MISSOULA – The Missoula Police Department is reporting many local businesses have seen multiple counterfeit $50 bills over the past week.
The bills have been "washed" and reprinted using real $10 bills, to appear to be $50 bills. Because of this, they will pass the counterfeit pen test, according to MPD. However, they still retain the original $10 bill watermark, which is an image of Alexander Hamilton, visible from both sides of the bill when held up to the light.
MPD is urging local businesses to check their inventory before making trips to the bank tomorrow, at which point it will become even more difficult to determine who passed the bill to the merchant.
If a bill is suspected to be counterfeit, MPD says call dispatch’s non-emergency line at 728-0911 and they’ll come to pick it up, and then ask for in-store surveillance video.
MPD says business owners should warn their staff, as $50 bills are pretty rare and workers should be on the alert.
