Counterfeit bills found in Palmer, Wasilla

PALMER — Police are urging business owners and store clerks to be on the lookout for bogus $100 bills.

Detective Sgt. Kelly Turney with the Palmer Police Department said three counterfeit C-notes have turned up in the Valley in the last week and a half. There was one passed at the Wasilla McDonald's, one at the Palmer Fred Meyer and then, most recently, one turned up Thursday at the In and Out Deli in Palmer.

Turney said that in most cases the person with the bill didn't get far.

“The three that I'm aware of now, when the clerk noticed that it was no good two of the three people skedaddled,” Turney said.

He said he talked to one of the people who had a bogus bill and is now attempting to trace it back to the source.

The detective said stores should look into buying a type of specialized pen designed to detect counterfeits. Or they can rely on the security features built into $100 bills — check for the security stripe and the watermark.

“If they come across a counterfeit bill they should notify their local law enforcement agency right away,” Turney said.

People should also be skeptical.

“If you go into a convenience store or a fast food chain or a box store and you buy $3.50 in items an you give them a $100 bill sometimes it's all they have but in our cases it's worth noting,” and worth spending a little more time scrutinizing that bill.