NEW JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — You may want to take a closer look at your cash.
Police in South Jersey say “movie money” is being passed off as legitimate currency.
The phony bills look and feel nearly identical to real United States cash, but Gloucester Township police say instead of “Federal Reserve Note” at the top, the fake money reads “Motion Picture Use.”
On the back of the phony bills, “In God We Trust” has been replaced with “In Copy We Trust.”
Gloucester Township Police Lieutenant Paul Fisher said anyone can possess the bills without getting in trouble, but it’s against the law to pass them off as real currency.
“It’s not illegal to have it. It is prop money. Available online. Easily available online, you can buy it and have it the same day,” Fisher said.
Officials say they’ve seen the fake money used at a restaurant and have found it during traffic stops.
The bills will not pass a counterfeit pen or light test, and police are urging cashiers to inspect bills for all cash transactions, using the “Three R’s”:
- Read the bill: Check the wording, check for security features like watermarks and security threads that are printed or embedded into the paper.
- Repeat the process for every bill you receive.
- Report any suspected counterfeit currency or movie money being passed as real currency to the police.
Anyone with information about who may be circulating the bills is asked to contact Gloucester Township police at 856-228-4500.