Counterfeit money in Texarkana has been a problem in the past few years.
One of the recent examples is the circulation of fake $100 bills.
A $100 counterfeit bill was turned in to Texarkana, Texas, police recently. The bill was slightly smaller than a real bill, the pictures were off and the texture was wrong.
"Always take just a second to check any bills that you get. In this case, you might not immediately notice the problems unless you give it more than just a quick glance," said Shawn Vaughn, spokesman for TTPD.
Sometimes store clerks recognize counterfeit money, but sometimes customers receive it in change. Anyone caught trying to use fake money can be charged with forgery.
Police typically see $100 bills and $20 bills but some are smaller.
If someone believes they have received a counterfeit bill, they should call their local police or sheriff's department at the non-emergency number 903-798-3876.
But investigators believe many people are circulating the money for criminal activity.
"Movie money" is also a similar scam.
The fake money appears similar to U.S. currency but has "for motion picture use only" or "copy" stamped on the bill. It is commonly used as a movie prop.
The following is information from the U.S. Treasury Department to help distinguish between real bills and the fake ones:
- Hold a bill up to a light and look for a holograph of the face image on the bill. Both images should match. If the $100 bill has been bleached, the hologram will display an image of Abraham Lincoln, who appears on the $5 bills, instead of Benjamin Franklin.
- Looking at the bill through a light will also reveal a thin vertical strip containing text that spells out the bill's denomination.
- Color-shifting ink: If you hold the new series bill (except the $5 note) and tilt it back and forth, you'll see that the numeral in the lower right hand corner shifts colors from green to black and then back again.
- Watermark: Hold the bill up to a light to view the watermark in a space to the right of the portrait. The watermark, which should match the portrait, can be seen from both sides of the bill since it is not printed on the bill but is embedded in the paper.
- Security Thread: Again, hold the bill to a light. You will see a thin embedded strip running from top to bottom on the face of a banknote. In the $10 and $50 bills, the security strip is located to the right of the portrait. In the $5, $20 and $100 bills, it is located just to the left of the portrait.
- Micro printing: There is minute micro printing on the security threads: the $5 bill has "USA FIVE" written on the thread; the $10 bill has "USA TEN"; the $20 bill has "USA TWENTY"; the $50 bill has "USA 50"; and the $100 bill has the words "USA 100." Micro printing can also be found around the portrait.
- Ultraviolet Glow: If the bill is held up to an ultraviolet light, the $5 bill glows blue; the $10 bill glows orange, the $20 bill glows green, the $50 bill glows yellow, and the $100 bill glows red if they are authentic.
- Fine Line Printing Patterns: Very fine lines have been added behind the portrait and on the reverse side scene to make it harder to reproduce.
- Comparison: Compare the feel and texture of the paper with other bills you know are authentic.