The following statement was issued by the North Platte Police Department:

The North Platte Police Dept. has received several reports of counterfeit bills being passed at area businesses.

There are two types of bills that we are seeing.  The first are known as “Chinese Training Money”.  These bills have red Chinese symbols printed on the front and back of them.  They do not have many of the security features such as color shifting ink, security strip and, watermarks.

The second type of bills are “Motion Picture Money” or “Prop Bills”.  These are used as props in movies by legitimate companies and have printed on them “For Motion Picture Use Only” in multiple areas.  The bills also lack the security features of real money.

Counterfeit pens should be effective on both types of bills and the best way to tell if they are fake is by just taking a brief amount of time to inspect and feel the bill.  They are real enough looking at a glance to be passed if the recipient isn’t paying attention.

While it is not illegal to merely possess the bills, it is a felony to intentionally attempt to pass them as real currency.

We ask that citizens and businesses be vigilant in watching for these types of bills and to call the police immediately if someone attempts to pass them as real currency.