Stack of counterfeit bills show up at a few Phoenix businesses

PHOENIX - It can be hard to tell the difference between U.S. currency and a good counterfeit. In this case, fake bills turned up at a few Phoenix businesses on June 24.

A Phoenix salon owner says she couldn't immediately tell the difference and asked if she had a client come in and pay with them, would she have realized? She said no.

She would've accepted them.

"A lady came here, she had a whole stack of basically $20 bills. They were looking really, really perfect like they were from the bank or something," Zhanna Davidova, co-owner of Hair Craft Salon said. "We had another client come in, and she said, ‘Oh, I found some $20 bills on the street, and it looked really real.’"

Counterfeit bill on top and a real U.S. dollar on the bottom.

At another business in the same strip mall near 16th Street and Bethany Home Road, an employee found a bunch of $20 bills, fake ones, blowing around.

"Pulled up in the back parking lot and found a bunch of $20s blowing around. Picked them up, came inside thinking I just found a bunch of money in the parking lot. The rest of us started looking at them and they were obviously fake," Will Hancock said while hanging out at Linger Longer Lounge.

So, how obvious is it that they're fake?

CLICK HERE FOR TIPS ON HOW TO RECOGNIZE A FAKE BILL

Stack of counterfeit bills found at Phoenix businesses

Hancock says, "They look real. Even them sitting on the bar top right here, they look real. But as soon as you feel them, they feel a little bit too papery."

The fake bills in this case had black lines on the very top of the bill, appearing to be a line that you cut using scissors. The bill also has different looking signatures.

Linger Longer Lounge says they reached out to law enforcement to pick up the counterfeit bills.

"Federal law makes counterfeiting U.S. currency a felony, punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison. This potential 20-year prison sentence applies to possessing, using, or making counterfeit currency with the intent to defraud," says CriminalDefenseLawyer.com.

Most people give fake bills to the police, but ultimately, the U.S. Secret Service handles counterfeit money. FOX 10 reached out for a comment on this case but so far, have not heard back.