Every so often, counterfeit/fake money shows up at businesses in Douglas and Coffee County. And most of the time, there’s not much that authorities can do once it hits circulation.
It’s apparently Douglas’s turn in the counterfeit rotation. In the last few weeks, several fake bills have been passed around town. The fake money comes in two different forms. One is actual counterfeit currency — bills that are specifically designed to look exactly like actual money and manufactured for the purpose of posing as the real thing. Then there is fake money, which are bills that look like the real thing but were not created with the intent of being used in the marketplace.
It is the latter that has shown up in town recently. The denominations are almost always $50 and $100 bills.
In the most recent local cases, the fake bills are clearly marked “For Motion Picture Purposes.” However, the font looks exactly like the writing on real money. These bills are often used in movies and television when money changes hands. This prop money is never intended to be used in the real world. However, enterprising fraudsters have found that many merchants pay little attention to the details of the bills they receive. And it’s very easy for a busy cashier to overlook the disclaimer on the bills.
An interesting coincidence is that the prop money started showing up around town about the time Sidney Bryant and his film crew began shooting “Redwood,” a movie set in Douglas. When asked if “Redwood” utilized prop money, Bryant said the movie did not require any at all. “This is becoming more and more of a problem. I wish they would ban the sale of it,” said Bryant in a text reply to DouglasNow.
In the case of prop money, the charge, if police make an arrest, is theft by deception.
True counterfeit money — that’s another story altogether. If merchants report counterfeit money, local authorities turn that in to the Secret Service, which, in addition to protecting the president, investigates cases of counterfeit money.
According to local officials, most of the counterfeit/fake money gets reported in bank deposits. By that time, they say, it’s too late. “We look at them. If we can track them down, we do. The bills look good. Especially in the case of prop money, there are warnings clearly printed on the bills if you look at them closely,” said one official.
The best insurance against fake money is a counterfeit pen. They can be found in several local retailers and cost $3.
Caitlin Wolfe contributed to this story.