DUBUQUE, Iowa (KCRG) — The Dubuque County Sheriff’s Office is asking people to double-check their bills after multiple reports of fake cash in circulation.
The bills look like real U.S. currency but are marked “For Motion Picture Purposes” across the top and in other locations. The back of the bills also reads “In Props We Trust” instead of “In God We Trust.”
At least twice in Dubuque County this month, the fake $20 bills were convincing enough to make a sale.
Dubuque County Sheriff Joe Kennedy took to social media to warn people after one woman tried to use the movie money to get into a baseball tournament and didn’t even know it. She got the bill as payment for a Facebook Marketplace transaction.
“These interactions can be a little awkward, so you want to get them over and done with as quickly as possible, but people really need to take the time to look at the money and make sure what they’re getting is actual U.S. currency,” Kennedy said. “You just have to be careful.”
Kennedy said two people unknowingly tried to use the fake money this month. A third found a ‘For Motion Picture Purposes’ bill on the ground at Dubuque’s Miller Riverview Park, totaling three fake $20 bills taken out of circulation.
The sheriff’s office is investigating how this movie money got into circulation.
Kennedy said it’s a reminder to check your wallets, as there’s no sense of how many fake bills are out there. If you come across counterfeit cash, contact the sheriff’s office.
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