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Lake Placid police warn of counterfeit cash

LAKE PLACID — Village police are warning local businesses of customers who may try to pay with counterfeit cash.

Lake Placid police were recently alerted about a customer who used fake money to pay a local eatery, according to police Chief William Moore. The customer used different denominations of the counterfeit money, which appeared to be prop money used in movies and theaters.

So far, the department has only received the one report of counterfeit cash.

“It’s my guess that there will be others that will pop up,” Moore said.

Businessowners can tell whether the money they’re receiving is fake because the texture of the counterfeit cash is different than U.S. currency, according to Moore. Real U.S. currency will feel like linen, while these counterfeit bills will feel like paper. The counterfeit bills the department retrieved recently have the message “for motion picture use only” at the top, and the word “copy” after the note position letter and number in the upper left-hand corner.

Moore encouraged businesses to use counterfeit detector pens. If a customer uses fake money, Moore said businesses shouldn’t try to resolve the situation themselves. “Call us immediately,” he said. “Don’t try to interfere yourself.”

This isn’t the first time that counterfeit money has been used in the Tri-Lakes area. On Jan. 26, Saranac Lake village police retrieved a fake $100 bill from Jreck Subs on Broadway. Former police Chief Chuck Potthast told the Enterprise at the time that the department also found two fake bills at Riverside Park. Those bills also indicated they were prop currency for movies. Potthast said counterfeit currency is reported to the U.S. Secret Service.

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