Evansville Residents Warned of Counterfeit $20 Bills Circulating at Area Businesses [UPDATE]

UPDATE: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 8TH AT 1:35 PM

The Evansville Police Department released photos of the two suspects they believe have been using counterfeit money at businesses on the city's north side. According to a press release provided with the photos below, at least twelve businesses were affected by this crime on December 6th. The statement goes on to say a Financial Crimes Detective has been assigned to these cases and the Secret Service has been notified.

ORIGINAL STORY

Despite most of our monetary transactions being done digitally thanks to the rise in popularity of online banking and online shopping, tangible, paper money still holds an important place in our economy. While there has been and continues to be a rise in people using modern technology to try and hack our accounts to get to our hard-earned dollars, there are still others who are taking the old-fashioned route of passing counterfeit money off as authentic to purchase products and services (technically, stealing). Sometimes, the fake bills are so well done, that the average person like you or me doesn't notice they're not real. Others are close but feature a distinguishing mark telling you it's a fake, But, even in those cases, if you're not looking closely, you probably wouldn't notice it. One business on Evansville's north side recently found itself in one of those situations and is giving residents a heads-up so they don't get fooled.

Counterfeit $20 Bills Used at Evansville Businesses

On Thursday, EvansvilleWatch shared a picture it received from one of its followers who works at Starbucks on First Avenue showing two $20 bills. One of the bills was a legitimate $20, while the other was a fake. At first glance, the two didn't appear to be any different. More importantly, they both looked like real $20 bills, which is what counterfeiters want you to think. However, there was one difference — a watermark in the lower right corner.

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As stated in the post, the difference in the watermark of Andrew Jackson's portrait. the real $20 on top has a more detailed portrait, while the $20 on the bottom, well, doesn't. As one person commented it looks like what a portrait of Andrew Jackson would look like if you bought it on Wish.

The EvansvilleWatch follower goes on to say the individuals passing the bills off as real are going into businesses, buying an item or two that are less than $20, and using the fake bills to pay to get real money back in change.

If you happen to find yourself in possession of a counterfeit bill of any denomination, contact the Evansville Police Department's Financial Crimes Unit at (812) 436-7991.

[Source: EvansvilleWatch]