PLACENTIA : Merchants Alerted About Fake $20 Bills

Police are warning small merchants and residents holding garage sales to be alert to a rash of counterfeit $20 bills circulating this holiday season.

“You do tend to get more (circulation of fake bills) during the holiday season when you have a rush to accommodate customers,” said spokeswoman Corinne Loomis of the Placentia Police Department. “We seem to be having our share concentrated within the (Latino) community.”

Loomis said police are investigating at least five reports of phony bills that have turned up at two area yard sales and several Latino-owned businesses.

Counterfeiters “have hit and gone before most (merchants) are aware they are taking a counterfeit,” Loomis said. “Nobody is looking for a suspect description of height and weight at the time of the transaction, so we don’t know who we are looking for.”

Police said that the fake bills are printed on paper, whereas real currency is printed on a combination of paper and fabric. Those who suspect they were given a counterfeit bill can rip off a corner and look for the fabric threads, Loomis said.

Consumers should also look for particularly vibrant colors, printed images that are not properly centered or the same serial numbers on different bills when looking for counterfeit currency.

Suspicious bills should be taken to the police, the U.S. Secret Service or a bank for inspection, Loomis said.