A local business reported receiving a counterfeit $10 bill over the weekend to the Alaska State Troopers.
Patricia Patterson owns Lucky Raven Tobacco and says on Saturday one of her cashiers was handed the fake bill in a stack of tens.
Patterson: “It looks good but it feels wrong, it does not have the feel of a bill. That’s how immediately it was identified when the person went to put it in the till is that it felt wrong.”
She says the cashier was not able to speak with the person who used the fake bill to pay because they first made change and the individual left before the cashier realized it was a fraud.
Patterson says they reported the event to the Troopers.
Alaska State Troopers’ public information officer Beth Ipsen says the Secret Service is the agency that would investigate large cases of counterfeiting, however this event does not meet that criteria.
In an email, Ipsen says counterfeit $10 bills recently showed up around Fairbanks and some fraudulent $20 bills were seen in the Delta Junction area.
The Troopers have not been able to determine if any of the reported counterfeit bills are linked.
Ipsen recommends local businesses and residents keep an eye on smaller bills like tens that might feel or look slightly different than usual.