BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — The Martin County Sheriff’s Office is warning businesses and individuals to be on the lookout for phony movie prop bills being passed off as real money.
Chief Deputy Chris Kidd said the sheriff’s office received a report Thursday of a woman receiving motion picture prop money when she sold a car to someone she met on the internet.
“The person came to buy the vehicle and handed the victim money,” Kidd said. “Before she could check it all, he left. Then she noticed that something was off. She found the word ‘copy’ written on the front of it, so she called the sheriff’s office and advised us that she had just been given fake money for a vehicle she had sold. We’re still actively working on that case right now.”
At first glance, the fake bills look like real money, explained Kidd.
“The only difference in copy money and the real thing is on the back of it, in some instances, it will say ‘motion picture use only,’ or it will say ‘copy’ on the front real small,” he said. “What people are starting to do now is actually scrape that word ‘copy’ off so you can’t see that on the front. They’re making it look like the real thing, and if you’re not paying attention very closely it can fool even a trained eye.”
Thursday wasn’t the first incident of the bills being passed around the county. A couple of months ago, a local restaurant, gas station and pawn shop took copy $100 bills.
“A teller from a local bank said some of it had been passed to the bank and they didn’t even catch it,” stated Kidd.
“We ask that businesses be vigilant and check your money. The markers have been showing the bills to be fake. We suggest everyone mark all the money they take in, especially $100 bills.”
Kidd explained that the bills are not considered “counterfeit money” because they’re not being produced. A person will be charged with theft by deception if police prove the person spending the money also knew it was fake or prop money.
“It’s hard to prove a person knew it was fake when the person taking it didn’t know until later,” said the deputy. “That’s the issue we’re having.”
Kidd has interviewed several people who reported they had just cashed a check and received prop money.
“A lot of them are saying they’re the victims. They’re receiving prop money for their checks from locations that cash checks,” he said. “It’s a bigger problem, and we’re trying to get to the root cause of it.”