Law enforcement, local merchants combat counterfeit currency

The faces of past presidents are printed on American bills largely to instill a sense of trust – trust in the financial backing of a wealthy “first-world” nation and, more simply, that the bill represents the stated value.

But unless you’ve spent a considerable amount of time behind a bank counter or cash register, you likely have little reason to question those assumptions. But odds are that some amount of counterfeit currency has made its way into your pocket at some point – whether you were aware of it or not.

Since Barry Holfelder took up his post as Taos Police Department detective 17 years ago, he has noticed counterfeit bills circulating around Taos in low numbers, but they do circulate, he says.

“We’ve always had them. But they’re very sporadic,” he said. Lately, though, the numbers have begun to rise.

Holfelder estimates that people used roughly $200 worth of counterfeit bills to successfully purchase goods and services in Taos last month. That might not sound like a lot, but his estimation can only be based on what is reported.

“One of the interesting things about counterfeit money is that few people report it,” he said. “And what happens is it usually gets bundled up in a deposit and goes to the bank.”

Banks are able to catch a counterfeit bill almost instantly, often with just an eyeball, though any doubt can be eliminated as bills are run through counters designed to check for imperfections, improper sizing, coloring and other factors that might indicate a fake.

But the banks generally don’t report to local police, either, Holfelder says.

“They pull it out and debit the account for whatever amount of counterfeit money they received. And periodically, they box up all the counterfeit money and send it to the Secret Service. And that’s the end of that,” he said.

Taos police officials have a similar process. Counterfeit bills are packaged and sent to the feds once a certain number of them is collected – but rarely with the hope that doing so will incite an investigation.

Government workers typically review bills only to look for patterns, checking serial numbers to identify possible matches that might be part of a larger counterfeiting network.

“If a Taos fake were to match a fake, for example, in Cincinnati — that might be a different story,” Holfelder said.

The bills being printed in Taos are of a low quality, he said, most likely manufactured on a basic color printer.

Solutions

Holfelder first began a communication network with local merchants a few years ago – what he describes as an “e-blast” – to combat trespassing. The resulting web of communication has linked merchants, directly connected by a common owner or operating in a common commercial section, to local law enforcement.

“I use the e-blast to try to keep merchants apprised of what’s going on and add things that they can do to protect themselves and their businesses,” Holfelder said. “So when the counterfeit money started showing up, naturally, of course, I started getting emails: ‘Oh, I got a counterfeit five, 10 or 20. What should I do?’”

Holfelder began by explaining to local merchants what they and their employees should look out for.

In a Dec. 21 email, he took photos of a counterfeit $20 bill and used it as an example.

“Attached is an image of [a bill] that TPD recovered last evening at a local merchant,” the email reads. “This bill is about [one-eighth] too short and ‘one-sixteenth’ too narrow. The color is pretty good, but the paper is way too light and flimsy. The paper is the major giveaway.”

Taos police and the Taos County Chamber of Commerce collaborated to invite a Secret Service agent to host a seminar on counterfeiting a few years ago. As a result, many merchants retrained employees to share what they had learned. Others also invested in infrared pens that can identify suspicious currency.

But Holfelder explained that there is still much to be done and that the larger the communication network grows between local merchants and law enforcement, the better chances Taos has to combat counterfeit currency.

Those interested in joining Holfelder’s email list can send a request to bholfelder@taosgov.com or call (575) 770-1285.