02/27/2007
The Better Business Bureau of the Southwest is urging businesses across the region to take a closer look at the $100 bills they're handed. Two businesses in Elizabethtown, KY report receiving fake $100 bills. The businesses didn't know the bills were fake until their banks told them.
On the surface the bills look real, but when you hold them up to a bright light, you see a watermark of Abe Lincoln, NOT Ben Franklin. These are $5 bills! The counterfeiters took $5 bills, bleached them, and printed $100 bills over them. So, the markers some businesses use to determine if money is real or fake won't work on these counterfeits.
The bills are not getting caught until they reach a bank, and so the retailer is being stuck for the money. So how can businesses protect themselves? Some things to check are:
COLOR-SHIFTING INK: If you hold the new series bill (except the $5 note) and tilt it back and forth, please 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 imbedded 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, and in the $5, $20, and $100, it is located just to the left of the portrait.
For additional way to spot counterfeit bills, visit the Secret Service website at www.secretservice.gov. If you suspect a counterfeit note or have information about counterfeiting activity, please report it immediately to the U.S. Secret Service, or to your local police.