MERIDIAN —     Detectives with the Meridian Police Department Criminal Investigation Division are currently fielding calls and investigating multiple complaints from businesses and individuals concerning counterfeit money being passed and received in the Meridian area.

    Capt. James Sharpe, commander of the MPD's Criminal Investigation Division, said detectives are also working with other agencies in attempts to identify and arrest the individuals possibly involved in the making and circulation of the counterfeit bills. 

    "In the past month, especially in the last week, investigators have seen increasing amounts of counterfeit bills surfacing in the Meridian area," Shapre said in a press release Monday. "The denominations have consisted of bills ranging from $5 to $100."  

    Sharpe said investigators are currently following up on several leads obtained from various sources. If an operation is discovered in the area, the United States Secret Service will be consulted and asked to assist with the investigation, Sharpe said.

    Shapre said based on reported incidents, the bills have been passed or attempted to be passed mostly at area restaurants, convenient stores, sporting events, concession stands, and night clubs. Any venue which deals with a high volume of cash paying customers can be potential targets. He said there have also been incidents where individuals have reported receiving counterfeit bills as change from the before mentioned locations. Individuals have also claimed to have received counterfeit bills from banks and ATMs.  

    Shapre said detectives advise businesses and individuals alike, to carefully inspect any received bills. There are several easy indicators that can be used to distinguish counterfeit currency from legal tender.

    • The feel of the bill is probably the best indictor as to whether a bill is real or counterfeit, real bills when rubbed tend to have a more textured surface versus a counterfeit's smooth surface.

    • One should look for the security strip that is embedded in the bill which denotes the bill amount.

    • One should look for printing which is misaligned with the paper stock, as well as uneven borders.

    • One should look at the actual size of the bill, occasionally counterfeit bills will be slightly larger or smaller than a true bill.

    • One should look for the embedded watermark which features the image on the face on the bill.

    • One should look for the colour shifting ink used to print official currency.

    • The printing on the bills should be crisp and not blurred.

    • One should look for the blue and red silk fibers embedded in the paper stock of official currency.

    • Since the ink used in printing official currently never truly dries, one can rub the bill on a white background and if the ink transfers this is a good indicator that the bill is genuine.  

    • One should look for two pieces of paper glued together. Front image and back image pasted together

    • If you have access to a marking pen, please use it. Occasionally these pens, especially if old, will give a false positive, meaning that a real bill will show as counterfeit, if this happens please observe the other security measures, if they are not present notify the local police department.

    " Because older bills are still in circulation that do not feature the newer enhanced security features, anyone suspecting that they may have a counterfeit bill in their possession are asked to contact their local police department or sheriff's office," said Sharpe.  

    Detectives ask that anyone who has  information on the counterfeit bills possibly being manufactured and passed in the area, to please contact the Meridian Police Department at 601-485-1893, 601-485-1859 or Crime Stopper at 601-485-1860.