It's a growing problem around the United States -- criminals have figured out how to chemically wash the ink off of $5 bills and reprint them as $20, $50 and $100 bills.
Now the crime has come to Batavia.
Det. Kevin Czora said that nine local businesses have been hit by bogus $50 bills. He expects more reports to come in.
It's early in the investigation, Czora said, so he doesn't yet have a total of how much fake currency has been passed in the city.
The bills get by some employees and shop owners because they will pass a pen test -- they are, after all, printed on legitimate U.S. currency paper.
The fake bills, however, are not completely undetectable. There remains a security strip embedded in the bill that says USAFIVE.
The U.S. Treasury Department also maintains a Web site with information on currency printing and how to detect fakes.
One alleged counterfeiter in the Dallas-Fort Worth area reportedly said he produced more than $10,000 in fake bills.
He even bragged about how good the bills looked.
"These bills here are good enough that I think they could have passed," Runge said. "Some of these bills will stay in circulation for quite a while."
A Google search shows that such fake bills are showing up all around the country. There was an arrest recently in Buffalo of a person who allegedly used a fake $50 bill, but the Buffalo News story doesn't mention whether the bill was a washed $5 bill or if some other method was used.
Det. Czora said businesses owners and employees should be extra vigilant when accepting large denominations and to report any suspicious transactions to the City of Batavia Police Department at 345-6350. Descriptions of suspects and their vehicles should be reported as soon as possible to assist the investigation.
Photos: Above, one of the fake $50 bills passed at a local business; below, a surveillance-camera picture of a subject wanted for questioning in the case.
Funny, I was given a $50 bill
Funny, I was given a $50 bill as repayment for money spent the weekend before. I remember thinking, I've never seen that person with a $50 bill before.
I used it in Avon (remember, Lorie?). I hope it wasn't one of these.
The problem is that there are
The problem is that there are websites and even some documentary television shows that show people how to do anything they want to do. From bomb making to drug related things to counterfeiting it's all there.
Who's fault is that? I'm all for freedom of speech, but there have to be some exceptions.
Posted by Greg Siedlecki on
Posted by Greg Siedlecki on April 13, 2010 - 9:44pm
I'm all for freedom of speech, but there have to be some exceptions.
Agreed
Hard to believe there are
Hard to believe there are people out there smarter than our government
If you make exceptions why
If you make exceptions why have freedom of speech at all?
Knowledge is not a crime.
You make an exception for
You make an exception for this, then you make an exception for that -- and where does it stop?
The problem is the same as
The problem is the same as it’s always been… some people commit crimes, whether they get instructions from TV, the internet, the library, Beatles albums, etc. or not.
Counterfeiting is nothing new; neither is crime.
In the late 70's I was
In the late 70's I was working as a residential painter in Brazoria, Texas and another painter and his younger brother were from rural Missouri. They told a story that sure sounded true. They were finishing each others sentences and really excited about having burglarized a guy's house, who owed them money for pot, and discovered a printing press and hundreds of uncut sheets of ONE DOLLAR BILLS. Save your pennies, they add up.
I used to own an uncut sheet
I used to own an uncut sheet of legal 2 dollar bills once from 1976. Never owned a printing press but I know with a good photo shop program and a really expensive laser printer counterfeiting has been a growing problem since the 1990's. Also, there was a big coupon redemption and food stamp ring around that time funding drug cartel and terrorist groups.
Even with a great scanner and
Even with a great scanner and a laser printer, the micro-printing on a bill can't be reproduced. Image editing software is designed to recognize currency and make it difficult to reproduce. Printers are also designed so as not to be able to exactly reproduce colors found on currency.
All of the information is available with a google search.
Posted by Julie Morales on
Posted by Julie Morales on April 14, 2010 - 11:04am
The problem is the same as it’s always been… some people commit crimes, whether they get instructions from TV, the internet, the library, *BEATLES ALBUMS*, etc. or not
LMAO!!!! Come to think of it, Yellow Submarine larceny is on the rise :)
Tim, I am thinking that Julie
Tim,
I am thinking that Julie may have been referring to Charles Manson and the "White Album" that whole "Helter Skelter" thang!!
(By the way Chuck was innocent of those murders!!)
LOL Yeah Gary i hear ya, i
LOL Yeah Gary i hear ya, i was just trying to be funny. Looks like i will have to try harder :)
Driving the wrong way down a one way ABBEY ROAD?
Hey Tim and Gary… Sadly, we
Hey Tim and Gary…
Sadly, we can never really know for sure who’s been told what for over forty years of Beatles. The list could be quite extensive.
I’ve never personally been instructed to commit crimes by Beatles albums, but when I played CCR sideways, I ended up with a nice recipe for cherry cheesecake. : )
Oh, Julie, I LOVE
Oh, Julie, I LOVE Cheesecake!!!!
Gary, I’ll see if I can find
Gary, I’ll see if I can find the recipe for ya. It’s easy, and soo good. : )