Chickasha police warn counterfeit bills circulating

LAWTON, OK (KSWO) -Chickasha Police are warning merchants in the surrounding areas including Lawton and Duncan to be on the lookout for counterfeit bills. That’s after several businesses were scammed with fake $100 bills over the last week.

“They’re just making bigger bills out of smaller bills to have more money," said Lauren Jewell, Detective.

Jewell said over the past week multiple businesses across the city have reported counterfeit bills.

She said $10 bills that have been washed and re-printed to pass as hundred dollar bills. The fake money is being made on old bills and most have been turned into the bank.

“So what happens is somebody passes a counterfeit bill at a business and a business makes a deposit at a bank," said Jewell. "And then the bank will catch it and they call us and we have to go seize the money and do a report on it.”

She said a couple years ago they encountered another wave of fake bills printed on regular paper, however, those were easily detected by touch.

“These are a little bit harder because they’re the right size, the right paper," said Jewell. "The only difference being is if you can hold it up to the light the watermark needs to match the president on the front.”

She said her concern is the bills will make their way outside of Chickasha.

“We have people that come up from Duncan, Marlow, Lawton or people that go down to those areas as well," said Jewell. "Typically people buy things to say from a Facebook marketplace or something of that and so you’re going to have a frequency of where it can end up down there just as easily as it is here.”

Jewell said those using the counterfeit bills may not be aware they’re fake. She encourages everyone to be on alert and asks businesses owners to seize any money that may be suspicious.

“Make sure you’re checking those specific marks, the watermarks, the bars, make sure its a true one hundred dollar bills," said Jewell. "And if it does not just give us a call and give us any description of the person, description of a vehicle anything you possibly can and eventually we’ll get to the bottom of it and find the person responsible.”

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