OXNARD : Police Investigating Reports on Fake $20s

Oxnard police are investigating a recent rash of counterfeit $20 bills being passed to area business owners.

During the past month, police have taken 16 reports of phony $20 bills and confiscated 37 of the bills, Oxnard Detective Pete Nicolle said. Ten of the reports and 28 of the seized notes were taken in the past seven days, he said.

“Most of the counterfeit twenties were first noticed by alert shopkeepers and were being passed by innocent persons who had received them in the normal course of business,” he said. “They were unaware that they were carrying bogus money.”

Nicolle said the quality of the printing of the bogus money is better than average for counterfeits, but that the counterfeit bills are easily recognized when compared with a genuine bill.

“The bogus bills lack the red and blue fibers which are a regular part of the paper used to print all genuine U.S. currency and are printed on paper that just doesn’t feel right when compared to the real thing,” Nicolle said.