WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) - Waterloo police are having a hard time cracking down on the use of fake $100 bills meant to be props for movies and music videos at local stores.
Over the past few months, there have been about a dozen cases in which the fake bills have been used in transactions in Waterloo, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier (https://bit.ly/23kyPj8 ) reported. At least one person has been arrested in connection with the fake money.
“If you take a look at it, it’s definitely fake,” Waterloo Police Department investigator David McFarland said. He said the fake bills have a different texture, lack a security strip or watermark and don’t pass the pen test.
Normally, police would track the source of counterfeit money and shut down production. But these fake bills are marked “for motion picture use only,” so they’re legitimate to sell and process as props.
Although the fake bills look phony, they’re still slipping past inattentive clerks.
“People are taking it places where they think they won’t look at it as close,” McFarland said.
Investigators were able to track the source of the fake bills with their serial number. They found stacks of the fake bills for $10 on eBay.
A description of the product said, “Prop money is designed for advertising, photography and media productions. It will not pass as real currency and cannot be modified.”
More than 200 bundles had been sold as of Wednesday morning.
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Information from: Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, https://www.wcfcourier.com
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