N.J. Pharmacy Ripped Off Twice By Suspect Using 'Bleached' $100 Bills
WYCKOFF, N.J. (CBSNewYork) --If you work in Bergen County, you might want to take a closer look at the cash you get from your customers.
The funny money making the rounds is going undetected because it is actually money, just the denomination has been changed. The New York Office of the Secret Service said between 600 and 1,000 "bleached" bills are passed in the region each month.
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Two fake $100 bills have been presented at pharmacies in Wyckoff. The counterfeiters take $5 bills, bleach them and reprint them with Benjamin Franklin's face.
At Miller's Pharmacy, the oldest one in Wyckoff, they have new rules for taking big bills after one man passed off phony currency.
"That bill was very convincing. My clerks had absolutely no idea," owner David Miller told CBS 2's Tony Aiello.
Miller said it is frustrating to be conned by counterfeiters, who are making hundreds from fivers using high-tech equipment that gets the details and the color right.
"It might take us 20 prescriptions to earn that $100 back, that's a lot of work -- so it's very frustrating," Miller said.
Wyckoff Police Chief Ben Fox said marker detection doesn't spot the problem.
"The bills look very good and again, because they're on regular U.S. currency paper, they feel good, too. There's that typical feel of a bill which will be different if it's been cheaply printed on other phony paper," he told WCBS 880's Adams.
Police said it is vital for merchants to teach their clerks how to spot a $100 bill that began life as a fiver. One way is to make certain the watermark matches the portrait on the bill -- Abe Lincoln on a hundred is a sure sign it's counterfeit.
The suspect is a young Hispanic male in a red or maroon van with Florida plates. There was an older man behind the wheel, police said.
If you know anything about the crimes, contact the Wyckoff Police Department at 201-891-2121.
