Lincoln Police report between September 1st and 16th, there has been 21 incidents in which individuals attempted to pass counterfeit bills.
The victims were different businesses across the city that includes convenience stores, gas stations and restaurants. In one incident, fake bills showed up when a person was attempting to sell an item online. In one case the fake money ended up at a bank and apparently was used at a high school sporting event. The counterfeit currency ranges from $5 to $100 bills. The loss so far this month totals $1,820.
The counterfeit bills can be detected in several ways. First, business employees noted that the texture of the money “didn’t feel right” and also did not have some basic security features, such as the orange background colors. In other cases, the bills lacked the embedded security thread that glows when illuminated by UV light.
Last year at this time, LPD investigated 138 counterfeit cases. This year to date, LPD has investigated 160 counterfeit cases, at 16% increase. Over the last five years, LPD has investigated approximately 270 counterfeit cases, with a total annual loss of approximately $24,000. LPD is working with businesses to identify suspects through video surveillance and other forensic techniques. We encourage business employees to slow down and check higher denomination currency for security features that can be found at the U.S. Currency Education Program’s website at https://www.uscurrency.gov/denominations/10.