Watch Out for Fake Money

After a Washington Island business fell victim to the passing of a fake $100 bill last Friday, Police Chief Tyler McGrane put the word out to businesses across Door County to beware.

“It has the right size, the right colors, but the paper does not feel the same,” McGrane said. 

Such bills are not counterfeit – they can be purchased online and are used in the motion-picture industry or anytime a bill needs to look authentic. But they do say “Play Money” on one side and “Copy” on the other, so it’s still “100% illegal to try to use it,” McGrane said.

No one was apprehended. The business did not realize it had been scammed until the end of the day, when an employee was reconciling the day’s receipts and noticed that one bill didn’t feel right. The business proprietor called McGrane first thing the next morning, then called all of the island’s businesses to warn them.

“As I went around that same afternoon, they said they already got the call,” McGrane said. “Hopefully, we got it nipped in the bud early enough.”

McGrane owns a gas station on the island and keeps a counterfeit pen detector for large bills. He recommends that all businesses get one; they’re available at office-supply stores.

If business owners suspect they’ve received a counterfeit bill as payment, they should try to keep the money. If the customer demands it back, however, they should hand it over.

“I do not want anyone to get into a confrontation with somebody,” McGrane said.

Whether keeping or returning such a bill, the employee should try to note any identifying information about the customer, including a license plate number, and contact law enforcement immediately.