Authorities in a New Jersey community are warning retailers about a scam in which people are circulating fake “movie” money that looks just like real money — with one difference you may not see at a glance.
Gloucester Township police say their detectives are investigating recent cases involving the use of “Hollywood” or “Motion Picture” money being passed off as legitimate currency.
They say the money being passed is nearly visually identical to real money, including texture and size. But the part that’s supposed to say “Federal Reserve” says “Motion Picture Use” and “The United States of America” is turned into “For Motion Picture Use only.” The back of the bill features a similar deception.
Gloucester police say the fake bill won’t pass security measures like counterfeit pens, detective lights or watermarks or holograms. The problem, they say, is most cashiers don’t run random smaller denomination bills through security measures to ensure their legitimacy. A quick visual inspection of any bill will prevent fraud.
Police advise business owners and cashiers to employ the following strategies:
- Read the bill: Check the wording, check for security features like watermarks and security threats that are printed or embedded into the paper
- Repeat the process for every bill you receive
- Report any suspected counterfeit currency or movie money being passed as real currency to the police