August 1, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 15 Mahwah Minutes Library announces date change The Mahwah Library’s Morning and Evening Book Discussion groups will discuss Edna Ferber’s “So Big,” winner of the 1924 Pulitzer Prize for Literature on Monday, Aug. 13 at 10:30 a.m. and Wednesday, Aug. 15 at 7 p.m. Both discussions have been rescheduled from dates that were later in the month. “So Big” is widely regarded as Ferber’s crowning achievement. A rollicking panorama of Chicago’s high and low life, this stunning novel follows the travails of gambler’s daughter Selina Peake DeJong as she struggles to maintain her dignity, her family, and her sanity in the face of monumental challenges. The library is located at 100 Ridge Road. Call (201) 529-READ. Concert series concludes On Aug. 2, The B Street Band will wrap up the 2012 TD Bank Summer Concert Series hosted by The Ramapo College Foundation on the college campus, 505 Ramapo Valley Road in Mahwah. The group offers a tribute to “the Boss.” This original Springsteen Tribute band has earned the respect and reputation of the music industry. Families are invited enjoy a picnic dinner on the band shell lawn. Attendees are encouraged to bring chairs and blankets. The concert begins at 8 p.m. and admission is free; parking is $5 per vehicle. In the event of rain, the event will be held in Bradley Center Arena. For more information, or to request disability-related accommodations, call (201) 684-7093. Chief offers tips on 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 interviews on 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. 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. At least one Ho-Ho-Kus merchant also took a counterfeit bill from two male Hispanics who are described as between 20 and 30 years old; one being slim and the other husky. 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 watermark, which remains visible when held up to strong light. “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.” 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.