In most crimes, it’s easy to differentiate between victim and suspect, but that line can be blurred when it comes to counterfeit money.

Washington Police are investigating a mini-spree of counterfeit spending that happened in the single afternoon on Aug. 15. The stores where counterfeit bills turned up were Piggly Wiggly, Medical Park Pharmacy, Walgreens and Walmart, all in Washington. A man was captured on video doing the spending at three of those places, but hasn’t been identified, according to Lt. William Chrismon, spokesman for the police department.

“I can’t say he’s a suspect right now, because he may be a victim,” Chrismon said, adding that the man may have been unknowingly spending counterfeit money.

Chrismon said the department doesn’t run across many counterfeit bills for several reasons: banks are good at not allowing counterfeit bills to be recirculated and retail stores do a better job of screening it with anti-counterfeit tools.

But when it comes to $20 bills, as opposed to $50 or $100 bills, it’s more difficult to catch.

“It’s easier to pass,” Chrismon said.

Chrismon said, as a proactive measure, consumers paying cash should also be paying attention to their currency, especially when receiving change for a cash purchase.
“Where they’re using money, no matter where it’s at, if you’re getting change in cash, look at your money, know what you’re looking at,” Chrismon said. “If they see the money, if it doesn’t actually look right, they need to question it right then,” rather than leaving an establishment and questioning it later, he said. Ownership of the bill determines who loses the money, because it should be taken out of circulation and turned over to law enforcement.

“The last man holding it is the last man losing it,” Chrismon said.

Chrismon said his department hasn’t seen many counterfeit bills since two Washington men were arrested in July of 2012, after an influx of fake currency hit Beaufort County. He said local investigators have been in contact with the U.S. Secret Service regarding the most recent case. The Secret Service, charged with investigation of counterfeit currency, logs and tracks every false bill turned in to them by law enforcement, ultimately using that knowledge to break up counterfeit money-making rings.

For more information about how to tell if a bill is fake, visit http://www.secretservice.gov/know_your_money.shtml.