On April 1, three counterfeit $20 bills were given to the Big Apple on
Route 2.
MEXICO – Counterfeit bills that turned up in Rumford and Mexico last week were turned over to the U.S. Secret Service’s field office in Portland for investigation.
The Secret Service has exclusive jurisdiction over investigations into counterfeiting of U.S. notes and securities.
On April 1, three bogus $20 bills given to the Big Apple convenience store on Route 2 were discovered after being turned in to Key Bank, said Mexico police.
On the same day in Rumford, a counterfeit bill was passed at IV Corners convenience store at Hancock Street and Lincoln Avenue.
Rumford cops received another fake $20 on March 29 after a Hancock Street business took it in on March 28.
“In a lot of cases, it’s people inadvertently passing them,” said Rumford Detective Lt. Wayne Gallant.
“In most cases, the counterfeit money has been circulating for some time.”
Gallant, who saw one of the fakes, said that in normal lighting, the bill’s authenticity would have made him “very suspicious.”
“Business people need to scrutinize their currency. If you’re not sure of something, don’t take it. You’ll be better off than if you had,” he said.
Gallant recommended that stores and business owners get counterfeit detector pens like those many banks use.
“For us, every year at about this time, from spring into summer, is when we always seem to get counterfeit twenties,” Gallant said.
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