Reno Police are seeing an increase in cases involving counterfeit money, anywhere from one-dollar bills to one-hundred-dollar bills.
Whether you're at a grocery store, a bank, or even online sales like through Facebook Marketplace, it's important to know the different security features associated with each specific bill.
"A lot of times if you know you have a real one hundred dollar bill you can hold that in one hand and you can grab another bill that you're being given, and you can do like a feel test as kind of a first step," says Chris Johnson, Public Information Officer for Reno Police.
Johnson says you can also check to make sure the water marks are reflecting with the same president on the bill. He says there are also different colored fibers in the inside, and to check for the blue stripe on the one-hundred-dollar bill.
Reno Police are also seeing an increase in fraudulent cashier's checks and recommend taking the extra steps to avoid falling victim of one.
"So, if you're going to be selling a large, priced item like a vehicle or something and you're going to be getting a cashier's check, I would highly recommend going to the bank with the person going to purchase the car and have the bank issue the cashier's check with you in their presence," Johnson says.
Fake money isn't the only scam police are seeing more of. They say they also are seeing an increase in skimming devices.
They are devices placed over ATMs, card readers, gas stations, and when you insert your card, the skimmer will capture your card information. This then allows scammers to either sell your card information or use it for themselves.
But RPD says there is a way to avoid them.
"They should have seals that are on that door so if that seal is broken then that means that there could potentially be a skimming device involved or inside that ATM or that gas station pump."
Johnson says if the seal is broken or peeled off, then to immediately notify the store.
Reno Police have been reaching out to businesses making them aware of this scam and say those businesses are taking proactive measures to check and make sure they don't have any.
They say when a skimmer is found, they don't hold the business liable because most of the time, it's an individual committing the crime by putting in the skimmer without the business knowing.
Reno Police say to make sure you're checking your bank records to see if you may have fallen victim to a skimmer.
"So, if you do see a transaction that you don't know about to immediately report it to the bank as fraudulent or look into it and you can kind of see 'okay has somebody gotten my credit card information or not' and then you can actually turn that credit card off and get a new one issued to you."
Reno Police say if you do find a skimmer then to notify the business as soon as possible. You should also report fake money to police with as much information on the scammer as possible.
