According to Wiscasset police, three counterfeit 20 dollar bills were used Sunday evening at the Lil’ Mart convenience store on Rt. 1. The fake currency was discovered Monday morning by the store’s bank, First Federal Savings, after a routine check of a night deposit bag.
“We are urging local businesses to be very vigilant when accepting cash and use the special counterfeit pens,” said Wiscasset Police Lt. John Allen.
Lil’ Mart is in the process of reviewing surveillance tapes and register records to pinpoint the exact time of the illegal transactions. Store managers were unable to comment until the corporate parent of the store, Nouria Energy, completed an internal investigation. According to Allen, Wiscasset police had made prior arrests earlier in the summer for counterfeiting but declined to make the connection between the two.
“We are finding that 20 dollar bills are being made into fifties and hundreds. There are a few foolproof methods merchants can use,” he said.
Allen contacted the Secret Service and has distributed literature to local businesses with detailed instructions on how to spot fake currency. He has urged storeowners to prominently display the material as a deterrent.
“If someone is attempting to pass counterfeit money and sees a piece of paper from the Secret Service detailing types of methods used in these crimes, chances are they will be in a hurry to leave,” he said.
Advances in technology such as sophisticated ink jet printers have made counterfeiting a relatively inexpensive and attractive crime according to a published report in the USA Today. The Secret Service has even documented cases of college students using homemade $20 bills to buy pizza, all done with ordinary computer equipment found in most dorm rooms.
“We hope by educating our local businesses this can be avoided,” said Allen.
