2 Thumbs Down: 'Movie Money' Scams Harming Gloucester Twp. Retailers, Police Say

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — A movie-money scheme impacting Gloucester Township businesses is getting two thumbs down from police.

Several recent cases of "Hollywood" or "Motion Picture" money being passed off as legitimate currency are under investigation in Gloucester Township, police said Thursday.

The props look nearly and feel nearly identical to legitimate dollar bills, except for one giveaway: the counterfeit cash contains the words "FOR MOTION PICTURE USE ONLY."

See the encircled portions below from Gloucester Township Police:

Police are advising businesses and retailers to take precautions.

"The bills will not pass other security measures such as Counterfeit Pens, Counterfeit Detector Lights, or certain watermarks/holograms," police said. "Problems persist because most cashiers are not running random smaller denomination bills through security measures to ensure their legitimacy. A quick visual inspection of any bill will prevent fraud."

Business owners and cashiers should follow the three "R's" when receiving money, police said:

• Read the bill. Check the wording and check for security features such as 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 police.