Earlier today the Kingston Police Department sent out a post on Facebook warning store owners and others of an attempt to use counterfeit money for a purchase. They are reminding anyone who accepts cash for a purchase that it is important to authenticate large bills.

A local pharmacy was the target today by a group that was trying to by a "Vanilla" gift card with counterfeit $100 bills bearing the serial number LJ61873605B. Fortunately, the employee at the pharmacy check the bills before finalizing the sale and when it was determined that the money was a fake the subjects fled the store before being able to finish the purchase.

This is the time of year that you need to be careful. It isn't just big bills that people counterfeit. I once received a counterfeit $5 bill from a local McDonald's. I got it as change and when I turned it in to the bank with a deposit they discovered it was a fake.

Local law enforcement will continue to investigate this crime but if you are a store owner or someone who will be accepting cash over the holidays for services or goods it would probably be wise to invest in at least a counterfeit pen. If your not sure how to detect counterfeit money or authenticate money ask your bank for recommendations on what you can easily keep on hand to ensure you aren't receiving phooey bills.

Sadly with the holiday season here more and more of us will be spending cash and we don't want to end up being the person left holding the funny money.

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