Iola Police Chief Jared Warner reported that several counterfeit $20 and $50 bills have been used in area businesses, and urges citizens in the area to keep on the lookout.
Three area merchants, who were not mentioned at the time of publication, found the counterfeit money after making deposits with their banks.
Warner said incidents such as this are uncommon in Allen County, but not unheard of.
“For us, it is not very common, we usually have two to three instances per year,” he said.
Generally, counterfeit money strikes an area locally or on a larger scale, depending on how the money is distributed. Warner said he is not sure at this time whether the fake money was transferred to Allen County unintentionally or if it was printed and distributed in the area.
Warner said counterfeit money can be identified in a couple different ways. Markers can be bought at retailers that will help identify the fake bills. However, he said that the bills in this case can be identified with just a little bit of inspection — these are printed on a different type of paper than a legal bill.
“The feel can usually be a dead giveaway,” Warner said. “It’s just about taking a little extra time.”
He said if a fraudulent bill is found, contact the Iola Police Department right away.
Iola police report counterfeit money
