I'm not exactly sure when the pictures on our money started getting bigger, but I do remember that when they did, it just looked like fake money.

The irony of it is that the heads of Andrew Jackson, Benjamin Franklin, and company all got bigger to PREVENT counterfeiting.

But folks decided to give making fraudulent bills a whirl anyway.

Some fake bills are pretty obvious like the ones Barb wrote about a couple of weeks ago.

But what if they're not?

We can be in trouble if we pass a counterfeit bill, even if we have no idea it's counterfeit.

Personally, I'm not 100% sure how to spot a well-done counterfeit.

And Yahoo! Finance says that approximately $70 million in phony bills are currently in circulation.

That is a CRAZY amount.

Also, the most commonly counterfeited denomination is the $20 bill, which is scary since that is an incredibly common bill.

How many millions of people AT LEAST have a 20 on them, right?

So, you need to look for things like the black seal from the Federal Reserve Bank.

Make sure the color shifting numbers change from copper to green. (This doesn't happen the bills that are lower than 20.)

Plus, look for things like the security thread, the watermark, raised printing, and just the general feel of the bill.

And if clicked that link above, you've seen that Yahoo! Finance has a handy chart you can check and memorize with regard to your bills, but it also shows you what to look for in terms of coins.

Counterfeit bills.

Man, don't we have ENOUGH problems?

 

More From WOMI-AM