Area August 1, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • Page 7 Police chief offers advice on detecting counterfeit bills by John Koster Wyckoff Police Chief Benjamin Fox has become a media celebrity by offering expert advice on how merchants and consumers can detect the new wave of counterfeit $100 bills. Several TV networks have called the Wyckoff Police Department to arrange televised interviews regarding detection techniques. The incident that triggered the media response took place July 17 at 5:19 p.m., when Wyckoff Police Sergeant Jack McEwan responded to a call from Walgreens at 655 Wyckoff Avenue on a report that a customer had attempted to pass a suspicious $100 bill. An investigation determined that a young male, described as Hispanic in appearance, attempted to make a $6 purchase with a $100 bill. The clerk and the store manager recognized the bill as counterfeit. The customer said he would go to his car for another bill, left the store, and went to the parking lot. He got into a maroon van with Florida license plates that was being operated by an older Hispanic male, and they drove away. A counterfeit $100 was later passed at a different pharmacy in Wyckoff. The clerk at the second pharmacy used a counterfeit detection marker, but the bill passed the “pen” test. The bill reached the bank before it was detected by a teller. “That bill was likely passed the same day and the bank will be out the money,” Chief Fox said. Counterfeit bills that have passed the “pen” test will fail the security strip test: A pre-2011 real $100 bill has the strip to left of Benjamin Franklin’s portrait. These fakes have it on the right. The new $100 bill in circulation has additional security features, including a 3D strip. The chief said the counterfeit bill passer who turned up in both store security videos is apparently the same person: a Hispanic male in his late teens or early twenties. Police said he tries to pay for a small purchase with a $100 bill that turns out to be counterfeit. Anyone who encounters this person is urged to contact the local police department immediately and should try to retain the money. These incidents and similar incidents in North Jersey towns prompted Chief Fox to issue a detailed warning about the new wave of high-tech counterfeiting and how clerks, managers, and tellers can protect themselves from accepting counterfeit bills. Chief Fox explained last week that counterfeiters bleach the ink off genuine $5 bills and then print the markings of $100 bills on the authentic Federal Mint paper, producing a counterfeit $100 that feels genuine to the touch and can withstand the marker test. The bleaching of the $5 bills, however, does not remove the watermarks printed into the paper below the surface, which remains visible. “A phony $100 bill will have an Abraham Lincoln watermark if it was originally a $5 bill, instead of the Benjamin Franklin watermark on a real $100 bill,” Chief Fox noted. “Bleaching also does not remove the security thread in the paper. A real $100 bill has a vertical line that reads ‘USA 100’ when held up to light. The ‘100’ in the lower left corner on the front of a real $100 bill has micro printing in the numbers that read ‘100USA.’ This wording is illegible in a counterfeit bill.” A store security image shows one of the suspects. Holding the bills up to strong artificial light or to sunlight will enable anyone who is interested to spot the markings that Chief Fox describes. Chief Fox advises business owners to visit the Secret Service website at www.secretservice.gov where they can print out color photos to assist in detecting fraudulent currency. This information should be made available to clerks who collect cash.