Counterfeit bills are showing up in Smithville
Police Chief Randy Caplinger said some phony $20 and $100 bills have been passed recently at a few local businesses and he is urging all store owners and operators to watch closely and mark any bills that may arouse your suspicion.
According to Chief Caplinger, a tell tale sign could be someone trying a use a large bill to buy a small amount of merchandise, in order to receive a large amount of change in return. “As the holiday season is getting closer, we’re getting a lot more counterfeit bills that are being passed at our businesses here in town. The main denominations we’re finding are $20 dollar bills. We’re also finding a few $100 bills. A lot of the vendors do mark those. What we’re finding mainly are the $20 bills. We’re asking that all vendors especially be careful this time of year and mark those bills if at all possible and check them before they leave. Anyone who observes someone passing a counterfeit bill, we’d appreciate them giving us a call to let us know who it is or we’ll come to the scene and take the bill and also question the people involved. We’ve been to five locations so far this week. We’re getting calls from drugs stores, grocery stores, convenience stores, and Wal-mart has had some. No one is safe from being hit. Anyone who accepts currency is susceptible to being hit.”
Chief Caplinger said no arrests have yet been made but a few persons of interest have been questioned. ” We have some persons of interest who we’re talking to and we hope that’ll lead us further in finding out where these bills are actually coming from.”
The Smithville Police Department is being assisted by the U.S. Treasury Department in the investigation.
If you have questions or information that could help solve the case, contact the Smithville Police Department at 597-8210.
Archived News & Obituaries