After three counterfeit $100 bills turned up in a week, the Douglas County Sheriff's Office urged residents and merchants to be cautious about phony currency.
Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Tom Mezzetta said the bogus bills were copies of an older style $100 note.
"In each case, the counterfeit bill was described as having an odd feel to it. The type of paper used did not have the same texture and feel of legitimate currency," he said.
Mezzetta said merchants should examine bills which appear to have a mark from a counterfeit bill checker.
"The mark may have been placed on the bill to give it the appearance of legitimacy. Check the bill again to be sure," he said.
He said counterfeit money must be seized and forwarded to the Secret Service.
"There are no restitution requirements for those who lose counterfeit money to seizure," Mezzetta said. "Protect yourself from being victimized by counterfeit currency by taking a moment to inspect the paper currency before accepting it as legitimate."
He referred residents to the Secret Service Web site to learn how to detect counterfeit bills.
ON THE WEB
U.S. Secret Service
www.secretservice.gov/index/shtml
