93-3-WMR Audio on Demand presents the Preston and Steve show podcast.

And now, Preston and Steve's news update with Kathy Romano.

And it is Friday, September 7th.

Good morning, Kathy.

Good morning in the news this morning.

Officials are warning about counterfeit cash being circulated around the region. A South Philadelphia businessman found out the hard way when he learned a lot of the money that he took from customers turned out to be counterfeit. Vincent Emmanuel, owner of a 7-11 at 23rd in Pash Young says the money looks real. He says he's frustrated with what's been happening over the last two weeks and that he's seen a surge in counterfeit $20 bills and $100

bills in the store. It's been a while since we had an influx of counterfeit money and you'd

figured the technology would make it much easier to do. Yeah. So apparently, so the money looks real

enough and it wasn't until the bank notified him that he realized some of the money that he had

deposited was actually counterfeit. Emmanuel said in the last 24 hours, there have been two different customers who tried to pass a $100 counterfeit bill, and then a little kid came into the store and asked for a change for a $20. He asked for all $1 bills. The Secret Service in Philadelphia says counterfeiting is currently very widespread, and it's keeping them busy. They are currently investigating a number of cases.

Officials said the counterfeit of those bogus bills have figured out how to avoid detection by marker pens that show whether the bill is real or fake.

I have a minor little fear when I have a large bill and I go in somewhere and I've gotten it from an ATM or whatever, he's changing hands and I have like a $100 bill or whatever and they do the little mark thing. And if for some reason it turns out to be a fake, you're out. How is it, you know, would I get in trouble for that if I didn't? You know what I mean? If you're at, I swear to God, I know. There's that, but also, you have no recourse.

Well, you'd be out $100.

You'd be out $100.

But I still, I'm more afraid of, you know, the Secret Service. Right. Where'd you get that? Preston gets jail time. Yeah. Yeah. money. No, I think if they needed to do some sort of investigation, I think they know the

difference, but if they had to do some sort of investigation, they wouldn't find, you know,

stacks of counterfeit cash in your basement. Right. Well, they say the telltale sign on the bill, Kathy, and they've gotten extensively into replicating it. Ben Franklin is wearing a grill. A grill, yeah. Wow. And that's, why would you you do that but i guess that's how they know

well they've been using those pens forever and i you know i always wondered why they weren't able

to be so now apparently they can they can trick that i always thought it's just to sweat you at

the register yeah seriously brought the pen if you have anything to confess that'd be the time to

do it and steve they uh they look at you while they link the end of the pen real quick where are you from I did I did find it odd What do you do for a living that you have $20 bills Well but that's the thing I always found it odd That they would do it with the 20s like Doesn't don't most people aren't most people Using 20s? Like that's what you get from a Mac machine.

I actually, I get nervous to your point.

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