Counterfeit $10 bills are circulating in Hampstead and Manchester, prompting police to warn merchants to watch for bogus bills bearing serial No. C59929868A.
Hampstead Chief Kenneth Meekins said Friday that one counterfeit bill was passed at the Jiffy Mart on Main Street and that two were found in a bank deposit from a Manchester business.
Meekins said information obtained on counterfeit bills is routinely forwarded to the Baltimore office of the Secret Service for investigation.
Jim Mackin, a spokesman for the Secret Service, said his agency does not discuss ongoing investigations.
"We are aware of counterfeit $10s being distributed in Carroll County," Mackin said.
"It does not appear to be a statewide problem at this time," he said.
Counterfeit money in a community is not always a sign that counterfeiters are operating in the area, Meekins said.
A counterfeiter may enter a store anywhere, buy a $100 item, for example, and pay with 10 counterfeit $10 bills, Meekins said.
The cashier at that store may not notice the bad bills and may make change to other customers, putting the counterfeit money into circulation, he said. Each of those customers, in turn, may unwittingly pay for inexpensive items at different convenience stores.
Meekins said a bank scanner discovered the counterfeit bills, which he called "good enough you or I wouldn't notice."
Anyone finding a bogus $10 -- serial No. C59929868A -- may contact the Hampstead Police Department at 410-239-8954.
Pub Date: 4/26/98
