Since the start of this month, Franklin police have received at least eight reports of people using fake money at local businesses.
On Monday, one gas station near Interstate 65 received three counterfeit bills.
Now, police are warning businesses to be on the lookout for fake bills, and asking them to report it to police if they receive one.
If businesses report when they receive counterfeit money, then police can collect the bill, look at surveillance video and even interview the person using the money, Franklin Police Detective Adam Joseph said.
Through the beginning of December last year, 28 reports were made to the Franklin Police Department about counterfeit bills. This year, the number is 57, more than twice what it was in 2015, according to Franklin police.
Joseph has recently seen an uptick of counterfeit money, especially at businesses near I-65, but isn’t sure where the bills are coming from, he said.
He recently visited businesses near the interstate, asking them to contact him when they receive suspicious bills and has contacted other police departments along I-65 to find out if they are receiving similar reports, he said.
Using counterfeit money has become a trend recently, he said. In many cases, police are finding it is not just one group out using counterfeit bills. And he said the people using the fraudulent cash are often checking to see what will pass and what won’t, he said.
When he has spoken with businesses, he has often heard that they didn’t know if they could confiscate the bill and contact police, he said. And that is exactly what Joseph is asking them to do.
“We investigate all cases, we want them to make a report,” Joseph said.
In each case, police send the bills to the U.S. Secret Service office in Indianapolis, who determines if the bills are counterfeit, he said.
Joseph has also been tracking the bills, including making a spreadsheet of their serial numbers, to see if any are related, he said. And he has collected surveillance video from the businesses with counterfeit bills to try to track down the people using them, he said.
He is asking businesses to call police when someone is trying to use what they believe is a counterfeit bill so officers can talk to the customer. And he wants anyone with information to call him at 317-346-1144.
