Illinois city struggling to identify counterfeit money in circulation
Asher Notheis
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A city in Illinois is dealing with money that has been reprinted to give it the appearance of having a higher value.
Police in Elkhart, Illinois, saw an uptick in fraudulent money in the last six months, with six reported incidents being reported in the last two months, according to law enforcement. The situation the city faces involves $10 bills that have been washed and printed to look like $50 bills, with some bills even appearing to be $100, a spokesperson with the Elkhart Police Department told the Washington Examiner.
“We have seen 6 reported counterfeit cases in the last couple of months,” read a social media statement by the police department. “Of these, our detective has been able to identify and request criminal charges for 4 individuals. Of these 4 individuals, 2 of the individuals were identified through tips after we requested the public’s help.”
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Due to the fraudulent money being reprinted over real money, identifying whether the currency is fake is more difficult than in normal circumstances. To distinguish real $50 and $100 bills from reprinted ones, police recommend checking if a bill’s watermark matches the president on the bill, which can be checked by holding the bill up to a light or by using an inexpensive black light.
Police have also provided an information form from the U.S. Currency Education Program on how to identify real bills from fake ones.
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Several businesses, including three Subway restaurants, have fallen victim to these reprinted bills. As a result, several Elkhart restaurants will not accept bills larger than $20, according to WSBT 22.
Anyone with information on these fraudulent bills can inform Elkhart law enforcement at 574-295-7070 or submit an anonymous tip by emailing [email protected].