The Troy Police Department is advising business owners and the rest of the community to be on the lookout for counterfeit currency.

Lt. Bryan Weed said officers heard reports of an influx of counterfeit $20 bills in the area last week.

“We don’t know if that was a case of someone passing through town or what, but we just want to make people aware at the business level that they are out there,” Weed said. “They can check for the watermarks and the safety features that are in the currency.”

Security features incorporated into U.S. currency include small red and blue fibers embedded in the paper, a security thread embedded in the paper, a watermark and the paper itself.

“Most of them you can look at and tell that it is counterfeit,” Weed said. “The fibers and the watermark have been added to allow those accepting money to easily identify counterfeit currency. If you work with money a lot, you can tell the difference in the way it feels.”

Weed said that the police department is advising all businesses to take more time to observe money that customers are using. Workers should also make eye contact with each customer in case a report has to be made about that person.

In the case of possible counterfeit use at a business, contact the Troy Police Department at 566-0500. Call as soon as possible so that an investigation can begin.

“Any kind of counterfeit that we come in contact with, we forward to the Treasury Department and pass any information to them that we have available,” Weed said. “That’s what we try to do to assist in the investigation.”

Weed said that no business is immune to having a customer attempt to use counterfeit money. Reports are evenly dispersed throughout all area of businesses.

“I don’t know of one business that has got it more than others,” Weed said. “It has been spread out.

For any questions or assistance with showing employees what to look for in reference to counterfeit note detection, contact Sgt. Michael O’Hara at 566-0500.