Ocoee police report increase in counterfeit bills

A sudden increase in counterfeit bills has been reported in Ocoee.

By Gabby Baquero
| 7:38 p.m. January 13, 2017

West Orange Times & Observer
News

There's been a recent uptick in reports of counterfeit bills in Ocoee in the past few months and the local secret service has been alerted.

The Ocoee Police Department has received 10 reports of counterfeit money since October – eight of which occurred in December alone. Ten reports in a three-month time span is unusual for the city, which usually receives an inconsequential amount of reports a year, said Ocoee Police Deputy Chief Steve McCosker.

"It's extremely unusual for that to happen. ... We might get a few a year, but in a city our size, we don't get that many," McCosker said.

HOW TO SPOT COUNTERFEIT BILLS

Check the serial numbers. The serial numbers should be the same color as the treasury seal and there should be no irregular spacing between the characters.
Use a bright light source to check for the appropriate watermark on the right side of the bill. Sometimes, counterfeiters will reprint higher bills from lower bills, so the watermark should match the portrait on the bill.
Use a color-shifting ink pen that is specially made for detecting counterfeit bills. The ink changes to a certain color when it detects chemicals used in real U.S money.
Check for the vertical security strips using a UV light. The security strip is located on different locations and glows different colors depending on the bill.

VERTICAL SECURITY STRIPS

$5 – Right side. Glows blue.
$10 – Right side. Glows orange.
$20 – Far left-hand side. Glows green.
$50 – Right around the middle. Glows yellow.
$100 – Left side. Glows pink.

So far, affected businesses include Kangaroo Express, Sally's Beauty Supply, Pizza Hut and Franco's Pizza. One woman was unknowingly given a fake $10 bill from Walmart when she received cash back on a card purchase.

The use of lower bills as fake money is relatively uncommon for counterfeiters, but all the incidences have involved lower bills. This increase has prompted Ocoee Police to post a public safety alert on their social media accounts advising businesses to be extra careful during financial transactions.

"One of the things that they definitely should do is to slow down during their transactions and take the time to actually look at the money to make sure it's a true representation of U.S. currency," McCosker advised. "If someone was paying attention and looking more closely, they more than likely wouldn't have passed."

If you encounter a counterfeit bill, note down where or from whom you received it, place the bill in a marked envelope and alert the local authorities.

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Contact Gabby Baquero at [email protected]