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Some $20 bills passed at businesses not real thingBy Joel Stottrup At least eight counterfeit $20 bills were passed last week in Princeton, most of them apparently during the evening dinner rush hour last Friday. Some of the reports mentioned the time period of 5 to 7:50 p.m. Among the places that ended up with the phony bills that carry the image of the country's seventh president, Andrew Jackson, were Peoples Bank of Commerce, Dairy Queen, McDonald's, Burger King, the two Casey General Store locations, Taco John's and Pizza Barn. Employees at Subway and SuperAmerica handed the counterfeit bill back to the person offering it, which Police Chief Dave Warneke said is the wrong way to handle any suspicious bills. If anyone at a business receives a bill that looks like it could be counterfeit, they should accept it but try not to handle it after that, preferably later placing it into a plastic bag for police to pick up, he said. People receiving the bill should meanwhile take notes of the description of the suspect(s) and vehicle, including license plate number, and have someone call police as soon as possible, Warneke said. Some of the reports referred to two male suspects in their late teens or early 20s. Warneke figures that the counterfeit $20 bills were probably made using a copy machine. But there are various ways to check for a counterfeit bill, Warneke said. One, he explained, is to hold the $20 bill, for example, up against a light with the center image of Jackson facing you. While doing that a smaller image of Jackson should also be visible through the paper on the right side of the bill, and a vertical bar should appear on the bill's left side. Another way is to hold the $20 bill so it is flat in front of you and then tip it back and forth like an airplane wing. The green digits for the $20 should always remain green, he said. Finally, there is a pen people can use to check counterfeit bills. There are instructions with the pen explaining what to look for after moving the pen across the bill. Warneke also noted that the paper used in printing genuine bills has thread inside it and that can be seen, with a magnifying glass making the job easier. Warneke said counterfeit bills are sent to the government's Secret Service and that counterfeiting money or knowingly passing it is a federal offense. Princeton Union-Eagle |