Counterfeit bills passed in Brookings

Counterfeit 50-dollar bills have been discovered at a Brookings bank and were recently passed in town.

Assistant Chief of Police Derrick Powers says the two were originally five-dollar bills that had been washed and altered to look like fifties.

He says local businesses need to be aware of this possibility and carefully check large denomination bills.

Powers says there are a couple of ways to tell these bills have been altered. There is a watermark in the corner. On the five, it’s the number “5” and on the fifty, it’s a portrait. You can also check the security strip running through the bill which is printed with it’s correct denomination.