[WARNING] Counterfeit Money Found Circulating in Evansville

The Evansville Police Department is warning all local businesses about potential scammers passing off counterfeit bills around town! So far eight (8) local businesses including Schnuck's and Walgreens have reported receiving fake $100 bills during the past week. EPD officials believe the main sources of the counterfeit bills are from people coming in from out of town.

In an interview with WEHT, EPD spokesman Jason Cullum gives local business owners a stark warning - "...if [businesses] receive a 100 dollar bill make sure they do everything they can to verify the authenticity of that bill and if you're not comfortable taking it you can decline it. There's no law that says if someone presents money to you that you have to take it."

"We believe that all of them are connected. Generally, when you see counterfeit bills come into an area, you see a lot of them in a very short period of time. You have one or more individuals that are passing the same bill or if you look at it, you'll see the serial numbers are all the same," says Cullum.

I've always been told that the best way to spot a fake is to know what the real looks like. So if you work in retail and receive cash of any kind, especially large bills, always keep a counterfeit bill marker next to your register and check ALL bills of at least $20 or greater!

Passing of Counterfeit bills is a federal offense and falls under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Secret Service!