KAILUA-KONA — Authorities are investigating two suspects in connection to counterfeit money being passed in businesses in the Ka’u area.
Hawaii Police put out a press release warning the public about the increased use of counterfeit money in circulation. On Wednesday, Capt. Kenneth Quiocho confirmed they obtained a warrant for one suspect in connection to the fake money. Another suspect is being looked at.
Quiocho said police initially had one complaint of a counterfeit bill come in about a month ago at Ocean View Pizzaria. The bill was a movie prop.
The next fake bill was seen on Aug. 19 at the local swap meet. It was a $100 bill with Chinese characters on it. Quiocho said suspects also tried to use the counterfeit money at a lei stand in Punaluu and some small local markets.
The suspects were unsuccessful.
While police don’t have an idea on how many fake bills are in circulation, they are warning the public about their existence.
“It could be a nothing scam, it could end up to be a larger scam,” Quiocho said. “We just wanted the public to be aware.”
The press release states the phony money looks, feels and appears to be real, with the exception of pink Chinese writing characters on the front and back. These are training bills that Chinese banks use to train their tellers in counting foreign currency. The Chinese characters translate to read “For Training Purposes Only.”
A counterfeit detection pen will leave a mark on these bills.
Le’Ann Naboa, manager at Ocean View Market, said when police released the warning about the $100 bills, she called to find out where they were circulating.
“They try to give us as much information as they can,” Naboa said.
Naboa said she hasn’t seen the $100 bill, however, the last time the market encountered a fake bill was four months ago and it was a $20 bill.
Naboa said cashiers at the market have counterfeit pens and the light to detect a fake bill.
“Even with the two methods we have if it’s in the store, it’s our loss already,” Naboa said.
A lot of times, Naboa said, the customer gets upset when the cashier tells them the bill they used is a counterfeit. They are usually unaware it’s fake.
Police advised merchants to be cautious, and to use the following methods in detecting counterfeit money:
Locate and read the plastic embedded security thread. It should say “USA” and the bill’s denomination.
-Use an ultraviolet light to detect the thread glow color. The $5 bill should glow blue, the $10 bill should glow orange, the $20 bill should glow green, and the $50 bill should glow yellow. In older versions, the $100 bill should glow pink, while the current $100 bill has a 3-D ribbon.
-Hold the bill up to the light to check for a watermark.
-Tilt the bill to examine the color-shifting ink.
-With a magnifying glass, locate and examine the micro-printing.
Residents and businesses are reminded to treat the fake bill as evidence by placing it into an envelope and to call the police immediately.