Two Fake $5 Bills Passed at Subway

Anyone who owns a business in Dixon might want to keep an eye out. On Tuesday, someone passed two counterfeit $5 bills at a Dixon business.

The person, who’s description was not available, walked into Subway on the 1400 block of Ary Lane and gave the clerk two fake $5 bills Dixon Police Sgt. Ron Willingmyre said. The clerk was unable to recognize that the bills were fake.

The owner of Subway discovered the two bills, which appeared to be printed on a home computer printer Willingmyre said, while counting the money for the day.

“They don’t know when (the bills) were taken,” Willingmyre said.

The owner phone police and officers verified that the bills were counterfeit. The bills were confiscated and sent to the U.S. Secret Service for analysis, Willingmyre said. The crime of passing counterfeit bills is something that the Dixon Police Department sees in cycles Willingmyre said.

“It comes and goes,” Willingmyre said. “There is times where we find quite a bit, but then there is times that we don’t have anything at all. These are the first fives that I have seen in a while. It’s been a lot of 20s.”

As far as tips for recognizing funny money?

“Currency has a distinct feel to it,” Willingmyre said. “If you hold it up (to the light) you should be able to see all the security features on the bill, the image of the head that’s on there and the little strip.”

Business owners should hang on to the counterfeit money, because giving it back to the patron lessens the chance for police to investigate the possible counterfeit money Willingmyre said. Owners should call police and have them respond to the business. Anyone who comes across money that they feel is counterfeit is asked to contact police at (707) 678-7070.