensive problem for businesses throughout LaPorte County.
According to Michigan City and LaPorte police reports, the counterfeit bills are turning up at a variety of businesses, large and small.
“When retailers accept fake bills, they bear the entire burden of the loss,” an MCPD release stated. “Counterfeit bills cannot be turned in for genuine ones, and knowingly passing along a counterfeit bill is illegal.
“Though it’s true that counterfeiters’ techniques are getting more and more complex, there are numerous things retail employees can do to recognize counterfeit money”:
– Hold a bill up to a light and look for a holograph of the face image on the bill. Both images should match.
– Looking at the bill through a light will also reveal a thin vertical strip containing text that spells out the bill’s denomination.
– Color-shifting ink: If you hold the new series bill and tilt it back and forth, observe the numeral in the lower right hand corner as its color shifts from green to black and back.
– Watermark: Hold the bill up to a light to view the watermark in an unprinted space to the right of the portrait. The watermark can be seen from both sides of the bill since it is not printed on the bill but is imbedded in the paper.
– Security thread: Hold the bill up to a light to view the security thread. You will see a thin, embedded strip running from top to bottom on the face of a banknote. In the $10 and $50 the security strip is located to the right of the portrait; in the $5, $20 and $100, it is located just to the left of the portrait.
– Use a “detection pen” to see if the bill changes color. Genuine bills are printed on paper based on cotton fibers, and do not contain the starches that are reactive with iodine. When the pen is used to mark genuine bills, the mark is yellowish or colorless. Brown or black are suspect.
If you believe you have received a counterfeit bill, follow these tips:
– Do not return it to passer.
– Delay the passer with some excuse, if possible, so you have time to observe the passer and companions to provide police with a good description; if possible, also observe the vehicle involved if any.
– Contact your local police immediately.