Secret Service warns of bleached bills

Posted to: Crime News Virginia

Associated Press
© May 20, 2008

Secret Service warns of bleached bills

WASHINGTON (AP) _ The U.S. Secret Service says about half of its current counterfeit cases in the Washington area involve using real currency to make phony bills.

Special agent in charge Todd Kreisher says counterfeiters bleach $5 bills and reprint them as $100 bills.

Kreisher says the fake money looks real, and the bills aren't detected by some machines because they are printed on real currency paper. Holding them to the light, however, reveals that the watermark has Abraham's Lincoln's image, not Benjamin Franklin's.

Kreisher says arrests have been made in D.C., Prince George's County, Montgomery County and Virginia.

The Secret Service issued an alert Monday to area law enforcement agencies to warn businesses about the fake bills.

Amazing

Submitted by contractorva on Tue, 05/20/2008 at 9:58 pm.

No matter what the treasury does to protect against counterfeiting..these crooks always find a way! Maybe should increase the penalty. Prison time only....no fines.