Police are looking for a man walked into a bank in Nebraska on Monday morning with a fake $1 million bill and said he wanted to open a checking account.
The Lincoln Journal-Star reported the man walked into the Pinnacle Bank branch in Havelock at 9:30 a.m. on Monday and presented his $1 million bill.
On its website, the US Department of Treasury states:
“We receive many inquiries asking if the Treasury Department ever produced a $1 million currency note. People have sent in copies of these notes. We have found that they are nonnegotiable platinum certificates known as a “One Million Dollar Special Issue.” These notes were from a special limited copyrighted art series originally sold by a Canadian firm for $1.00 each as a collectible item. They are not official United States currency notes manufactured by our Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP). As such, they are not redeemable by the Department of the Treasury.”
And that’s what the teller told him, despite the man adamantly contending it was valid. After the man left, bank employees at the 61st Street and Havelock Avenue branch reported the incident to the police, who are currently canvassing surveillance footage in order to get a clue about the man’s identity, Officer Angela Sands said, according to the Star.
How to Detect Counterfeit Money?
The Federal Reserve reminds us that the best way to determine whether a note is genuine or not is to rely on the security features, such as the watermark and security thread.
Counterfeit detection pens are not always accurate and may give you false results.
A counterfeit note cannot be exchanged for a genuine one, and it is illegal to knowingly pass counterfeit currency.
“It is important to know what the security features are in genuine currency because if you end up with a counterfeit note, you will lose that money,” the Federal Reserve explains.
For people living in the United States, the Federal Reserve urges them to notify the U.S. Secret Service or the local police immediately if they suspect they have received a counterfeit note.
“Try to remember the physical characteristics of the person who passed the suspect counterfeit, and if possible write down the person’s license plate number and vehicle description. Store the suspect counterfeit apart from genuine currency and release it as soon as possible to law enforcement authorities,” the Federal Reserve wrote.
People living outside the United States should notify the U.S. Secret Service field office to report counterfeit currency.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
