Grand Junction small businesses are getting stung by fake cash that looks almost perfect. One local shop just ate a $100 loss after accepting a bleached $1 bill printed to look like a Benjamin. Police say reports are climbing, and the crooks are getting bolder.
How the Scam Works Now
Criminals are taking real $1 bills, chemically bleaching the ink off, then printing $100 designs on the legitimate paper. The result fools most counterfeit pens because the paper itself is real currency cotton.
Matthew Cesario, general manager at Triple Play Records on Main Street, took one last week.
“She bought incense with a hundred,” Cesario said. “It looked good enough that we accepted it. When the bank showed us it started life as a one-dollar bill, I couldn’t believe how clean the work was.”
Why Pens and Quick Checks Fail
Mesa County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Robin Martin says the old reliable detection pen is now almost useless against this method.
“The pen checks for starch. Real U.S. paper has no starch, so it marks good every time, even when it’s a bleached one turned into a hundred,” Martin explained.
That leaves the watermark as the fastest giveaway.
Hold suspected bills to light. Every $5 and up must show a faint portrait matching the president on the front. $1 and $2 bills have no watermark at all. If someone hands you a “$100” with no watermark, it’s fake, period.
Four Fast Checks Anyone Can Do in Seconds
Cashiers and shoppers can catch most fakes with these simple steps:
- Hold to light → watermark must match the president
- Feel the collar on newer bills → raised printing feels bumpy under your thumb
- Tilt the bill → color-shifting ink on the bottom-right number flips copper to green ($10 and up)
- Look close → tiny red and blue fibers are embedded in real paper, not printed on top
The collar feel test works even on older bills. Run your fingernail down Andrew Jackson’s coat on a $20. You should feel ridges. Smooth means trouble.
Small Shops Take the Biggest Hit
Large chains can absorb a fake hundred. Mom-and-pop stores cannot.
“That hundred came straight out of our drawer and our profit,” Cesario said. “We’re already tight. One or two of these a month hurts bad.”
Triple Play has now trained every employee to do the light test on any bill over $20. Other downtown shops are quietly doing the same.
Charges Are Serious If You Get Caught
Passing fake money is forgery, a felony in Colorado. Add theft by deception and you’re looking at real jail time plus restitution.
Grand Junction Police and Mesa County deputies are telling everyone: slow down, check the bill, trust your gut. The thirty seconds you spend could save your business hundreds.
Local merchants are fighting back with better training and cheap UV lights that reveal missing security strips in seconds. The crooks may have gotten smarter, but Grand Junction isn’t rolling over.
Stay sharp out there, check those bills, and let’s keep real money in real hands.
What’s the worst fake bill experience you’ve had? Drop it in the comments and tag a local business owner who needs to see this.
